It might have been dismissed as an ordinary meteor, except it hung overhead for a long time.

Then, before you could say "Roswell, New Mexico," it disappeared over the mountain and black smoke rose skyward, suggesting a crash to earth.Around 7 p.m. Tuesday, Tamaqua area residents spotted a bright object in the sky."We were near the tennis area on Dutch Hill, on our way from Hometown," said Jennifer Strohl, Tamaqua.The bright light caught the attention of Strohl, her two young children, and friend Amanda Sanders Costenbader."We were by the intersection of Patterson and Willing Street," Strohl said.The object was visible for quite some time, she said, allowing Costenbader to take photos and even video.Strohl decided to grab some pictures, too."I ran into my house to get my good camera, but by the time I came out it was gone," Strohl said.The object had disappeared behind Locust Mountain. But then, in just a minute or so, a plume of black smoke rose upward from the same locationVanessa Rabayda of Coaldale saw it, too.She posted online that she noticed the light in the sky while was attending her daughter's soccer practice at the Mary D Sports Complex."I saw the light thingy in the sky. I thought it was a plane or something."Rabayda indicated that she also observed the dark smoke a short time later while traveling on the Pottsville Stretch, a section of Route 209 just west of Tamaqua.Nobody was quite sure what it was. Some believe it was a meteor.Other guesses suggested a spaceship or UFO.And with Halloween around the corner, aliens are a sure bet.