{"id":454925,"date":"2026-06-01T04:31:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T04:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/454925\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T04:31:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T04:31:09","slug":"us-homes-shake-as-meteor-explodes-with-force-of-300-tons-of-tnt-sciencealert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/454925\/","title":{"rendered":"US Homes Shake as Meteor Explodes With Force of 300 Tons of TNT : ScienceAlert"},"content":{"rendered":"

A meteor crashing toward Earth exploded over the northeastern United States on Saturday, NASA said<\/a>, setting off booms that echoed over the region with a blast equivalent to 300 tons of TNT.<\/p>\n

The fireball broke up over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire at 2:06 pm (18:06 GMT), the US space agency’s deputy news chief Jennifer Dooren told AFP in a statement.<\/p>\n

“This fireball was not associated with any currently active meteor shower<\/a>, but it was a natural object and not a re-entry of space debris or a satellite,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The energy released at breakup is estimated to be equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT, which accounts for the loud booms.”<\/p>\n

The flash density product really shows this anomalous “flash” which is pretty distinctive of a bolide\/meteor reentry. east of Boston. This is the likely source of the loud boom\/explosion. pic.twitter.com\/ka5b9KfiQ7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nick Stewart (@NStewWX) May 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The meteor<\/a> was traveling at 75,000 mph (more than 120,000 kph) at an altitude of 40 miles when it broke apart, Dooren said.<\/p>\n

Area residents were alarmed by the unexpected loud booms, with social media users reporting they were so powerful that houses were shaking.<\/p>\n

In 2013, a fireball streaked above Chelyabinsk, Russia.<\/p>\n

\"\"The tail of a meteor that streaked across the sky above Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013. (Alex Alishevskikh\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The house-sized space rock blew apart 14 miles above the ground, releasing a blast equivalent to 440,000 tons of TNT, NASA said.<\/p>\n

Related: Watch: Fireball Captured on Video Streaking Over The US<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n

The explosion blew out windows over 200 square miles (518 square kilometers), injuring more than 1,600 people, mostly due to broken glass.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Agence France-Presse<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t