A meteor hurtling toward Earth broke apart over the northeastern United States on Saturday afternoon, producing a series of powerful sonic booms that rattled buildings across a wide stretch of the region. NASA confirmed the fireball disintegrated at approximately 2:06 p.m. local time above the border area between northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire, just north of Boston.

The space agency estimated that the energy released at the moment of breakup was equivalent to roughly 300 tonnes of TNT, which accounts for the dramatic booms reported across the area. According to NASA, the object was travelling at around 75,000 mph (approximately 120,000 kph) when it broke apart at an altitude of about 40 miles (64 kilometres). Officials were quick to clarify that the meteor was a naturally occurring object and not a re-entering satellite or piece of space debris, and that it was unconnected to any currently active meteor shower.

The American Meteor Society described the object as approximately one yard (roughly one metre) wide — large enough to appear as a daytime fireball visible to the naked eye. The organisation received dozens of reports from witnesses stretching from Delaware in the south to Montreal, Canada, in the north, with people describing having heard a double boom, felt the ground shake, or seen a bright streak across the sky. The shaking was significant enough that several people filed reports with the US Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center. Officials from the USGS confirmed they received multiple accounts of ground vibration connected to the event.

Reports on social media indicated that the booms were powerful enough to shake houses across Massachusetts and neighbouring Rhode Island, causing widespread alarm before authorities could identify the cause. The American Meteor Society noted it was unlikely that any significant fragments survived to reach the ground.

Events like this, while startling, are not uncommon on a global scale. Small meteors capable of producing sonic booms enter Earth's atmosphere regularly, though most go unnoticed over oceans or uninhabited areas. Saturday's event is a reminder of how even relatively small natural objects — less than a metre across — can release enormous energy when they collide with the atmosphere at extreme velocity.