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NASA Confirms 7‑Ton Meteoroid Exploded Over Northern Ohio in Daytime Fireball

Officials report no confirmed debris, with any surviving pieces likely small.

Overview

  • The object, about 1.8 meters across and roughly 7 tonnes, entered the atmosphere Tuesday morning over northern Ohio.
  • NASA says it was first detected around 80 km above Lake Erie near Lorain and fragmented over Valley City after traveling more than 55 km.
  • The meteoroid was moving at roughly 72,000 km/h and released energy estimated at about 250 tonnes of TNT in an airburst.
  • Staff at the National Weather Service office in Cleveland reported hearing the explosion and feeling vibrations.
  • The American Meteor Society logged eyewitness reports from multiple states from Wisconsin to Maryland, and experts characterized the event as a natural meteoroid rather than satellite re-entry.