Code Name: Starfish Prime

It was a light show that dwarfed any other...
And had nothing to do with killing ants.

Terry Luke/Honolulu Star-Advertiser

When Americans launched their first atomic nuclear tests above the Earth's atmosphere in 1958, the atom bombs had little effect on the magnetosphere... But the hydrogen bomb of July 9, 1962, did.

Code-named "Starfish Prime" by the military, it literally created a man-made aurora, an artificial multi-colored extension of the Van Allen radiation belts, that could be seen across the Pacific Ocean, from Hawaii to New Zealand.

In Honolulu, the explosions were front page news. "N-Blast Tonight May Be Dazzling: Good View Likely," said the Honolulu Advertiser. Hotels held what they called "Rainbow Bomb Parties" on rooftops and verandas. When the bomb burst, people told of blackouts and strange electrical malfunctions, like garage doors opening and closing on their own. But the big show was in the sky.

Audio Embed: All Things Considered 7/1/10. Reporter Robert Krulwich's Starfish Prime slide show is here.