Avi Loeb: "It's just like a fishing expedition"—seismometers at Woods Hole detected last weekend's meteor explosion over Cape Cod Bay.

Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist, described the meteor explosion over Cape Cod Bay as akin to a fishing expedition. Detected by Woods Hole seismometers, the meteor entered the atmosphere at 42,000 miles per hour, exploding with the energy of 300 tons of TNT—about 2% of Hiroshima's bomb energy.

The explosion created vibrations that formed a unique seismograph pattern, unprecedented for the scientists. Such events happen roughly every couple of weeks worldwide, according to Loeb. The meteor, roughly 5 feet in diameter, broke apart into fragments, the largest about the size of a thumbnail. These tiny pieces, some smaller than a millimeter, rained into Cape Cod Bay, where researchers face a daunting recovery challenge: searching for meteorite fragments is like finding a needle in a haystack.

According to Liam Peterson from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the salt water will likely dissolve fragments within 10 years, further complicating the search for those who wish to study them. The seismometers’ response to this incident highlights both the rare nature of such meteoric events and the challenges researchers must overcome to recover and analyze the remnants.

Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist, commented on the recent meteor explosion over Cape Cod Bay, detected by Woods Hole seismometers. The explosion, occurring at 100 times the speed of sound, released energy equivalent to 2% of the Hiroshima bomb, with fragments as small as a millimeter.