NASA confirmed Friday that the object that fell in McAllen, Texas, was a meteorite.
It was about two feet in diameter and weighed over 1,000 pounds, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
The object apparently broke apart from a meteor, causing the meteorites to streak to the ground, according to a report from NASA.
“The meteor seen in the skies above McAllen is a reminder of the need for NASA and other organizations to increase our understanding and protection of Earth, to combine scientific and engineering expertise to advance human space exploration, to integrate terrestrial and planetary research for furthering our understanding of the solar system, and to promote successful space missions by mitigating risk,” NASA said in a statement.
Residents of Texas spotted what appeared to be a meteor streaking across the sky.
Some citizens captured footage of the alleged meteor in the skies above McAllen, Texas, as it fell toward Mission on February 15. The alleged meteor reportedly generated a loud sound while shaking houses within a 10-mile radius.
Officials previously confirmed another meteor that had entered Earth’s atmosphere above France on February 13, which coincided with the exact date an asteroid exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013, resulting in damage to structures and multiple injuries.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra announced on February 15 that he was informed that Houston Air Traffic Control had received reports of a meteor falling west of McAllen.
“Where the exact point of impact is unknown,” said Guerra in the tweet. “No reports of any damage in that area has (sic) been received,” he continued.
Mission Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza said that while the loud sounds were confirmed west of Mission, there was no explosion over the city, according to My RGV.
Officials held a press conference on February 16 to provide an update on the meteor sighting, according to KVEO.
Mission Police Chief Cesar Torres reported that the local department had received a massive amount of calls beginning at 5:28 p.m. on February 15 and that panic ensued throughout the city while houses shook. Torres said that the impact sight was still unknown.
“We don’t even know if there is a scene,” said Torres, according to KVEO.
The police department advised citizens to report any potential crash sites and not to touch anything that could be fragments of the object.
Astronomers predicted that another larger asteroid would pass relatively close to the planet from February 15 through February 16. Officials said that the object posed no threat as the estimated half-mile-wide celestial body was predicted to pass at a distance of 2.8 million miles.
