Bright daylight fireball over New York City, U.S.
A bright daylight fireball disintegrated over New York City at 15:15 UTC (11:15 EDT) on July 16, 2024. Many people reported booms and shaking around this time, but they were probably caused by military exercises in the vicinity.
The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 43 eyewitness reports from Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
According to the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO), this object was first sighted over New York City and moved west over New Jersey at a speed of 61 000 km/h (38 000 mph).
The meteor descended at a steep angle of just 18 degrees from vertical, passing over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrating.
Many residents reported booms and shaking between 10:00 and 12:00 EDT, but it’s still not clear whether this was due to military activity in the vicinity around the time of the fireball. This would explain the multiple shakings and sounds reported to the media.
The size of this object is estimated to be about 30 cm (1 foot). No meteorites were produced by this event, according to MEO.
References:
1 Fireball event 3491-2024 – AMS – July 16, 2024
2 Daylight fireball over New York City this morning (Tuesday, July 16) at 11:17 am EDT – NASA Meteor Watch – July 17, 2024
Featured image: Daylight fireball over New York City. Credit: Mark Kirschner
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