NewsUS NewsNasaNASA has now confirmed a meteor was travelling at 75,000 miles per hour (more than 120,000 km/h) at an altitude of 40 miles when it broke apart on Saturday May 3002:55, 31 May 2026A meteor crashing toward Earth exploded over the north-eastern United States on Saturday with a blast equivalent to 300 tons of TNT., NASA said.‌The fireball broke up over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire just after 2pm (1806 GMT), the US space agency’s deputy news chief Jennifer Dooren told AFP in a statement.‌NASA Space Alerts tweeted: "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 released at breakup is estimated to be equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT, which accounts for the loud noise. Eyewitness accounts supplied by the American Meteor Society."‌Content cannot be displayed without consentSome X users questioned the fireball sighting, one said: "There are plenty of people who heard and felt it. Pretty skeptical anyone actually saw a bright fireball. Who are these eyewitnesses? Any videos?" Another said: "Due to the clouds, not able see fire ball, but sure as heck heard it."‌While others were in total shock and wrote: "I saw this while traveling with a camper. I thought it was a missle/nuke."The American Meteorological Society says on its website that meteors move at extremely high speeds, and larger rocks that survive longer in the atmosphere can sometimes produce a sonic boom.Witnessing a meteor during the day is extremely rare. While thousands of meteors enter Earth’s atmosphere daily, sunlight usually hides them, according to National Geographic.Article continues belowThis is a Breaking News story. You’ll be more likely to see our stories when any big news breaks in future by simply by clicking this link. You can also join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News, Flipboard, Apple News, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage.Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌NOAANasaMeteors