Boom! Meteor explodes in sky over central New York state

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According to NASA Meteor Watch, a large meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere over central New York between Rochester and Syracuse early Wednesday afternoon. The result was a fiery flash and loud noise that was heard in many parts of the state and in several other states, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

The American Meteor Society said it received at least 44 reports of a fireball from as far away as the Washington, D.C., area and Canada.

The meteor was traveling westward at 56,000 mph and shattered into pieces 22 miles above ground, according to NASA Meteor Watch.

Daylight fireball over upper New York At 12:08 PM Eastern Standard Time, a large meteoroid entered Earth’s atmosphere...

Posted by NASA Meteor Watch on Wednesday, December 2, 2020

The fiery object was bright enough to be shown on the Geostationary Lightning Mapper on the GOES 16 weather satellite, WSYR reported.

The loud noise was likely a sonic boom from the meteor, Robert Lunsford, of the American Meteor Society, told the Syracuse Post-Standard. Lunsford said it was rare to spot a meteor during daylight hours and that most of the rocks burn when they come in contact with the atmosphere.

“This must be a big one,” Lunsford told the newspaper. “It has to be a pretty large size chunk of rock to survive.”

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