A number of tri-state area residents reported feeling a shaking or hearing a loud boom Tuesday morning leading to quite the mystery.
NASA is estimating a meteor passed through the area between 10 a.m. and noon and would account for people saying they saw a fireball in the sky. NASA said simultaneous military activity in the area may account the shaking or boom residents felt.
The reports came on social media shortly after 11 a.m. with some users saying they felt shaking like an earthquake and another saying they thought they heard thunder. Some of the reports included parts of northern New Jersey, Brooklyn and Queens.
The American Meteor Society website does show around 20 fireball reports across New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, with additional reports in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland, during that timeframe.
NASA said as a result of the reports, it was able to come up with a "very crude" determination of the trajectory of the meteor. The fireball was first sighted over the New York Harbor moving 34,000 miles per hour before it descended at a steep angle, NASA said. The space agency said it estimates the meteor passed over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrated 29 miles above midtown Manhattan.
New York City's emergency management department said it was aware of the reports and was not aware of any impacts to the city.
No meteorites were produced by this fireball, according to NASA.
The USGS website is not showing any earthquakes on its "latest earthquakes" maps, which shows recent earth quakes of a 2.5-magntitude or higher. A USGS spokesperson said it received reports of shaking in northeast New Jersey and Staten Island, but "An examination of the seismic data in the area showed no evidence of an earthquake. The USGS has no direct evidence of the source of the shaking."
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NBC New York called the Department of Defense to see if any military aircraft or exercises could have been responsible. A press officer at the Pentagon said they were not tracking anything that could be responsible for the reports. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tells NBC New York it too was not tracking any activity that could account for what residents felt.
NASA said "There are reports of military in the vicinity around the time of the fireball, which could explain the shaking and sounds reported to the media."
The FAA said only a military aircraft could be responsible for any sonic booms and referred NBC New York to the military.
NASA stresses its information is preliminary and not finalized as it continues to gather information and confirm reports.
