Meteorologists Reveal What Caused Mysterious Boom That Shook Homes (Video)

A thunderous boom shook homes, rattled buildings, and sent startled residents across New England scrambling for answers Saturday afternoon.

At first, many feared the worst. Calls poured into local newsrooms. Social media lit up with reports of a mysterious explosion. People from Boston to Cambridge, Medford, Cape Cod, and even parts of Rhode Island described hearing the same jarring sound rip through the afternoon air.

But weather experts now believe the frightening blast did not come from a storm, a crash, or an explosion on the ground.

It likely came from space.

Meteorologists say the boom was probably caused by a meteor that exploded as it tore through Earth’s atmosphere just east of Boston, creating a powerful sonic boom that echoed across a wide stretch of New England.

The sound was so strong that residents in multiple communities reported feeling their homes shake.

WBZ-TV chief meteorologist Eric Fisher said satellite data helped confirm what had happened. In an Instagram post, Fisher wrote that the noise “was a meteor that exploded” just off the South Shore, outside of Boston.

“We can tell because of satellite data,” he added.

The key clue came from NOAA’s GOES-East satellite, which detected flashes consistent with a bolide meteor. A bolide is an especially bright meteor that can explode in the atmosphere, producing both a flash of light and a loud boom.

No thunderstorms were reported in the area at the time, making a weather-related explanation unlikely. Officials also have not reported any debris from the suspected meteor.

For many residents, the sudden blast sparked confusion and concern. Some thought it sounded like an explosion. Others wondered whether something had crashed. But the evidence quickly pointed skyward.

While bolide meteors are not unheard of, they can be dramatic when they occur close enough for people on the ground to hear or feel them. As the space rock plunges into the atmosphere at tremendous speed, it heats up rapidly and can burst apart with enough force to create a sonic boom.

That appears to be what New England experienced Saturday.

So far, no injuries or damage have been reported. But the strange afternoon blast left thousands of people with the same question: What on earth was that?

According to experts, the answer may be that it was never on Earth at all.