Community Corner
Pittsburgh Brought In 2022 With Meteor's Massive Explosion: NASA
NASA's Meteor Watch Facebook page confirms the big bang theory that the large boom heard over Pittsburgh was a meteor.
PITTSBURGH, PA — The loud boom heard on New Year's Day in the Pittsburgh area indeed was a meteor entering the atmosphere, according to the NASA Meteor Watch Facebook page.
"A nearby infrasound station registered the blast wave from the meteor as it broke apart; the data enabled an estimate of the energy at 30 tons of TNT," a post on the page stated.
"If we make a reasonable assumption as to the meteor’s speed (45,000 miles per hour), we can ballpark the object’s size at about a yard in diameter, with a mass close to half a ton. Had it not been cloudy, the fireball would have been easily visible in the daylight sky - crude estimate indicates about 100 times the brightness of the full moon."
Find out what's happening in Pittsburghfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Many people notified authorities, who could offer no explanation, about the large bang.
Allegheny County 9-1-1 has received reports of a loud boom, shaking in the South Hills and other reports. We have confirmed that there was no seismic activity and no thunder/lightning. At this point, we have no explanation for the reports, but agencies are continuing to look.
— Allegheny County (@Allegheny_Co) January 1, 2022
Be the first to know what's happening in your community and region. With a free Patch subscription, you'll always be up to date on local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe.
Find out what's happening in Pittsburghfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.