To determine if a meteor produced a particular sound, it’s important to understand the phenomena associated with meteor sounds. Meteors, or meteorites once they reach Earth’s surface, can create sounds due to sonic booms, but this typically occurs only in larger meteors that survive high-speed entry into the Earth’s atmosphere. The sound is often heard as a loud explosion or a series of booms, and it can be followed by a sonic rumble caused by the high-speed passage through the atmosphere. This is similar to the thunder from lightning and is generally experienced shortly after the visual sighting, given the slower speed of sound compared to light.
There are also instances of an eerie hissing sound reported concurrently with meteor sightings. This is referred to as electrophonic sound and is hypothesized to result from the conversion of very low frequency (VLF) radio waves from the meteor into audio frequencies by objects close to the listener, like metal fences or even eyeglasses. This phenomenon, although not yet fully understood, suggests that meteors can indeed produce sounds perceived at the same time they’re observed visually.
To conclude, if you’re questioning whether a specific sound was produced by a meteor, consider the size and visible behavior of the object. Large fireballs or bolides are more likely to produce acoustic phenomena potentially matching what you heard. It’s also advisable to check for reports from other observers or scientific institutions that might correlate a meteor sighting with recorded sounds.