Residents in Bali’s Buleleng regency widely reported hearing a loud “boom” sound yesterday morning, which may have come from an extraterrestrial object, experts say.
Speaking about the phenomena, the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) said today that the loud boom may have come from a falling meteor.
“A large-sized meteor, also known as bolide or fireball, may have entered the atmosphere, burned up, and fell near Buleleng,” LAPAN said in a statement.
“In the process, the meteor could have triggered a shockwave and a boom sound that was even detected by earthquake censors. Most meteors burn [when entering] the atmosphere and maybe there are small parts left and hit the Earth’s surface (land or ocean).”
Aside from the loud boom sound, residents also reported seeing a flash of light over the sky.
Rhorom Priyatikanto, astronomer and researcher at LAPAN, noted that a similar incident occurred in Bone, South Sulawesi in 2009, whereby local residents heard a boom sound that was accompanied by tremors on their windows. Infrasound data from NASA researchers later indicated that a meteor, 10 meters in diameter, did fall in the area, along with seismographs from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recording a 1.9-magnitude tremor.
Yesterday, BMKG in Singaraja detected a tremor anomaly for about 20 seconds at 10:27am, with a recorded intensity of 1.1-magnitude. The agency has since confirmed that it is not an earthquake.
Read more news and updates from Bali here.