Meteor creates massive sonic boom shaking Boston and Rhode Island homes.

A massive double boom rattled homes across Boston and Rhode Island, terrifying residents and flooding police lines with 911 calls.

The sound was so powerful it shook buildings, prompting authorities to scramble for answers regarding this bizarre event.

While chaos unfolded on the ground, the United States Geological Survey quickly identified the likely culprit: a suspected meteor.

Unlike standard earthquakes that strike a single point underground, sonic booms travel along a linear path through the atmosphere.

The USGS noted that any specific location given for such an event is merely an approximation of its travel route.

The American Meteor Society pinpointed the cause to a meteor roughly three feet wide entering the sky near the New Hampshire border.

Robert Lunsford, a monitor for the society's Fireball Program, confirmed the object was significantly larger than a typical shooting star.

He described the fireball as being about a yard wide, visible against the daytime sky as it streaked across the region.

Lunsford stated it is improbable the object hit the ground, as most meteors burn up completely before reaching the surface.

If any fragment survived, it likely fell into the ocean rather than causing damage on land.

Despite the skyward origin, the blast felt so local that Boston Police Department officers rushed to the Brighton area to investigate.

NOAA satellites captured a large flash over the city around 2 pm, providing visual evidence of the atmospheric entry.

Social media users from several states reported feeling their buildings shake during the incident.

Videos shared on X showed the double boom without any accompanying fire or smoke, supporting the meteor theory.

Meteorologist Nick Stewart analyzed the data and confirmed the flash density matched the signature of a bolide reentry.

He explained that this anomalous flash is the definitive source of the loud explosion heard by the public.

Residents filed reports with the USGS, causing the National Earthquake Information Center to track the number of "Did you feel it?" submissions.

The agency created an event page to monitor the reports, though spokesman Steve Sobie clarified that no seismic event was registered.

The lack of seismic activity further supports the conclusion that the shaking was caused by sound waves, not ground motion.

Dashcam footage circulating on social media captured a deafening boom that terrified residents across the region. Although Boston currently experiences rainfall, meteorologist Stewart clarified that the flash did not align with active thunderstorms. An official from the National Weather Service stated that NASA must now confirm if the sound originated from a meteor. Ken Mahan of the Boston Globe described the event as a fireball, essentially a bolide meteor ranging from one to two meters in size.

"These are large and often spark a sonic boom when passing through the atmosphere with speeds faster than the sound barrier," Mahan explained. "Air compresses ahead of the meteor as it races through, generating a massive pressure wave." Many online users initially assumed the noise was an explosion or thunder, yet no smoke or fires have been detected by authorities. One Facebook user noted that both their cat and themselves jumped in terror, initially fearing a falling tree before finding nothing outside.

Since the boom occurred, search activity has surged as residents attempt to identify the mysterious source of the noise. Several police departments issued statements confirming they received numerous reports but remained unsure of the origin at the time. Watertown Police noted the sound was heard over the eastern part of the state with no reports of hazards. Similarly, police in Coventry, Rhode Island, stated there were no reports of damage or local incidents, suggesting an earthquake might be the cause.