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

Did you hear a loud boom this morning? According to the National Weather Service, it apparently was the result of a meteor.

A suspected meteor over the Cleveland area on Tuesday shook homes and startled residents who heard a boom that some compared to an explosion. Related Articles How to watch the ‘blood moon’ total lunar eclipse in the Bay Area Swirling beauty of the Milky Way galaxy’s heart is captured in a new telescope picture NASA conducts second rocket fueling test that will decide when Artemis astronauts head to the moon Obama shuts down alien buzz and says there’s no evidence they’ve made contact NASA delays astronauts’ lunar trip until March after hydrogen leaks mar fueling test People hundreds of miles away reported seeing the bright fireball in the daytime sky just before 9 a.

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.

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

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

NASA has a network of cameras called the NASA All Sky Fireball Network that help track the streaks in the sky.

Meteor’s fiery passage through the atmosphere was captured by a space-based lightning mapper.