Freehold, NJ  50 meter diameter       Update

2:00 PM Tuesday: A giant meteorite exploded in the atmosphere six miles above Freehold today, creating a shock wave which is estimated to have destroyed every building within a five-mile radius. The heat from the blast ignited a firestorm which incinerated most of Monmouth County, causing thousands of deaths. Cars were overturned and windows shattered as far away as New York.

In spite of worldwide asteroid-detection efforts in recent years, astronomers had no warning of the incoming meteorite, which was too small to be picked up by the most advanced telescopes until moments before it hit.

As appalling as the damage was, scientists say we were lucky. This one was a stony meteorite. If it had been made of iron, like the one which created the Barringer Crater in Arizona, it would have vaporized Manhattan and devastated most of the east coast.