A meteor broke apart over the US state of Massachusetts. Several people reported that the buildings they were in shook during the incident.
https://p.dw.com/p/5EbGuThe meteor fragmented over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire, according to NASA [Representative image]Image: Wang Yonggang/Xinhua/picture allianceAdvertisementA meteor hurtling toward Earth's atmosphere exploded over the northeastern United States, causing a loud double boom that shook buildings in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, according to reports on Saturday.
The phenomenon released energy equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT, accounting for the loud noise, the US space agency, NASA, wrote in a statement posted on X.
The meteor, measuring about 3 feet (nearly 1 meter) wide, entered the atmosphere around the New Hampshire border with Massachusetts, north of Boston, the Associated Press cited the American Meteor Society as saying.
The fireball fragmented over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire at 2:06 pm (6:06 pm UTC), NASA deputy news chief Jennifer Dooren told news agency AFP.
She added that the meteor was traveling at 75,000 miles per hour (more than 120,000 kilometers per hour) when it broke apart at an altitude of 40 miles (64 kilometers) over the area.
"This fireball was not associated with any currently active meteor shower, but it was a natural object and not a re-entry of space debris or a satellite," Dooren said in her statement.
Serbia: The man who collects meteoritesTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Residents in the region were left baffled by the echoing boom.
Some people took to social media to report that their houses shook from the noise.
In some videos circulating online, what sounded like two quick booms could be heard, with no sign of fire, smoke or any visible causes for the noise.
Don't let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred Source on Google by clicking here and hitting the "star" or "preferred" button, so you'll always see our verified news first.
