Several reports emerged from New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area of a loud boom and shaking felt on Tuesday morning around 11 a.m.
The New York City Emergency Management Department confirmed with NASA that a meteor had entered the atmosphere and disintegrated above Manhattan earlier that day.
Preliminary analysis suggests the meteor passed over the Statue of Liberty before breaking apart high above midtown Manhattan. Fortunately, the event produced no meteorites, and Emergency Management received no reports of damage or injuries related to it.
According to the NASA Meteor Watch Facebook page, the meteor descended at a steep angle of 18 degrees from vertical, passing over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrating 29 miles above midtown Manhattan. The fireball was a small meteor, about a foot in diameter, traveling at 38,000 miles per hour.
“It’s not common to see a daylight fireball; typically, meteors are observed at night,” commented a NASA spokesperson.
On social media, people mistook the event for a truck passing by, a falling tree, thunder, an explosion, or even an earthquake.
The cause of the loud boom heard at the time remains unclear. It’s uncertain whether they originated from the meteor itself or from simultaneous military activities in New Jersey.
Alondra Cabrera is the Editorial Assistant at New Jersey Digest. She recently graduated from Montclair State University with a degree in Communication and Media Studies. During her time at school, she discovered her passion for journalism and content creation. In her free time, she loves to create and edit videos for her corgis, Rafi and Toffe, and indulge in culinary adventures with her friends. Alondra also enjoys traveling, cooking, and working out. She is excited to embark on her professional journey in media and looks forward to contributing her skill and creativity to her role here at New Jersey Digest.
