Massive Meteor Explodes Over Northeast with Force of 400+ Pounds of TNT

To hear astronomers talk, you would think that our planet would be constantly riddled with craters and other assorted holes as earth passes through a multitude of clouds of space debris on a yearly basis.  In fact, some have characterized our path through the stars as similar to being within a “shooting gallery”, and warning that a mighty impact may arrive within our lifetime.

And there have been a few fairly spectacular events in recent years, including a daylight fireball and explosion in Russia that broke windows and rattled the Ruskies to their core.

This week it was Vermont’s turn.

A meteor streaked through the night sky over Vermont on Sunday (March 7), creating a spectacular light show and causing Earth-shaking booms as it burned through the atmosphere.

The meteor’s explosive passage through the atmosphere released the equivalent of 440 pounds (200 kilograms) of TNT, suggesting that the meteor was likely 10 pounds (4.5 kg) and 6 inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, according to NASA Meteor Watch.

The space rock smacked into the atmosphere at about 42,000 mph (68,000 kph), according to NASA. It appeared over the northern part of the state as a bright fireball at 5:38 p.m. EST, just before sunset.

Video of the incident has been hard to come by thus far, but one webcam operator did catch a bit of the show:

For anyone who was wondering about the big boom / meteor earlier today in #btv #vermont , I dug through some webcam footage and found this on the WCAX / BTV Airport webcam- watch the upper left. pic.twitter.com/oyVLSoVahP

— Jeremy LaClair (@JeremyLaclair) March 8, 2021

As of this writing, no serious injuries have been reported in the incident.