You might have seen a plane flying above at a supersonic speed. You may have also heard a loud noise as it flew by. Did it explode? No! The aircraft is still flying. Then, what was the sound about? It was a sonic boom!
Sonic boom
A sonic boom happens due to shock waves created by any object that travels through the air faster than the speed of sound.NASA | Representational

What causes a sonic boom

A sonic boom is a massive blast like sound. It happens due to shock waves created by anything that travels through the air quicker than the sound speed. Sonic booms create an enormous amount of sound energy.

Any object that passes through air, creates pressure waves in front of and behind it. For example, a boat moving through water? The bow waves (front) and stern waves (back) are alike to the hidden pressure waves created by an object as it moves through the air.

Sonic boom
How loud is a sonic boom?

These pressure waves travel at the speed of sound. How quick is that? Fast! Sound travels at contrasting rates through different types of substances. It may also vary by altitude and temperature.

Mysterious 'boom' sound is leaving everyone baffled

A mysterious boom sound was heard from different parts of the Bengaluru city on Wednesday, May 20. The massive blast like sound has left people perplexed.

No damage reported

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, IPS confirmed that no damage has been reported anywhere. Rao also said that there have been no calls made to the emergency 100 number.

The city police commissioner has asked the Air Force Control Room to check if this was a flight.

An aircraft or earthquake?

Residents suspect it to be like an earthquake. However, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said they didn't record any earthquakes.

Several people have also claimed that the sound was due to Air Force activity. Several choppers of the Air Force too were seen on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, HAL has also confirmed that the booming noise heard in Bengaluru has nothing to do with their aircraft.