Meteor? Earthquake? Uncovering why NJ, NYC felt shaking Tuesday

Tri-state residents react to meteor boom over NYC

People on both sides of the Hudson blew up social media after hearing and feeling a large boom on Tuesday. NASA reported that a meteor could have disintegrated above Midtown Manhattan around the same time. FOX 5 NY's Richard Giacovas has the story.

NEW YORK - Did the NYC area experience an earthquake? People throughout New Jersey and New York reported shaking Tuesday morning, and in a surprising turn of events, NASA reported that a meteor could have disintegrated above Midtown Manhattan around the same time.

This, however, doesn't confirm that the meteor caused the shaking and a loud "boom," which was also reported by some. NASA also noted reports of fireball sightings.

Here's what we know:

What we know about the supposed meteor

Based on data from the American Meteor Society, Bill Cooke, lead for NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office, estimated that a fireball was first sighted between 10 a.m. and noon near the New Jersey-New York border.

"More eyewitness reports have been posted - we have double what we had before and the adds have made a big difference in the trajectory. We now have the meteor originating over New York City and moving west into New Jersey. Speed has bumped up a bit to 38,000 miles per hour," NASA Meteor Watch said in a Facebook post.

This information is still preliminary, and so reporting on the actual trajectory could change. NASA said no meteorites were produced in this event, meaning no rocks from outer space fell over New York City Tuesday.

"There are reports of military in the vicinity around the time of the fireball, which could explain the shaking and sounds reported to the media," Cooke noted.

‘No evidence of an earthquake’: USGS

In a statement to FOX 5 NY, the U.S. Geological Survey said it received reports of shaking in northern New Jersey and Staten Island and examined seismic data in the area.

"The USGS has no direct evidence of the source of the shaking. Past reports of shaking with no associated seismic signal have had atmospheric origins such as sonic booms or weather-related phenomena," the statement read.

Eyewitness accounts

Multiple users on social media reported feeling shakes in parts of New Jersey and NYC around 11 a.m. Tuesday morning.

"Did NJ just have another earthquake?? My house was just shaking," one user wrote on X.

Some reported hearing a loud "boom" sound along with shaking. Other users on X said they felt shakes in their homes and offices. Similar reports were shared on Facebook and Reddit, northjersey.com reported.

Another user wrote: "Uhh, earthquake felt in NYC? Just felt shaking over in Southern Queens, can someone confirm? Hearing epicenter may be out of New Jersey."