It was the moment Perth became ‘the city of lights’, putting on a bright display for astronaut John Glenn as he became the first American to orbit the earth.

And ahead of the 50th anniversary of the February 20, 1962 orbit Mr Glenn has thanked the thousands who left their lights on or rushed out to their backyards to wave torches into the night sky.

Muchea astronaut Gordon Cooper speaks with John Glenn as he passes overhead.

Mr Glenn, now a US senator, said he can still recall the moment he saw Perth light up below him as he passed over the city in the Friendship 7 spacecraft.

“It just seems like it was yesterday to me. I remember that view very vividly,” he said in a video message.