NASA Explains Loud Boom Over Boston as Fireball

Residents along the East Coast were startled twice in one week by loud booms. The latest incident happened in Boston on Saturday afternoon. According to NASA, the noise resulted from a fireball traveling at 75,000 miles per hour, burning through the atmosphere.

As the meteor entered the earth’s atmosphere, it reached a critical point 40 miles above the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border, where it disintegrated. NASA reported that the energy released when the rock broke apart equated to approximately 300 tons of TNT, creating the notable booms.

This incident took place outside of any scheduled meteor shower. Before NASA provided an explanation, residents in Boston and Rhode Island speculated online about potential causes, ranging from alien invasions to nuclear attacks.

Rich Sauro, a resident of Medfield, Massachusetts, was resting in his second-floor bedroom when he heard the unfamiliar and loud noise.

NASA mentioned that a similar event occurred in South Carolina earlier in the week, but the cause of that boom remains unidentified.