NASA Says Natural Meteor Broke Up Over Northeastern United States

BOSTON, United States — NASA said a natural meteor about 1 meter wide broke apart in the atmosphere over the northeastern United States on Thursday at 14.06 local time, near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border north of Boston. The agency said the meteor was traveling at about 120,000 kilometers per hour and released energy equal to 300 tons of TNT as it disintegrated. NASA said the object was natural in origin and was not space debris or a piece of a satellite. The U.S. Geological Survey said the event was not an earthquake, adding that the tremor people felt came from the sonic boom created as the meteor broke apart. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said it had received no emergency calls related to the event and that there was no threat to public safety.