A meteorite passed over the Statue of Liberty on Tuesday morning, breaking up about 30 miles above midtown Manhattan, according to NASA.
The space rock passed through New York’s atmosphere at about 11:15 a.m., around the same time that New York residents reported seeing a flash across the sky and feeling the ground shaking gently beneath their feet.
Twenty people across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut reported seeing a fireball streaking across the sky, with some describing a shooting star that flashed green, yellow and white.
The speed show lasted about 30 seconds and was divided into three parts. An eyewitness wrote: To the American Meteor Society.
NASA’s Meteor Watch satellite estimated that the “daytime fireball” was first spotted about 40 miles above New York Harbor’s Upper Bay, where the Statue of Liberty stands.
Traveling at a speed of 34,000 miles per hour, “the meteorite descended at an angle just 18 degrees from vertical, passing over the Statue of Liberty and disintegrating 29 miles above midtown Manhattan.” National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) he wrote in a Facebook post.
The event did not produce any meteorites, pieces of debris from space that strike the Earth’s surface.
Fortunately, there were no reports of damage or injuries related to the incident, the city’s Office of Emergency Management confirmed.
As for the reported tremors, experts do not believe they have any connection to a meteorite or any other natural phenomenon.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center confirmed reports of shaking in northeastern New Jersey and around Staten Island, New York, but ruled out an earthquake.
“A review of seismic data in the area found no evidence of an earthquake,” the agency said in a statement.
“The USGS does not have direct evidence as to the cause of the shaking. In the past, reports of shaking without an accompanying seismic signal have been attributable to atmospheric causes, such as sonic booms or weather-related phenomena.”
NASA suspects the tremors may be related to reports of military activity in the area.
The shooting star was spotted as New York endured scorching heat on Tuesday.
The temperature reached 100 degrees, but it felt more like 110.
