Daylight meteor airburst releases energy equal to about 300 tons of TNT over New England
A meteor traveling about 120 700 km/h (75 000 mph) fragmented high above northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire at 18:06 UTC (14:06 EDT) on May 30, 2026, releasing energy equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT and producing a loud boom reported across New England, according to NASA.
GOES-19 GLM detection of the meteor airburst over southeastern Massachusetts at about 18:06 UTC (14:06 EDT) on May 30, 2026. Credit: NOAA/GOES-East, RAMMB/CIRA, The Watchers
Eyewitness reports and NOAA GOES-19 satellite data placed the fireball high over eastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire, breaking apart at an altitude of about 64 km (40 miles). At that height, the meteor’s breakup did not require a confirmed surface impact to produce effects at ground level.
The supersonic boom reported across New England was consistent with a meteor airburst, a rapid fragmentation event caused by heating and increasing atmospheric pressure during entry. Because the object was traveling at supersonic speed, its breakup produced shock waves capable of reaching the surface as sharp reports and brief vibrations, explaining why some witnesses described the event as both a loud explosion and shaking.
The American Meteor Society (AMS) received 49 witness reports from Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Ontario, Québec, and Vermont.
Many reports submitted to AMS described the object as clearly visible despite daylight. A witness in Hudson Falls, New York, said the fireball was “very easily visible in full sunlight,” while a witness in Stowe, Vermont, reported that the “falling fire” stood out against a sunny, clear sky. A report from Alexandria, Ontario, also described the fireball as visible on a bright sunny day.
“Observed moving SW to SE. Despite it being daytime, it was visible as a smoldering/glowing ball which was far brighter and far faster than any possible aircraft,” a witness in Campton, New Hampshire, reported.
Some reports included descriptions of fragmentation, flashes, and short-lived trains. Witnesses in Hudson Falls, New York, Laurel, Delaware, and Beach Haven, New Jersey, reported apparent fragmentation or material separating from the fireball.
A witness in Cobleskill, New York, described a terminal flash almost as bright as a welding flash.
Reports from Starks, Maine, Concord, Vermont, Woodstock, New Hampshire, Baltimore, Maryland, and the New York City area described smoke or glowing trains lasting from about 1 to 9 seconds.
The strongest sound-related reports came from Middleton, Massachusetts, where the observer said she did not see the fireball but heard a sound from above that resembled a sonic boom rather than thunder. The same report described two additional booms before silence.
References:
1 Fireball report 3867-2026 – AMS – Accessed May 31, 2026
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