A powerful celestial explosion rattled the northeastern United States on Saturday afternoon when an incoming meteor detonated in the atmosphere, unleashing a blast wave that shook residential homes, AFP reported.
According to NASA, the violent breakup generated an acoustic boom heard across multiple states, carrying an energy yield comparable to 300 tons of conventional explosives.
The dramatic atmospheric event unfolded shortly after 2:00 p.m. local time above a corridor stretching across northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire.
Jennifer Dooren, the deputy news chief for the American space agency, clarified the origin of the event in an official statement to AFP.
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 explained. “The energy released at breakup is estimated to be equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT, which accounts for the loud booms."
Before disintegrating, the cosmic interloper was screaming through the upper atmosphere at a velocity of 75,000 miles per hour. The detonation occurred at an altitude of roughly 40 miles above the Earth's surface.
The sudden, invisible blast triggered widespread confusion and alarm among local communities. Scores of residents took to social media networks to report sudden, thunderous detonations, with numerous accounts noting that the shockwave was intense enough to physically vibrate their houses.