# What do you suppose this boom was today? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 5, 2014, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911 "2014-03-05T06:24:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/21 "2014-03-05T23:48:02Z")
Seismic surveys for an oil and gas company? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/22 "2014-03-06T01:53:15Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > A loud boom heard throughout your neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods AND heard simultaneously 2 miles away? Is there any evidence of destruction (broken windows, crater) or a plume of smoke? > > 2 possibilities come to my mind; A) a sonic boom or 2) some sort of exploding meteorite\* similar to that recently happened in Russia. > > \*or meteoroid or whatever the heck it’s called. I was wondering about a meteorite, too, thinking about the one that went over Russia. If the meteorite was higher up, it wouldn’t have caused damage, but we could have still heard a boom. > [@Duckster](#): > > [ul] > [li]Are there any local seismographs that can be checked? California has regular skyquakes that register on seismographs. Apparently the US military is the cause of those, although the military never confirms nor denies. When the Shuttle was operating the seismographs regularly recorded its re-entry at Edwards AFB.[/li][li]A meteor.[/li][/ul] They showed a seismograph on the news today - it definitely registered on the seismograph, but still nobody knows what it was. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/23 "2014-03-06T03:30:54Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Seismic surveys for an oil and gas company? How would seismic create such a significant booming sound? I vote for ice/frost quake. I’ve heard of them before and think we are experiencing the right conditions. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/24 "2014-03-06T08:28:56Z")
On Friday, December 17, 1976, I was working with a carpenter in Lawndale, California, in the early everning and we heard a loud but distant _boom._ Kurt was not as startled as I was although he was a World War II veteran. As it turned out, it was the S. S. _Sansinena_, which blew up and broke in half in San Pedro (Los Angeles) Harbor. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/25 "2014-03-06T09:19:39Z")
> [@EmAnJ](#): > > How would seismic create such a significant booming sound? Seismic surveys use explosions to bounce sound waves off geologic strata to geophones, which can then report to computers. The computers can construct a model of what’s underground, and indicate where digging for oil, gas, whatever, should occur. An icequake is possible too, given the temps we’ve had in Alberta lately. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/26 "2014-03-06T16:16:19Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I was wondering about a meteorite, too, thinking about the one that went over Russia. If the meteorite was higher up, it wouldn’t have caused damage, but we could have still heard a boom. An asteroid zipped past Earth yesterday afternoon–only 350,000 km away! Just sayin’, is all, y’know. There’s another one coming Sunday night, so be prepared.🙂 > **[Asteroid passes closer than the moon | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/asteroid-flyby-brings-space-rock-closer-than-the-moon-1.2560683)** > > An asteroid the size of a baseball diamond passed between the Earth and the moon's orbit this afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/27 "2014-03-06T18:22:28Z")
Sunday? But I have plans for this summer! And the rest of my life! ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/28 "2014-03-06T18:59:07Z")
That other town is a boom town. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/29 "2014-03-07T03:30:33Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Sunday? But I have plans for this summer! And the rest of my life! On the bright side, you’ll know what the boom was. For a split second. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/30 "2014-03-07T03:50:14Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Sunday? But I have plans for this summer! And the rest of my life! Now you’ll learn to fear the fury of my wrath! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/31 "2014-03-07T05:04:38Z")
[Spice weasel.](http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l161/mrgrotey/Maxforums/SpiceWeasel.jpg) BAM! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/32 "2014-03-10T00:30:54Z")
Update: It looks like ice quake is all but confirmed. I knew intellectually that they were loud, but damn! That was LOUD! We heard it clearly a couple of kilometers away. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/33 "2014-03-10T14:28:08Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Seismic surveys use explosions to bounce sound waves off geologic strata to geophones, which can then report to computers. The computers can construct a model of what’s underground, and indicate where digging for oil, gas, whatever, should occur. > > An icequake is possible too, given the temps we’ve had in Alberta lately. I know what seismic is, I work in oil and gas, and am, in fact, working on a microseismic program right now. 😉 I was being leading - seismic is low energy and, unless something goes wrong, doesn’t create a noticeable effect above ground. That said, I suppose something does go wrong once is a while, which is probably why this was suggested as a cause. Anyhow, glad they solved the puzzle! I’ve heard ice cracks that sound like gunshots (while on the ice, yikes!), but it’s interesting this can happen on solid ground. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911/34 "2014-03-10T16:23:09Z")
Some ideas: [ol] [li]Someone detonating explosives, illegally[/li][li]An airborne meteor explosion (already addressed)[/li][li]An underground cavern or mine collapsing. No one has yet to discover the mine or cavern in question.[/li][li]Top secret military flight caused sonic boom[/li][/ol] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-suppose-this-boom-was-today/682911.md?page=1)