A massive meteor hurtled towards Earth and burst into pieces over the northeastern United States last Saturday, releasing an explosion comparable to 300 tons of TNT, as confirmed by NASA.
The phenomenon occurred in northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire shortly after 2pm (1806 GMT), according to Jennifer Dooren, the deputy news chief of the US space agency.
Reports from eyewitnesses in New England and NOAA’s GOES-19 satellite revealed a bright fireball around 2:06 p.m EDT on Saturday. The meteor fragmented at an altitude of 40 miles above northeast MA and southeast NH, resulting in an energy release equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT. The American Meteor Society provided accounts from eyewitnesses.
Some observers expressed doubts about the fireball sighting, with one skeptic questioning the credibility of the eyewitnesses and another noting the inability to see the fireball due to cloud cover but hearing the accompanying noise.
In contrast, some witnesses were astounded by the event, with one individual mentioning seeing it while traveling with a camper and initially mistaking it for a missile or nuclear explosion.
According to the American Meteorological Society, meteors travel at incredibly high speeds, and larger rocks surviving longer in the atmosphere can cause a sonic boom.
It is rare to witness a meteor during daylight, as sunlight typically obscures them, as per National Geographic.
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