John Glenn Sees Frozen Fireflies

The first American to orbit Earth was astronaut John Glenn, who reportedly saw thousands of strange glowing particles outside Friendship 7 shortly after sunrise during his first orbit in 1962. He called the slow-moving specks "fireflies" before they vanished in brighter sunlight. Three months later, astronaut Scott Carpenter reproduced the effect by striking the wall of Aurora 7 and shaking loose tiny pieces of frost. The particles were frozen condensation from the capsule's exterior, although later astronauts photographed their own frozen urine droplets similarly glittering in sunlight.

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