A fireball traveling 42,000 miles per hour strewn across the night sky above Vermont Sunday night, creating a spectacular light show. The meteor “fragmented so violently,” it shook buildings across the state and caused a loud surge, NASA said.
NASA said on Facebook that more than 100 eyewitnesses reported information about the meteor in Vermont around 5:38 p.m. It first appeared about 52 miles above Mount Mansfield State Forest and moved 33 miles through the upper atmosphere before burning 33 miles above Beach Hill in Orleans County.
It said the space rock was probably a fragment of an asteroid. It was so intense that it could be heard for miles because it shook houses and cars.
“As the object penetrated deeper into the atmosphere, pressure built up at its front while a partial vacuum formed behind it. About 30 miles above, the pressure difference between front and rear exceeded its structural strength,” NASA Meteor Watch said. “The space rock has violently fragmented and produced a pressure wave that rattles buildings and generates the sound heard by those near the orbit.”
Witnesses also reported tremors on the ground, which NASA attributed to a pressure difference.
“Such a pressure wave can also couple into the ground, which can cause slight ‘tremor’ which can be picked up by seismic instruments in the environment; the wave itself can be detected by infrasound (low frequency sound that can travel long distances) stations, said the space agency.
Three nearby stations reported that the meteor released the energy equivalent of 440 pounds of TNT. Based on its velocity and distance, scientists estimate that the object weighed about 10 kilograms, with a diameter of 6 centimeters.
One witness remarked on Facebook that it sounded like ‘big trucks colliding’, while another one described how he felt the house shaking and screaming a rapid higher pitch.
Another Facebook commenter said they were delighted to witness such a rare event, saying it was “extremely bright and absolutely spectacular!”
“A beautiful firework, courtesy of Mother Nature,” NASA said.