NASA confirms 7-ton space rock exploded over Ohio sky

NASA's All Sky Fireball Network has indicated that a 7-ton asteroid approximately six feet wide exploded over Northeast Ohio on March 17, 2026. The American Meteor Society supported reports about a daytime bolide that was seen from 10 states in the US, along with parts of Canada, and was travelling at about 45,000 miles per hour. The National Weather Service said that the asteroid exploded approximately 30 miles over Medina County; it released the same energy as 250 tons of TNT in this explosion. Because of this significant atmospheric disturbance, a sonic boom was widely reported, shaking homes; it also created a great opportunity for researchers to monitor meteorite debris related to a major event, potentially yielding rare carbonaceous samples that provide a pristine chemical record of the early solar system’s volatile compounds and the mechanical properties of small-scale asteroids.At a height of 50.1 miles above the surface of Lake Erie, near Lorain, Ohio, an Asteroid measuring about six feet wide was sighted and identified by the NASA All Sky Fireball Network. The asteroid was travelling at 45,000 miles an hour when it penetrated the upper atmosphere of the Earth and provided mass measurements of the object to be roughly 7 tons. Before entering the Earth’s atmosphere, the large space rock was noted to have descended at a steep angle until it reached a threshold of critical thermal stress.The National Weather Service offices in Cleveland and Pittsburgh reported that the asteroid fragmented / exploded approximately 30 miles above Valley City and Medina County in Ohio. The energy released from this explosion was equivalent to the use of 250 tons of TNT. The new explosion was recorded by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) aboard the GOES satellite. A shockwave from the explosion was also produced, resulting in a sonic boom which reverberated through the region, resulting in a surge of emergency calls from residents who feared a local explosion or plane crash. According to the American Meteor Society, this bolide had such a bright appearance that it could be seen over a 10-state area (including Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York and across Ontario, Canada). The AMS received over 100 eyewitness reports in total, with many of them showing a large, very bright white flash in the morning sky through dash cam video. With this combined reporting, researchers were able to triangulate the exact path of the meteor and find potential ‘strewn fields’ (areas where future meteorites may have landed) to site future searches for meteorites.