Meteor explodes over US with blast equivalent to 300 tonnes of TNT

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A meteor crashing toward Earth exploded over the northeastern United States on Saturday, Nasa said, setting off booms that echoed over the region with a blast equivalent to 300 tonnes of TNT.

The fireball broke up over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire at 2:06pm (11:06pm PKT), the US space agency’s deputy news chief Jennifer Dooren told AFP in a statement.

“This fireball was not associated with any currently active meteor shower, but it was a natural object and not a re-entry of space debris or a satellite,” she said.

“The energy released at breakup is estimated to be equivalent to about 300 tonnes of TNT, which accounts for the loud booms.”