> ScienceA loud double boom that rattled buildings across Massachusetts and Rhode Island on the afternoon of May 30 was caused by a meteor breaking apart in the atmosphere, NASA confirmed.
NASA identified it using eyewitness reports submitted to the American Meteor Society and satellite imagery from NOAA's GOES-19, which captured the flash.
The energy released at breakup was equivalent to around 230 tons of TNT, which explains the sonic boom.
The energy… — NASA Space Alerts (@NASASpaceAlerts) May 30, 2026UPDATE: @NASA can confirm a fireball over New England at 2:06 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
The May 30 fireball was also not connected to any known meteor shower.
> Science
A loud double boom that rattled buildings across Massachusetts and Rhode Island on the afternoon of May 30 was caused by a meteor breaking apart in the atmosphere, NASA confirmed. The event happened at 2:06 p.m. EDT and was reported across northeastern states, with many residents describing what sounded like an explosion.
NASA identified it using eyewitness reports submitted to the American Meteor Society and satellite imagery from NOAA's GOES-19, which captured the flash.
The rock was roughly 5 feet across, weighed 5.6 metric tons, and was traveling at approximately 42,000 miles per hour when it entered the atmosphere. It traveled 26 miles from northwest to southeast before breaking apart at an altitude of 31 miles over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire.
The energy released at breakup was equivalent to around 230 tons of TNT, which explains the sonic boom.
#MeteorSighting: Eyewitnesses in New England and @NOAA’s GOES-19 satellite reported a bright fireball on Saturday, May 30, at 2:06 p.m EDT accompanied by a loud noise. The meteor appears to have fragmented at an altitude of 40 miles over northeast MA and southeast NH. The energy… — NASA Space Alerts (@NASASpaceAlerts) May 30, 2026
UPDATE: @NASA can confirm a fireball over New England at 2:06 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 30, 2026. The meteor was about 5 feet (1.6 meters) in diameter with a mass of 5.6 metric tons and entered Earth’s atmosphere at roughly 42,000 mph.
The meteor traveled through the atmosphere… https://t.co/GLeF68Q7NG — NASA Space Alerts (@NASASpaceAlerts) June 1, 2026
Fragments fell into Cape Cod Bay, putting them out of reach for anyone hoping to recover meteorites.
Here’s what NASA responded with to users asking why the space agency did not issue a warning or was it unaware.
NASA's planetary defense network watches the skies for objects of all sizes and specifically is tasked with finding objects 140 meters and larger, which can cause widespread damage. Meteoroids, like this one over New England, are much, much smaller. Almost impossible to track in space, they do not survive passage through our atmosphere intact and do not pose a hazard.
When one user asked
Are meteors usually this active? This is the second meteor impact this year.
NASA replied.
Meteors are actually quite common. They occur all the time, and fireballs can be seen on any given night. But they often occur over the ocean or unpopulated areas with no witnesses, or during the daytime, making them difficult to spot.
The May 30 fireball was also not connected to any known meteor shower. It was a random piece of space rock, undetected until it announced itself over one of the most densely populated corridors in the United States.
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Cover: NOAA
