A meteor flew over the city of New York on Tuesday in broad daylight. This was confirmed by the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), writes the AP agency.
Photo: TASR/AP, Julia Nikhinson
In this June 16, 2024, file photo, people look at skyscrapers in New York.
The meteor was initially spotted 82 kilometers above Manhattan at 11:17 a.m. local time (6:17 p.m. CEST) on Tuesday, NASA official William Cooke said based on estimates. According to him, the space body subsequently flew over the southern part of the city of Newark in the American state of New Jersey and then disintegrated at an altitude of 50 kilometers above the Mountainside district in Union County. No fragments fell on the earth’s surface, he added.
The fireball was traveling at about 66,000 kilometers per hour and descending at a fairly steep angle, Cooke reported. However, according to him, the exact trajectory is unclear, since the calculations are based on the statements of eyewitnesses who reported the meteor. Currently, satellite data or camera records are not available, he explained.
NASA initially reported a different trajectory on Tuesday evening local time. According to her first calculations, the meteor flew over the Statue of Liberty and disintegrated over Manhattan. She subsequently changed her opinion after obtaining new information.
Cooke noted that a meteor appears over New York every one to two years.
NASA said in a social media post that small meteors like the one that flew over New York on Tuesday are usually only about 30 centimeters in diameter and it is impossible for them to reach Earth intact.
Source: spravy.pravda.sk
