A meteor exploded over New England Saturday afternoon, creating a daytime fireball and a massive “double boom” that shook local homes.
The American Meteor Society reported the space rock puncture the atmosphere around 2:30 p.m. before disintegrating over the ocean near eastern Massachusetts.
“I have never heard an explosion that loud,” wrote a Boston resident.
A home in Mass. where the explosion was heard. Dave Mulcahey via Storyful“My sister just called [from] Lexington… she heard the boom then her windows rattled,” said another user, noting that the force shook a brand-new house.
Experts say the fireball from the meteor was unusually large.
“It was definitely bigger than a normal fireball, about a yard wide,” said Robert Lunsford of the Fireball Program Monitor at the American Meteor Society.
He added that it was unlikely the meteor hit the ground.
The explosion referenced on an aerial map of New England. NOAA“We would need more information about the trajectory, the speed and other aspects to know for sure if it hit the ground, but if it didn’t burn up, then it would have landed in the ocean,” he continued.
“Most of them do burn up before they hit the ground.”
Several people filed reports with the US Geological Survey registered the shaking with the National Earthquake Information Center, according to an agency spokesperson.
No geological event was recorded on the agency’s seismographs, meaning the shaking was not due to an earthquake.
The phenomenon was observed from Delaware to Montreal.
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