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Meteor Explodes over Massachusetts

nbcboston.com

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Re: Meteor Explodes over Massachusetts

#31

Post by grahamburger »

dtgriscom wrote: post #21

The day was somewhat stormy. I was in my kitchen in my north-suburban-Boston house, when I suddenly heard a BOOM. I thought it was a very large branch falling on my house, so I ran outside to check out the roof. Saw nothing, and only later heard about the meteor.

We had a meteor 15 years ago or so. I happened to open the side door just as it was overhead. It looked like late afternoon by the light, but it was long after dark by the clock. I had just a moment to question both my watch and my sanity before it went dark again.

Re: Meteor Explodes over Massachusetts

#33

Post by conkeisterdoor »

qrush wrote: post #30

I’m around 8 miles west of Boston. I was playing on the floor with my daughter and had my ear to the ground- suddenly heard all of the windows shaking, the floor rumbled and an explosion louder than I’ve ever heard before. Honestly what spooked me the most was seeing nothing on the horizon to help explain it! I am shocked and grateful it didn’t break any windows or cause further damage.

I'm in Watertown on a busy road and was near an open window when it exploded. I thought a truck had slammed into my building and was baffled when I saw everything was fine.

Re: Meteor Explodes over Massachusetts

#34

Post by qrush »

conkeisterdoor wrote: post #33
qrush wrote: post #30

I’m around 8 miles west of Boston. I was playing on the floor with my daughter and had my ear to the ground- suddenly heard all of the windows shaking, the floor rumbled and an explosion louder than I’ve ever heard before. Honestly what spooked me the most was seeing nothing on the horizon to help explain it! I am shocked and grateful it didn’t break any windows or cause further damage.

I'm in Watertown on a busy road and was near an open window when it exploded. I thought a truck had slammed into my building and was baffled when I saw everything was fine.

We should grab coffee sometime, neighbor!

Re: Meteor Explodes over Massachusetts

#35

Post by elihu »

threwrfaway wrote: post #28

"230 tons of TNT" I hate units of TNT. Ill do psi. Love the foot. The calorie is metric! But what on planet earth is "ton of TNT"? The energy that was dissipated (using 0.5 mv^2) was 1TJ, or the 280 000 kWh.

It's the most common unit for describing the explosive yield of a nuclear weapon. So, it's a lot smaller than the bombs dropped on Japan in WWII, but a lot bigger than a Davy Crockett. That's a sort-of-useful frame of reference.

The only other things I can think of that would create a similar kind of blast are a volcanic eruption or something like that fertilizer explosion in Beirut in 2020 (~1100 tons TNT equivalent.)

Re: Meteor Explodes over Massachusetts

#36

Post by conkeisterdoor »

qrush wrote: post #34
conkeisterdoor wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in Watertown on a busy road and was near an open window when it exploded. I thought a truck had slammed into my building and was baffled when I saw everything was fine.

We should grab coffee sometime, neighbor!

Hah you're a Nick in Watertown too?

Re: Meteor Explodes over Massachusetts

#37

Post by jojobas »

sholladay wrote: post #26
jojobas wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No? There is no violent expansion or bursting, even if the sound is similar. It is as much an explosion as a supersonic jet passing by, and that is not much. The term makes people think atmospheric heating causes an actual steam explosion and that's the source of shockwave, which can't be further from truth.

Do you not consider Tunguska an explosion? It’s always described as such. IIRC, it never even hit the ground. Sure, a lot of the damage was caused by the air being compressed from above, but it created an air burst, which would have released a lot of energy in every direction.

No, it's a misnomer as with any other meteor.

If you were to witness the breakup from the bolide's reference frame and without all the rushing air you'd never call it an explosion.

Re: Meteor Explodes over Massachusetts

#38

Post by NooneAtAll3 »

threwrfaway wrote: post #28

"230 tons of TNT" I hate units of TNT. Ill do psi. Love the foot. The calorie is metric! But what on planet earth is "ton of TNT"? The energy that was dissipated (using 0.5 mv^2) was 1TJ, or the 280 000 kWh.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_equivalent
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