Residents in parts of New York City and New Jersey were startled by a loud boom on Tuesday morning, which NASA officials believe was caused by a daylight fireball meteor.
A daylight fireball is a meteor bright enough to be visible during the day, outshining the sun’s light as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere, according to the American Meteor Society.
NASA’s Meteor Watch team reported that the daylight fireball was observed at 11:17 a.m. ET, as noted in a Facebook update shared Tuesday afternoon.
Tracking the meteor’s path, NASA estimates that it flew at an altitude of 49 miles above Upper Bay near Greenville Yard in Jersey City.
Officials noted that the fireball may have traveled at a speed of 34,000 miles per hour as it passed over the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.
The meteor appeared to disintegrate 29 miles above Midtown Manhattan, according to NASA’s calculations.
Officials clarified that the trajectory estimation is “very crude and uncertain,” based on “a few eyewitness accounts” without camera or satellite data to refine the solution.
No meteorites, which are fragments of meteors, were produced by this event, according to NASA.
Additionally, the agency noted that reports of “military activity in the vicinity” on Tuesday morning could explain the multiple shakings and sounds reported to the media at the time of the fireball sighting.
The loud noise and apparent shaking were reported from southern New Jersey to parts of Queens and Brooklyn, according to NYC Emergency Management (NYCEM).
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Aries Dela Cruz, an official from NYCEM, stated in a post on X Tuesday that the agency “has received no reports of damage or injuries related to this event.”
