Massive boom over northeastern US was meteor explosion as powerful as 300 tons of TNT, NASA confirms

A sonic boom heard last week in the northeastern United States was caused by a meteor, NASA confirmed after viewing satellite images.

The sound of the meteor, widely heard on Saturday, May 30 at 2:06 p.m. EDT (local time), was audible over the northeastern United States. NASA determined it was a meteor based on eyewitness reports from the American Meteor Society as well as images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES-19 satellite.

“The meteor appears to have broken up at an altitude of 40 miles over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern NH,” NASA officials wrote on X on Sunday (May 31). “The energy released during the rupture is estimated at around 300 tonnes of TNT, which explains the significant noise.”

You might like

(Image credit: CIRA/NOAA/R. Schott/American Meteor Society)

Sometimes meteors are associated with meteor showers or annual clusters of visible meteors associated with Earth passing through the dust stream of a comet or asteroid. The May 30 event was not one of them, NASA noted.

Geostationary lightning mapper GOES-19 captured the meteor’s flash, the Colorado State University-based Cooperative Institute for Atmospheric Research added Saturday in a separate X-article with images of the event.

A bolide exploded over New England in Earth’s atmosphere Saturday afternoon, creating a loud noise that was heard throughout the region. The flash from the explosive meteor was detected by the GLM instrument on the GOES-19 weather satellite. pic.twitter.com/QHP2FWCucZMay 31, 2026

NBC News also captured video footage of the daytime event, noting that the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said security officials received reports of an “audible boom” as well as shaking in the eastern area of ​​the state.

Meanwhile, a video shared with the American Meteor Society by R. Schott shows the fireball streaking across the daytime sky as its boom can be heard:

AMS Event #3867-2026 Captured in Mechanicville, USA – YouTube Watch On

Unfortunately for meteorite hunters, it appears that pieces of space rock all fell into the middle of Cape Cod Bay, NASA’s Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science division said Saturday. “This drop into the water is technically called a ‘fish crusher,’ in very serious scientific terms,” ​​the agency said.

Radar signatures, shown on the map, show the meteor at KBOX (Boston, Massachusetts), TBOS (Boston Logan International Airport), KOKX (Long Island, NY) and KENX (Albany, NY), while officials said they saw another signature from KGYX (Portland, Maine).

“Although all meteorites in this fall landed in water, the water depth at the fall site is 34 m (100 feet),” NASA officials added. “Most meteorites are strongly attracted to a magnet, and these are within range of a 100-foot rope suspended from a boat. In case anyone is interested in such facts.”

Natural meteors come from extraterrestrial rock sources: a space rock about to enter our atmosphere is a meteoroid, the one passing through is a meteor, and the one arriving at the ground is called a meteorite. Most of these events involve very small rocks, including dust grains, although NASA (and increasingly the US Space Force) is always on the lookout for potentially threatening objects from space.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos