A light in the sky that looked very much like Mars

A single reddish object that looked very much like Mars.  I knew Mars was further East in the sky.  The object was about 40 - 50 degrees above the horizon about 10 degrees East/south of the Big Dipper.  Object stationary for 15 seconds then began to rise as it moved slowly Eastward. This object was not an airplane.  It continued to move farther up into the sky and began to fade slowly.  The movement was not consistent with an orbiting satellite nor was it streaking like a meteorite.  The object continued to climb in a linear fashion and faded slowly out until no longer visible.  I was unable to grab my camera in time to take an image.  The speed and movement over the course of watching this object was very peculiar and not familiar.  It definitely was an object in the upper atmosphere or higher.