Meteor Explodes Over US With Blast Equivalent to 300 Tons of TNT

A meteor travelling at nearly 75,000 mph exploded high above Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon, unleashing a powerful sonic boom that shook homes, rattled windows and triggered widespread reports of a possible explosion across the northeastern United States and parts of Canada.

The rare daytime fireball was seen by residents from Delaware to Montreal, while people across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and neighbouring areas reported hearing a loud double boom around 2:06 p.m. local time. The shockwave was strong enough to make buildings vibrate, prompting numerous calls to emergency agencies and police departments seeking an explanation.

According to the American Meteor Society, the object measured about three feet wide and entered Earth's atmosphere near the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border, north of Boston. Witnesses described seeing a bright streak across the daytime sky resembling an unusually large shooting star. Fireball Program Monitor Robert Lunsford said the object was significantly larger than a typical meteor fireball.

NASA confirmed the object was a natural meteor and not space debris or a re-entering satellite. Scientists said it fragmented approximately 40 miles above Earth over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire while travelling at extreme speed. The atmospheric explosion released energy equivalent to 300 tons of TNT , producing the thunderous sonic boom heard across the region.

The event was captured by the GOES-19 weather satellite and by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monitoring systems, which detected the burst over the Boston-area region. Experts noted the meteor was not linked to any active meteor shower , making the incident even more unusual.

As reports of shaking spread, several residents submitted observations to the US Geological Survey's “Did You Feel It?” system. However, seismographs recorded no earthquake activity , confirming the tremors were caused entirely by the meteor's atmospheric explosion.

Authorities said there were no reports of injuries, damage or public safety threats. Scientists believe the meteor most likely disintegrated completely before reaching the ground. If any fragments survived, they likely fell into the Atlantic Ocean off the Massachusetts coast.

Videos shared widely on social media captured the sudden double boom, while stunned residents described one of the loudest unexplained sounds they had ever heard. The incident briefly sparked fears of an industrial explosion or seismic event before experts confirmed it was a rare meteor air burst over New England .