Meteor Over North Carolina Packed 10 Tons of TNT Force

A fireball blazed through the skies of the Southeastern United States on August 30, captivating onlookers from Tennessee to North Carolina. Traveling at a speed of over 31,000 mph, the fireball was identified by NASA as a meteor, creating a spectacular pre-dawn display.

Analysis revealed that the meteor was about 1,000 pounds in weight and approximately two feet in diameter. As it entered the Earth’s atmosphere, it disintegrated, with remnants scattering across the town of Altapass in North Carolina.

One of the most striking details from NASA’s report was the sheer force with which the meteor broke apart. According to the space agency, the disintegration released energy equivalent to 10 tons of TNT. This resulted in a powerful shockwave that reached the ground, with residents reporting loud booms minutes after the meteor streaked across the sky. “Never seen anything like it before. Not like a comet,” a witness in Tennessee told Fox News.

While meteors are not uncommon in this region, a meteor of this size is a rare event. Videos captured by witnesses show a brilliant green light that transformed into a radiant orange fireball before breaking apart. The meteor’s descent was also detected by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper aboard the GOES-16 spacecraft.

Experts note that large meteor impacts on Earth are rare, with only a few reaching the surface each year. This particular meteor reportedly did make it to the ground, with fragments scattered across the North Carolina countryside, according to meteor tracking group Strewnify.

In a related event, another meteorite entered Earth’s atmosphere over South Africa on August 25, marking the first such occurrence in over 50 years. The meteorite produced a sonic boom that was heard from miles away. The last recorded meteorite fall in South Africa was in Lichtenburg in 1973, with the country having documented only 51 meteorites and just 22 meteorite falls to date.