Many witnesses alerted the American Meteor Society that they witnessed a fireball in the sky about 11:17 a.m. Tuesday. A few persons in New York and New Jersey also reported feeling shaky as if they were in an earthquake, while another claimed they heard thunder.

Meteor In The Sky.Photo byRexonUnsplash

According to SpaceX, the asteroid began over New York City and traveled west into New Jersey. The meteor's speed increased to 38,000 mph as well.

The American Meteor Society Reacts On The News

Many witnesses alerted the American Meteor Society that they witnessed a fireball in the sky about 11:17 a.m. Tuesday. A few persons in New York and New Jersey also reported feeling shaky as if they were in an earthquake, while another claimed they heard thunder. Some of the stories described sections of Brooklyn, Queens, and northern New Jersey.

The American Meteor Society website does show that there were about 20 reports of fireballs in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut during that period. There were also reports in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

A Very Crude Guess

At first, NASA said that the reports helped it make a "very crude" guess about the meteor's path. NASA said the fireball came down at a steep angle after being seen going 34,000 miles per hour over New York Harbor.

The space agency believes the asteroid passed over the Statue of Liberty before breaking up 29 miles above midtown Manhattan. Later on Tuesday, after receiving additional eyewitness testimonies, the agency modified its strategy.

NASA Does Not Track Meteors of Small Size

NASA said it doesn't keep track of meteors this small when they are far away from Earth:

so the only time we know about them is when they hit the atmosphere and turn into stars or meteors.

It said that it keeps an eye on asteroids that could hurt people on Earth, but the rocks that are making this fireball "are only about a foot in diameter and can't make it all the way to the ground."

Judith Bergman said he saw something from his office window in Lakewood, NJ.