Light and beauty

The planet Venus casts its reflected beam from far beyond the beam of light projected from the Wind Point Lighthouse north of Racine, Wisconsin.

Ancient civilizations were awed by Venus; the Babylonians called the planet "Ishtar" while the ancient Chinese called it "Tai-pe." Both names refer to beauty and light. Ancient peoples around the globe held similar concepts of earth’s sister planet, whose position in the sky was used to track seasons in time.

Click on pictures to enlarge. Top photograph © 2007 James Jordan. Inset photo © 1997 NASA.