Daylight Fireball Wows New Yorkers: Meteor Soars Over Statue of Liberty! (Watch Videos)

On Tuesday morning, 16 July, New Yorkers felt the ground shaking, assuming an earthquake had occurred somewhere around New Jersey and New York. Later, a meteor flew over the Statue of Liberty before breaking apart around 30 miles above Midtown Manhattan.

Meteor Lights Up NYC Sky

The daylight fireball entered the atmosphere over New York City at approximately 11:15 a.m. At the same time, several residents claimed a fiery flash across the sky and a gentle land shaking underfoot.

According to the New York Times, twenty people from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut witnessed the daylight fireball streaking across the sky. One more observer noted it glowed in green, yellow, and white. The spectacle lasted around 30 seconds, and then the meteor broke into three pieces.

Earthquake, meteor or military activities?

At first, NASA didn’t exclude the possibility, that possibility that the shaking was connected to reports of military activity in the area.

“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,” NASA stated.

The US Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center confirmed it got reports of shaking in northeastern New Jersey and Staten Island, New York, but ruled out the possibility of an earthquake.

“An examination of the seismic data showed no signs of an earthquake,” they stated.

Nasa’s Meteor Watch estimates that the ‘daylight fireball’ was first seen about 40 miles above Upper Bay, near where the Statue of Liberty is located.

“Moving at a rate of 34,000 miles per hour, “the meteor descended at a steep angle of just 18 degrees from vertical, passing over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrating 29 miles above midtown Manhattan,” NASA wrote on Facebook.

However, no meteorites or debris from space reached the Earth’s surface during the event. Additionally, the city’s Office of Emergency Management confirmed there were no reports of damage or injuries.

NASA Confirms a Meteor Explosion Over NYC

Later, they provided an update on the daylight fireball. NASA stated that they’ve received many more eyewitness reports, double the previous amount, which have significantly changed the meteor’s trajectory. It is now believed to have originated over New York City and moved west into New Jersey, with its speed increasing to 38,000 miles per hour.

NASA clarified that while they monitor asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth, smaller meteors like the one that caused this fireball, about a foot in diameter, are not tracked in advance, as they typically do not survive the journey to the ground. They only become known when they enter the atmosphere and create a fireball.