A fireball traveling at 42,000 miles per hour spread across the night sky over Vermont on Sunday night, creating a spectacular light show. The meteorite “fragmented so violently,” shook buildings across the state and produced a sharp boom, NASA said.
NASA told Facebook that more than 100 eyewitnesses reported details of the meteor in Vermont around 5:38 p.m. It first appeared about 52 miles above Mount Mansfield State Forest, moving 33 miles through the upper atmosphere, before burning 33 miles above Beach Hill in Orleans County.
The space rock was said to be probably a fragment of an asteroid. It was so intense that it could be heard for miles as it shook houses and cars.
“As the object penetrated deeper into the atmosphere, pressure accumulated in the front while a partial void formed in the rear. At about 30 kilometers, the pressure difference between the front and rear it exceeded its structural strength, “NASA’s Meteor Watch said. “The space rock fragmented violently, producing a pressure wave that shook the buildings and generated the sound that those close to the trajectory could hear.”
Witnesses also reported tremors on the ground, which NASA attributed to a pressure difference.
“This pressure wave can also be attached to the ground, causing minor” tremors “that can be picked up by seismic instruments in the area; the wave itself can be detected by infrasound stations (low frequency sound that can travel long distances ), “the space agency said.
Three nearby stations reported that the meteor released the energy equivalent of 440 pounds of TNT. Depending on its speed and distance, scientists estimate that the object weighed about 10 pounds, with a diameter of 6 inches.
One witness noted on Facebook that it sounded like “big trucks crashing,” while another described hearing the house tremble and hearing a “quick cry from higher chest.”
Another Facebook commenter said they were thrilled to witness such a rare event, saying it was “extremely bright and absolutely spectacular!”
“A beautiful firework, courtesy of Mother Nature,” NASA said.