A meteor crashing toward Earth exploded over the northeastern United States on Saturday, NASA said, setting off booms that echoed over the region with a blast equivalent to 300 tonnes of TNT.

The fireball broke up over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire at 2:06 pm (1806 GMT), the US space agency's deputy news chief Jennifer Dooren told AFP in a statement.

"This fireball was not associated with any currently active meteor shower, but it was a natural object and not a re-entry of space debris or a satellite," she said.

"The energy released at breakup is estimated to be equivalent to about 300 tonnes of TNT, which accounts for the loud booms."

The meteor was traveling at more than 120,000 kilometers per hour at an altitude of over 60 kilometers when it broke apart, Dooren said.

Area residents were alarmed by the unexpected loud booms, with social media users reporting they were so powerful that houses were shaking.