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NASA confirms exploding meteor caused the sonic boom over Boston

NASA confirms exploding meteor caused the sonic boom over Boston
The Verge Sunday 31 May 2026, 13:44 UTC By Terrence O’Brien 2 min read
Key Points

Meteor caught by the GOES-19 weather satellite breaking up 40 miles above the ground. On Saturday, at around 2:06 pm ET, a meteor streaked over the northeastern US and exploded north of Cape Cod Bay. The fireball was caught on camera by several people, shook houses, and can even be seen clearly in satellite imagery, lighting up the sky.

Meteor caught by the GOES-19 weather satellite breaking up 40 miles above the ground. | Image: CIRA

On Saturday, at around 2:06 pm ET, a meteor streaked over the northeastern US and exploded north of Cape Cod Bay. The fireball was caught on camera by several people, shook houses, and can even be seen clearly in satellite imagery, lighting up the sky.

View this post on Instagram

Some residents initially thought that the shaking and boom may have been an earthquake, but the United States Geological Survey (USGS) denied that, saying that it was a "widely felt sonic boom from a suspected bolide." In a statement posted on X, NASA described the event as a "bright fireball… accompanied by a loud noise."

The meteor was t …

Read the full story at The Verge.

NASA (ORG) Boston Meteor (LOCATION) US (LOCATION) Cape Cod Bay (LOCATION) Instagram (ORG) the United States Geological Survey (LOCATION) USGS (ORG)
Originally published by The Verge Read original →

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