On Saturday, a loud explosion was heard by several Boston residents, causing buildings to shake and powerful blasts throughout Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
According to posts shared online, people in areas including Brighton, Somerville, Medford, Melrose, Southborough, and other nearby communities reported hearing the sound nearly simultaneously.
A local on X wrote, “Police are unsure what just happened. No confirmed visible fire or smoke yet.”
A bolide is an exceptionally bright meteor that often explodes in the atmosphere with significant energy.
These objects, which can be anything from solid rocks to frozen masses, heat up when they enter the atmosphere at high speeds.
They are called fireballs if they flash brighter than Venus, and meteors if they release light throughout this process.
Therefore, according to astronomers, bolides are bright fireballs or meteors that explode in the atmosphere before it reaches the ground; superbolides are especially bright examples.
Bolides can produce dramatic flashes, sonic booms, and even fragmentation events visible across large geographic areas.
Some bolides can inflict serious harm, while many break apart without causing any harm.
One noteworthy incident was in Chelyabinsk, Russia, on February 15, 2013, when a bolide detonated with a force equivalent to 500 kilotons of TNT, injuring almost 1,000 people and destroying hundreds of buildings.
