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On Saturday, at around 2:06 pm ET, a meteor streaked over the northeastern US and exploded north of Cape Cod Bay. The fireball was caught<\/a> on camera<\/a> by several people<\/a>, shook houses, and can even be seen clearly in satellite imagery<\/a>, lighting up the sky.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Some residents initially thought that the shaking and boom may have been an earthquake, but the United States Geological Survey (USGS) denied that<\/a>, saying that it was a \u201cwidely felt sonic boom from a suspected bolide.\u201d In a statement posted on X, NASA described<\/a> the event as a \u201cbright fireball\u2026 accompanied by a loud noise.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The meteor was traveling at roughly 75,000 miles per hour when, according to NASA, it \u201cappears 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n NASA\u2019s deputy news chief Jennifer Dooren also told AFP<\/a><\/em> in a statement that, \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n