Residents of McAllen, Texas, and nearby localities were alarmed Wednesday when they heard a boom.
Before NASA determined what hit the ground, law enforcement had received calls in multiple municipalities.
“I do know that it was widespread. There are multiple cities receiving the same call,” Chief Jonathan Flores of the Alton Police Department told KVEO-TV, a Brownsville, Texas, NBC affiliate Thursday. While initially the identity of what hit was unknown, NASA officials have determined that a meteorite fell to Earth near the town at around 6 p.m. Wednesday, splitting into smaller fragments before hitting the ground.
The space rock was 2 feet across in diameter and weighed 1,000 pounds, NASA said. The agency pointed out that, given its breakup into multiple fragments and rapid cooldown, the meteorite did not pose a threat to the public. NASA urged citizens to contact the Smithsonian, which maintains a collection of meteoric material, if they find any meteorite fragments.
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