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Meteor Explodes Off Coast of Massachusetts Causing Loud Boom
Confirmed
In Short: A meteor exploded off the coast of Massachusetts, causing a loud boom heard throughout the state, according to CBS News.
A meteor exploded off the coast of Massachusetts, causing a loud boom heard throughout the state, according to CBS News. The explosion, which occurred at 2:11 p.m. local time, was equivalent to about 230 tons of TNT, as reported by NASA.
Preliminary reports from the American Meteor Society indicate that dozens of people across the Northeast witnessed the fireball around 2 p.m., and satellite lightning data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the meteor's entry into the atmosphere at the same time the boom was reported.
The meteor, approximately 5 feet in diameter with a mass of 5.6 metric tons, entered Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 42,000 mph, according to NASA. The loud noise was caused by air compression and the breaking apart of the meteor, as explained by Shauna Edson, an astronomy educator for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
While it is unlikely that any pieces of the meteor would be found if it landed off the coast of Massachusetts, due to the vast majority of meteorites landing in the ocean, the phenomenon highlights the importance of meteors in providing information about the solar system, as Edson noted.
Background
Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to its south, New Hampshire and Vermont to its north, and New York to its west.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Updated on: June 1, 2026 / 5:02 PM EDT / CBS Boston A meteor exploded off the coast of Massachusetts, causing a loud boom that could be heard throughout the state Saturday afternoon, according to WBZ-TV chief…
- NASA said the energy released when the meteor broke up was equivalent to about 230 tons of TNT.
- According to preliminary reports submitted to the American Meteor Society, dozens of people across the Northeast reported seeing the fireball around 2 p.m.
- Satellite lightning data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed a signature consistent with a meteor around the same time the boom was reported.
- The data also showed that the meteor probably entered the atmosphere over the South Shore near Boston.
- "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," NASA said in a statement.
- "What you hear is the air compression of it moving really fast, creating those pressure waves, and occasionally sometimes you're also hearing the stone itself break apart from the forces that it's going through,"…
- Edson said that if it landed off the coast of Massachusetts, it would be unlikely that any pieces of it would be found.