Watch: 75,000 mph meteor explodes over Northeast US, boom so loud residents say their homes shook

The fireball was visible in parts of New England and quickly became a topic of discussion online, especially among people in and around Boston. Many residents initially struggled to identify the source of the loud noise, while others shared videos and testimonies of a bright flash in the sky.

A loud boom and a bright flash reported across the region

According to NASA, the meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere at an extremely high speed before disintegrating over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire.

The US space agency said the fireball disintegrated at approximately 2:06 p.m. local time on Saturday.

NASA’s deputy chief of intelligence, Jennifer Dooren, told AFP the meteor was traveling at about 75,000 mph (more than 120,000 km/h) and disintegrated 40 miles above the ground.

“The energy released in the breakup is estimated to be equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT, which accounts for the loud booms,” she said.

The explosion produced a bright flash and a sonic boom that could be heard throughout the area. Social media users reported that the noise was loud enough to shake buildings and houses.

The meteor is not associated with a satellite or space debris

NASA clarified that the object was a natural meteor and not a return satellite or piece of space debris.

“This fireball was not associated with any currently active meteor shower, but was a natural object and not a return of space debris or a satellite,” Dooren said.

The scientists explained that meteors often enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up before reaching the ground. However, larger objects can create fireballs and sonic booms when they fragment at high altitudes.

Although the explosion released a large amount of energy, it occurred high above the Earth’s surface and caused no impact damage.

Experts recorded the event through satellite data

Weather monitoring satellites also captured the event.

Nick Stewart, a spaceflight meteorologist, pointed to data from NOAA’s GOES-19 satellite shortly after reports of the explosion began appearing online.

“I believe the explosion reports around Boston will be a fairly significant bolide/meteor entering the atmosphere. A very large ‘flash’ detected by GOES-19 GLM that does not correlate with active thunderstorms,” Stewart wrote on X.

In a follow-up post, he added: “The flash density product does show this anomalous ‘flash’ quite characteristic of a bolide/meteor return. East of Boston. This is the likely source of the loud boom/explosion.”

NASA shares event details

NASA later shared more information on social media.

“#MeteorSighting: Eyewitnesses in New England and @NOAA’s GOES-19 satellite reported a bright fireball Saturday May 30 at 2:06 PM EDT accompanied by a loud noise. The meteor appeared to break up 40 miles above NE MA and SE NH. The energy released in the breakup is estimated to be 300 Eye volume, equivalent to about Twit. accounts provided by American Meteor Society.”

The event was also covered by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which described it as a “widely felt sonic boom from a suspected bolide”.

“Unlike earthquakes, which occur at a discrete location on Earth, sonic boom events occur along a linear path in the atmosphere,” the agency said.

Residents are flooding social media with reactions

The incident sparked numerous reactions from residents across the region, many of whom initially believed the loud noise could have been caused by an explosion or thunderstorm.

Several users claimed the boom was strong enough to rattle windows and shake houses, especially in areas around Boston.

Experts noted that when larger meteors explode in the atmosphere, they can generate shock waves that travel long distances and produce sounds reminiscent of thunder or explosions.

Comparison with the Chelyabinsk event in 2013

While the latest meteor created a spectacular display, experts pointed out that it was much smaller than some historical atmospheric explosions.

NASA pointed to the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor over Russia, where a house-sized space rock exploded approximately 14 miles above the ground.

According to NASA, the event released energy equivalent to approximately 440,000 tons of TNT. The resulting shock wave broke windows over a large area and injured more than 1,600 people, most of them from flying glass.

By comparison, Saturday’s meteor released significantly less energy and caused no reported injuries or damage.

Still, the rare fireball captured the public’s attention and offered a dramatic reminder of the natural objects that regularly enter Earth’s atmosphere, most of which go unnoticed as they burn high above the planet.