Fiery Meteor

A sonic boom occurred over Ohio on March 17, shaking buildings and startling people and pets. The sound was caused by a six-foot meteor exploding in the sky.

Bill Cooke, a NASA spokesperson, confirmed the event to News5 Cleveland. According to Cooke, the meteor was moving at 45,000 miles per hour, “which is fast for a human but slow for a meteor.” It traveled more than 34 miles through the atmosphere before exploding, sending small fragments to the ground. There have been no reports of injuries.

NASA reported that the meteor was about six feet across and weighed about 17,000 pounds. The explosion “unleashed [the] energy of 250 tons of TNT when it fragmented,” Cooke said, causing a massive “pressure wave.” People in other states—including Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia—reported seeing or hearing the meteor.

It looked dramatic as it streaked across the sky. But the event wasn’t all that unusual. About 17,000 meteorites fall to Earth annually, according to a 2020 study published in the journal GeoScienceWorld. Most of them land harmlessly in the ocean.