Is it a bird? Is it a plane? New Yorkers were surprised by the sound of a loud boom and shaking sensations on Tuesday morning. The likely answer: an out-of-this-world visitor in the form of a fiery meteor that exploded high above midtown Manhattan.
Nasa Meteor Watch estimates that the meteor – essentially a piece of space debris – passed over the city in broad daylight and was “first seen at an altitude of 49 miles above Upper Bay (east of Greenville Yard)”. But the group stressed that this estimate was “crude and uncertain” as it was based on witness reports and no camera or satellite data was currently available.
Fireballs are “exceptionally bright meteors that are spectacular enough to be seen over a very wide area”, Nasa says. Daylight fireballs are very rare.
Nasa said the meteor, traveling at 34,000 mph, “descended at a steep angle of just 18 degrees from vertical, passing over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrating 29 miles above midtown Manhattan”.
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Nasa said military activities in the area could also be responsible for the shaking or surge reported by some residents.
Reports of the unusual sound and shaking also came from southern New Jersey and parts of Queens and Brooklyn, according to NYC Emergency Management (NYCEM).
NYCEM’s Executive Director of Public Information, Aries Dela Cruz, written on X: “Emergency management has not received any reports of damage or injuries related to this event. Monitoring of the situation and communication with our partner agencies continues. For life safety, please call 911, 311 for non-emergencies.”
The American Meteor Society receives hundreds of fireball reports each year.
Robert Lunsford, the American Meteor Society’s fireball report coordinator, said he suspects Tuesday’s fireball was “probably about the size of a beach ball,” according to the local New York outlet. the City.
