Many people in Utah heard a loud sound this past weekend. Some thought it was a sonic boom from military aircraft while others thought that they might be under attack.
The boom was so loud that it shook homes. It set off car alarms. It was captured on home security cameras.
The sound took place on Saturday morning without any kind of notice to residents.
Governor Spencer Cox quickly identified on Twitter that it wasn’t related to any of the military installations in the state. Scientists were also able to rule out that it wasn’t an earthquake or any other seismic activity.
The University of Utah Seismograph Station jumped onto Twitter to say, “We’ve received many reports of people feeling or hearing a ‘boom’ ~8:32 am. We can confirm that it was not an earthquake.”
So, what was it?
The leading theory, according to the National Weather Service, is that it was caused by a meteor.
If you’re a fan of Superman, you might even want to head out there to see what a meteor of that size was responsible for dropping. Perhaps some kryptonite?
Satellites responsible for detecting lightning picked up a flash or meteor trail over Morgan and Davis counties, located in the northern part of the state.
Video confirmation from the National Weather Service also allows them to confirm that it as a meteor. They saw a bluish fireball speed across the sky before it disappeared behind some clouds.
Even parts of southern Idaho were able to hear the boom.
Typically, meteors burn up in the atmosphere. If there is anything that doesn’t break apart or burn up, the pieces are usually small enough that they don’t make any sound. That clearly wasn’t the case with this meteor. Many scientists estimate that the size was similar to a volleyball.
Patrick Wiggins, the NASA Ambassador for Utah, told KSL TV in an interview that everything he has seen and heart points to it being a meteor. There may even be a few rocks lying around Utah as a result of it.
Was it just rocks that landed? Probably. It’s unlikely that baby Kal-el will be found among the rocks. We’re hardly dealing with an alien invasion.
Of course, social media is on fire with conspiracy theories. Some people want to say that it’s aliens. Others want to say that it was a military attack that our government doesn’t want to talk about.
A sonic boom is created when there’s an object traveling faster than the speed of sound. A giant space rock the size of a volleyball freefalling into our atmosphere is certainly capable of making that sound.
If you were in Utah or Idaho when this phenomenon occurred, check your doorbell video cam. You may be one of the hundreds who were able to capture the blue blur flying through the sky. Otherwise, you might have at least heard the sound.
It’s nothing to worry about, really. It was just a meteor. We should be thankful it wasn’t anything else – it’s clear that people panic at the smallest thing.
As for whether we can expect more meteors, there’s no telling.
