Residents across eastern Massachusetts experienced a startling event on Saturday afternoon when a loud boom echoed through the region. The sound, which led to a flood of calls to local police departments, was confirmed by experts to be a meteor entering and exploding in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Meteor’s Path and Impact

NBC Boston meteorologists Pamela Gardner and Pete Bouchard confirmed the boom was caused by a meteorite. The American Meteor Society reported that the meteor, approximately three feet wide, entered the atmosphere near the New Hampshire-Massachusetts border. Robert Lunsford, a fire program monitor, noted that the society received numerous reports from as far as Delaware to Montreal, with witnesses describing a double boom, ground shaking, or seeing a fireball.

NASA confirmed the event, stating that the fireball traveled at roughly 75,000 mph and fragmented at an altitude of 40 miles above the region. The energy released was equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT, explaining the loud booms heard across the area.

Community Response

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security addressed the incident on social media, reassuring the public that there were no emergency situations related to the boom. Local police and fire departments, including those in Watertown, Coventry, Cambridge, and Newbury, received numerous calls from concerned residents. Many described the experience as a ‘sonic-wave’ or ‘explosion’ sensation, but no damage or injuries were reported.

Dr. John Ebel of Boston College’s Weston Observatory explained that the meteor was not visible due to cloud cover, but under clear skies, it would have been seen as a streak of light. The U.S. Geological Survey also received reports of shaking but confirmed it was not an earthquake, attributing the event to the meteor’s sonic boom.

Original reporting: NBC6 Miami — read the source article.