Was this a comet...or something else?

Question

I saw a rocket like...thing moving across the night sky just now. It either had a tail or was a long, almost cigar like shape. The entire thing seemed to be illuminated and both appeared and disappeared mysteriously in the middle of the sky. The entire thing lasted at most one second. From my view it was about half the size of a AAA battery in length and thickness. This was in the north-east united states.

Answer 1

Sounds like a meteorite.... burned up before it hit the ground.

Answer 2

A bright meteor, or an iridium flare, which is a brief reflection of the sun off a satellite's solar panels.

Answer 3

Comets don't seem to move during the night, and they hang around for weeks, even months.  It sounds like you might have seen the International Space Station - it's bright and looks elongated.  Satellites, including the ISS, seem to disappear when they enter the Earth's shadow.