A fireball that prompted loud sonic booms and even lit up the daytime sky on Saturday was the first radar-observed meteorite drop observed in Maine, NASA confirmed.

“Booming” noises were being read near Calais, Maine, shortly just after the fireball was witnessed moving by the sky. This evident meteorite drop happened at 11:56 a.m. regional time, NASA reported.

NASA’s radar was capable to notice the occasion for almost 5 minutes and calculated fallen meteorite masses from 1.59 — 322 grams, or significantly less than a pound, “although bigger masses may perhaps have fallen.”

Due to the fact of this, the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum in Bethel is presenting a $25,000 reward for the to start with meteorite they get weighing a single kilogram or extra, the Bangor Daily Information reported.

So considerably, no meteors or pieces have been reported observed.

With winds of up to 100 mph at the time of the celebration, lesser meteorites may have been carried into Canada, NASA said.

The outlet stated the most most likely space for recovering any meteorites is a mile-extensive field extending from just north of Waite, Maine, to the border city of Canoose in New Brunswick, Canada.

Shawn Laatsch, the director of the Versant Electrical power Astronomy Centre at the College of Maine in Orono, told the Machias Valley Information Observer that he speculates the fireball was probably a greater form of meteor called a bolide because those are frequently visible in the course of the daytime.

“If it is noticeable in the daytime, it is usually a significant meteor that hits that environment and lights up,” Laatsch told the Observer. “The unique hues you see count on what it was made up of.”

Some explained the meteorite’s fall as a “red flare” or like a “firework,” according to the Machias paper.

This meteorite slide is recorded in American Meteor Modern society eyewitness stories as variety 2002 for the year 2023, in accordance to NASA.

Camille High-quality is a trending visual producer on United states Present day NOW group.