New Yorkers were baffled after seeing a big fireball soaring over the New York City skyline on July 16.
Along with people feeling like the ground was “shaking” and hearing loud noises, witnesses seem to have beat the most advanced institutions to reporting the phenomenon. According to NASA, a meteor was not even on their radar when residents saw the fireball in the sky.
A Fireball in New York
Witnesses said that they saw a fireball, heard “booms” and felt “shakings” between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., according to NASA.
NASA and the local authorities have now confirmed that a small meteor is probably responsible for the fireball. Residents in both New York and New Jersey reported having seen the meteor as it travelled west. However, it is not clear if the booms were related to the meteor or not.
The Meteor Was Travelling West
NASA later released a statement confirming the meteor was first detected about 49 miles above Upper Bay and New York Harbor.
The fireball then moved west toward New Jersey at a staggering 38,000 miles per hour. It then passed over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrating. By the time the meteor had fallen apart, it was 29 miles above midtown Manhattan.
A Sonic Boom in New Jersey
For residents in New York and New Jersey, it was an ordinary day. New Jersey resident and UK native, Steve Bradley, said that he heard a sonic boom after taking his son to camp.
“Suddenly there’s a very loud sound in the sky. I think about 20% of people in England believe me right now. But I’m glad I have NASA backing me up that this is a real thing,” Bradley told FOX 5 New York.
Witnesses Were Left Wondering
While the meteor was traveling at incomprehensible speeds, it stopped New Yorkers and New Jerseyans in their tracks to make sense of what they were witnessing.
Judah Bergman saw the meteor from his office in Lakewood, New Jersey. He told WABC: “It was long and really, really fast. It looked like a flaming, long rod or something on fire and flying through the sky.”
NASA Did Not Catch the Meteor in Time
The meteor’s appearance came as a surprise to both residents and scientists alike. According to NASA, a meteor was not even on their radar until residents in New York and New Jersey had witnessed it.
At this point in time, it remains unclear if the “booms” came from the meteor as they could have been due to military operations that were taking place at the same time in New Jersey.
How Bright Is a Fireball?
While this was a rare weather event, fireballs do burn exceedingly bright, according to astronomer Joe Rayo.
Rayo said told Fox 5 New York: “[A fireball] is about 800 times brighter than a full moon, certainly bright enough to be visible in the daytime. It was visible for about three or four seconds. So, I think this was really an unusually large piece of cosmic debris that came through the atmosphere.”
Daytime Fireballs Are Rare
A spokesman for NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office, Bill Cooke, told WABC-TV that this weather event was out of the ordinary.
“Something when it’s moving that fast, it heats up. You expect to see meteors at night, not during the day, so this was a rare daylight fireball,” Cooke said. NASA also said that fireballs are “exceptionally bright meteors that are spectacular enough to be seen over a very wide area.”
Out of NASA’s Control
Some might question why witnesses across the two states beat NASA to this meteor. However, NASA is unable to monitor everything in the atmosphere.
NASA said in a statement: “We do not (actually cannot) track things this small at a significant distance from the Earth, so the only time we know about them is when they hit the atmosphere and generate a meteor or a fireball.”
Some Witnesses Were Nonplussed
While many were taken aback from witnessing the meteor hurtling toward Manhattan, some approached the phenomenon with a more relaxed attitude.
Dina Tang, a private chef, took particular enjoyment from just how rare this sort of weather event is. Tang said: “There’s something special about it. You forget about these incredible moments in life, when so much else is going on.”
The Meteor Would Not Have Been Dangerous
This fireball did not show up on NASA’s radar because it did not run the risk of harming anyone. NYCEM’s executive director of public information confirmed that there have been no reported damages or injuries because of the meteor.
NASA said in its statement: “We do keep track of asteroids that are capable of posing a danger to us Earth dwellers.” This meteor was “incapable of surviving all the way to the ground.”
An Asteroid the Size of a Beach Ball
The sight of a fireball barreling toward Earth might seem scary, but this meteor was unlikely to cause any damage at all.
Robert Lunsford, fireball report coordinator at the American Meteor Society, estimated the meteor was approximately the “size of a beach ball.” Lunsford said any shards from the asteroid “may have put a dent in somebody’s car. I wouldn’t worry and buy a helmet for when you go outside.”
