A fireball traveling at 42,000 miles per hour shot across the night sky over Vermont on Sunday evening, creating a spectacular light show. The meteor “shredded so violently,” it shook buildings across the state, causing a loud thump, NASA said.
NASA said on Facebook that more than 100 eyewitnesses reported details of the meteor in Vermont at around 5:38 PM ET. It first appeared about 52 miles above Mount Mansfield State Forest, moving 33 miles through the upper atmosphere, before burning up 53 miles above Beach Hill, in Orleans County.
It said the space rock was likely a fragment of an asteroid. It was so intense it could be heard for miles, as it shook houses and cars.
“As the object penetrated deeper into the atmosphere, the pressure built up in the front as a partial vacuum formed. About 30 miles higher, the differential pressure between the front and rear was greater than the structural strength,” said NASA Meteor Watch . “The space rock violently disintegrated, producing a pressure wave that rattled buildings and produced the sound heard by those near the trajectory.”
Witnesses also reported tremors on the ground that NASA attributed to a pressure differential.
Such a pressure wave can also enter the ground and create small ‘vibrations’ that can be picked up by seismic instruments in the area; the wave itself can be detected by infrasound (low-frequency sound that can travel great distances) stations, ‘the space agency said.
Three nearby stations reported that the meteor released the energy equivalent of 440 pounds of TNT. Based 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 how the house shook and heard a “fast-pitched scream.”
Another Facebook commenter said they were thrilled to witness such a rare event, saying it was “extraordinarily bright and absolutely spectacular!”
“Nice little fireworks, courtesy of Mother Nature,” NASA said.