You might have heard a lot of phrases on Tuesday, including meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite. Meteorologist Katie McGraw is breaking down the lingo.

A meteor caused a loud boom heard across the Ohio Valley on March 17, but a meteor strike in the mid-Atlantic seems unlikely.

Space rocks are constantly hurtling toward us, slamming into the atmosphere and often exploding into fireballs that both delight and alarm. Thankfully, the vast majority cause no damage because they are pulverized into dust or small chunks by the journey to Earth.

According to the National Weather Service, the loud sonic boom was caused by the meteor. A NASA spokesperson spoke with reporter Clay LePard, confirming the meteor was spotted near Medina. "I woke up this morning, and the sky fell, so I feel like Chicken Little right now," Bill Cooke, NASA's lead for the Meteoroid Environment Office, said.

Amateur astronomers no longer have to brave the frigid winter cold or humid summer nights to make important discoveries like in the past.