Meteor explodes over Massachusetts -- What just happened?

A fireball tore through the Northeast sky over Massachusetts at about 2 p.m. Saturday, spawning a sonic boom that rattled windows and drew residents onto porches from Boston to Ipswich and as far south as Johnston, Rhode Island. NOAA satellite data yielded a signature consistent with a meteor, and NASA later confirmed the object fragmented roughly 40 miles above northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire, releasing energy equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT. Meteors typically travel 25,000–160,000 mph; larger fragments surviving into the lower atmosphere create ground-level shock waves that can be traced along the flight path. If the trajectory held, the meteor likely splashed down off the Massachusetts coast, making recovery virtually impossible, though video footage and eyewitness reports offer clues about size, composition, and origin. The event adds to ongoing scientific interest in Earth's celestial debris and the dynamics of atmospheric entry.