A loud boom shook residents of New York City and New Jersey on the morning of July 16. Officials from NASA’s Meteor Watch say this was likely due to a daylight fireball meteor.
Some residents shared their experiences on social media, with some reporting what sounded like an explosion, and others reporting rattling windows in their homes.
The daylight fireball was observed shortly after 11 a.m. ET, according to NASA, which posted an update about the event on Facebook that afternoon.
“Daylight fireball over New York City this morning (Tuesday, July 16) at 11:17 a.m. EDT. Local media are reporting the sighting of a fireball and booms and shakings between 10 a.m. and noon Eastern Daylight Time today,” the post states.
NASA Meteor Watch said the American Meteor Society had received more reports, which it posted on its website.
“There have also been a few reports filed on the American Meteor Society website, and that information has permitted a very crude determination of the trajectory of the meteor,” NASA stated.
The agency said the conclusion is based on a number of eyewitness accounts—in the absence of any “camera or satellite data currently available to refine the solution.”
According to NASA estimates, the fireball flew at an altitude of around 50 miles above Upper Bay near Greenville Yard in Jersey City. NASA further determined that the fireball was traveling at a speed of around 34,000 miles per hour.
“Moving a bit east of North at 34,000 miles per hour, the meteor descended at a steep angle of just 18 degrees from vertical, passing over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrating 29 miles above midtown Manhattan,” the agency reported.
NASA said the event did not produce any fragments, or meteorites.
Furthermore, the agency noted reports of military activity in the vicinity at approximately the same time as the incident. The agency said that this activity was a likely contributor to the reported booming sounds and shaking felt by residents in southern New Jersey as well as parts of Queens and Brooklyn, as reported by New York City’s Emergency Management (NYCEM).
A NYCEM official posted on X on July 16 that no injuries or damage had resulted from the event. He said that NYCEM is monitoring the situation and is collaborating with its partner agencies.
According to the American Meteor Society, a fireball is an alternative term for “a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4″—which is a similar magnitude of brightness to that of the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky.