Photo: Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science/NASA
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — There's a very good chance that you heard a loud boom this past Saturday. While the public was uncertain of what caused the sound, we now have confirmation from local meteorologists and NASA that it was a meteor entering the atmosphere.
NASA confirmed that the meteor entered the atmosphere above Boston and exploded 40 miles in the air, creating a sonic boom that generated the loud noise an released energy that is equivalent to 300 tons of dynamite. They also reported that at least a part of the rock landed in the middle of Cape Cod Bay (making it a meteorite).
WBZ-TV meteorologist Jacob Wycoff explained that while such a boom happening in as densely populated an area as Boston is unique, this isn't even the first report of a meteor flying towards earth this year. He said that their were a few cases back in March located in Ohio and Texas, the former of which had a sonic boom that was reported as a meteor and the latter report even included a piece of the rock that entered into someone's home. There was even a report from a few days ago from South Carolina.
Wycoff also noted that these increase in reports lately isn't because these events are happening more frequently, but that with everyone having the ability to record with their phones, these events are much easier to report.
WBZ NewsRadio's Jeromey Russ (@JeromeyRuss) reports.