Large bright white light in the night sky that suddenly vanished in an instant!

I walked out onto the back deck of my apartment to have a smoke.  I always gaze at the stars when I’m outside at night.  I happened to look up and to the NNW and noticed a large bright white light up in the night sky, that resembled a very bright star.
 I stared toward the above mentioned direction for about 30-40 seconds.  All of a sudden, as if someone flicked a light switch, the light vanished.  In a millisecond it was gone.
 This light “anomaly” made no sound that I heard, and I couldn’t make out how high in the sky it was.  This was not a commercial airliner, as they have safety and flashing lights on during their flights.  Not to mention, they are quite easy to hear flying overhead, especially at night.  The light also didn’t move in any noticeable direction.  It just hovered in the same spot in the sky until it vanished.  I waited and watched in the same spot to see if it returned to view, but sadly it did not.  Not too sure what I saw.  This wasn’t a place, helicopter, satellite, or star.
 The weather tonight:  9°C Wind:  ESE 3 km/h Temperature:  7.5°C Pressure:  101.8 kPa Dew point:  3.3°C Humidity:  75% Clear night sky