On Saturday afternoon, a meteor traveling at tens of thousands of miles per hour caused a loud explosion and ground shaking that were felt throughout Massachusetts.
NASA confirmed that a bolide (a bright meteor) passed over the state at 2:06 p.m., traveling at about 75,000 mph and disintegrating, releasing the equivalent of about 300 tons of TNT.
«"It appears to have broken up into fragments at an altitude of 40 miles over extreme northeastern Massachusetts/southeastern New Hampshire," NASA said in a statement.
NASA said the bolide was not associated with an active meteor shower, describing the phenomenon as "a natural object and not the re-entry of space debris or a satellite.".
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported that public safety officials received reports of an "audible explosion" and tremors in the eastern part of the state. The agency stated that no police or fire departments were called in response to these reports.
The US Geological Survey described the event as "a widely felt sonic boom, presumably caused by a bolide.".
«"Unlike earthquakes, which occur at isolated points on Earth, sonic booms occur along a linear trajectory in the atmosphere," the report says.
According to the US Geological Survey, there was no earthquake and no other ground effects were observed.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com.