Meteor may be responsible for loud boom heard in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens

Could a meteor be the cause of a loud boom that was heard in parts of New York City and northern New Jersey?

New York City officials began checking out reports in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens of a loud noise heard Tuesday morning. There were also similar reports in New Jersey.

New York City Emergency Management Department received an update from NASA, who estimated that a meteor entered the atmosphere and disintegrated above the New York City metropolitan area earlier on Tuesday.

Preliminary analysis indicates the meteor passed over the Statue of Liberty before fragmenting high above midtown Manhattan. No meteorites were produced by the event.

Emergency Management says they received no reports of damage or injuries related to this event.

The American Meteor Society of amateur spotters listed up to 20 possible sightings between 11:16 and 11:20 a.m.

"Based on this data, we estimate that the fireball was first sighted at an altitude of 49 miles above Upper Bay (east of Greenville Yard). Moving a bit east of north at 34,000 miles per hour, the meteor descended at a steep angle of 18 degrees from vertical, passing over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrating 29 miles above midtown Manhattan," said Bill Cooke, lead for NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office.

Chief Meteorologist Lee Goldberg said the heat and high temperatures could have helped the sound travel.

There was a tiny inversion -- where temperature increases with height -- on Tuesday morning which may have helped the sound travel further. Sound waves do in fact travel faster in warm air than in cold air, which can make sound louder.

Air molecules at higher temperatures have more energy and vibrate faster, allowing sound waves to move more quickly.

The USGS released a statement saying that there is no evidence of an earthquake, despite the shaking that many in the area felt:

"The USGS National Earthquake Information Center received reports of shaking in the northeast New Jersey and Staten Island, New York area. An examination of the seismic data in the area showed no evidence of an earthquake. The USGS has no direct evidence of the source of the shaking. Past reports of shaking with no associated seismic signal have had atmospheric origins such as sonic booms or weather-related phenomena."

----------

* Get Eyewitness News Delivered

* More New York City news

* Send us a news tip

* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts

* Follow us on YouTube

Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News

Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.