it's the planet venus...venus lies between earth and the sun and it's now the morning star,or planet...when viewed through a telescope it will look like a new moon ...you will see only cresent instead of the entire planet...as it continues its rotatation around the sun,it will become the evvening star by summer again...you will never see venus or mercury late at night in the eastern skies due to the fact that they both lie between the earth and the sun in their orbits...to learn more,go to.... skypub.com (the sky and telescope magazine website)