Meteor thought to have exploded over midtown Manhattan, Nasa says

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? New Yorkers were puzzled by the sound of a loud boom and shaking sensations on Tuesday morning. The probable answer: an out-of-this-world visitor in the shape of a fiery meteor that exploded high over midtown Manhattan.

Nasa Meteor Watch estimates that the meteor – essentially a chunk of space debris – passed over the city in broad daylight and “was first sighted at an altitude of 49 miles above Upper Bay (east of Greenville Yard)”. But the group underscored this estimation is “crude and uncertain” since it was based on witness accounts and there was no camera or satellite data currently available.

Fireballs are “exceptionally bright meteors that are spectacular enough to to be seen over a very wide area”, Nasa says . Daylight fireballs are very rare.

Nasa said the meteor, traveling at 34,000mph, “descended at a steep angle of just 18 degrees from vertical, passing over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrating 29 miles above midtown Manhattan”.

Nasa said nearby military activity could also account for the shaking or boom that some residents reported.

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, wrote on X : “Emergency Management has received no reports of damage or injuries related to this event. Monitoring of the situation and communication with our partner agencies continues. For life safety concerns 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 it suspected Tuesday’s fireball was “probably about the size of a beach ball”, according to the local New York outlet the City .