By Deutsche Welle
A meteor heading toward Earth exploded over the northeastern United States yesterday Saturday and unleashed a series of booms that were heard in the region with a power equivalent to 300 tons of TNT, NASA reported.
Fireball disintegrated over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern Hampshire at 2:06 p.m. local time (6:06 p.m. GMT), said the space agency’s deputy press director, Jennifer Dooren, in a statement.
“This fireball was not associated with any currently active meteor shower.”“But it was a pure object and not the re-entry of space debris or a satellite,” he said.
“It is estimated that the energy released in the disintegration was equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT, which explains the loud booms.”
The meteor was traveling at more than 120,000 kilometers per hour at an altitude of more than 60 kilometers when it disintegrated.
Residents in the area were alarmed by the unexpected noises, and users on social media reported that they were so powerful that some houses shook.
