The planet Venus is known as the “morning and evening star” in astronomy because it can be seen right before sunrise and directly after sunset. It is the brightest planet and the ancients believed it was two separate bodies represented by the gods Hesperus (the evening star) and Phospheros (the morning star).

If you get the chance next time you sit and admire the sunset pay attention and look for Venus to appear. It's a really magical moment when all of a sudden the planet’s light hits the earth. Being the closest planet to the earth it is always first in line to show its brilliance. 

Imagine the sun's daylight as this veil around the earth; slowly reaching a countdown like the starting pistol to a galactic race. All of the other interstellar forces of energy revving their gamma ray engines. Once the sun descends, leaving the earth exposed, the light from all of the planets and stars blasts off. With mind blowing speed (just under 300 million m/s!) the light travels throughout the galaxy and across the universe. The billions of stars in the galaxy and their rays all trying to be the first to be seen by our eyes. Leaving their worlds behind and streaking towards ours, the winner is always the same, the Greek Goddess of Love. 

It is experiences like this where the universe is trying to tell us something. We are always looking down and in and forget how much is out. It is like the cosmos knows this about us. Despite all of the wonderful things we can accomplish as humans we forget to recognize how much more there is to life and how small we really are.

This year I bought a telescope for my daughters because I wanted to invest in their knowledge, creativity and to start teaching them to look out. I am not very good at explaining things or teaching concepts. I am much better at writing out my thoughts or showing someone something. I daydream a lot and love to be inspired. So as an adult looking through a telescope and seeing the craters on the moon in stark detail fills me with awe. I figure if I am amazed by something and can provide that exposure, beauty, or opportunity to my girls as children then they’ll know and understand the world and universe in ways beyond their years.

On clear nights when the sun is setting from our seventh story apartment in downtown Denver, I like to get the telescope out and point it towards Venus once its emerged. I can change the lenses so that my 10mm can see the planet with a black outer space in the image field despite the night sky being a light shade of twilight blue. Trying to explain how light comes in to a telescope or camera to a five and six year old is near impossible (I don’t fully understand it all myself). Showing them however, creates understanding and real learning.

I want my girls to learn about the science of the solar system and understand astronomy intelligently but to also have an appreciation for the universe. My goal is to build confidence in them so they can stick their nose in a lab book and excel but also turn they gaze up towards the heavens and experience life.

There is a lot that happens during those times day. There is a change in the air. People are settling in for the night or waking to a new day. There is a freshness, a stillness and peace during those final  minutes before the emergence or descent of the sun’s glow. Perhaps that is why it feels natural to pray, think or reflect. I know that when I am watching sunsets the stillness lends itself to things like pondering, remembering, or a solemn moment. 

A lot of people are familiar with the classic nursery rhyme “star light, star bright. First star I see tonight. Wish I may, wish I might, make the wish I wish tonight.” I am convinced the nursery rhyme is about the planet Venus. If you look up at the night sky in the dark for the first time it is pretty difficult to only recognize one star as the first star. Outside of the moon, Venus is always the first light out in the sky from dusk until dawn. 

As the sun fades below the horizon giving freedom to the twilight, the canopy lifts and the Goddess of Love begins to bless us with her gifts. It is a time to think about the ones we love. I can’t think of a better way than to take in the day and watch it slowly turn to night than with thoughts and memories of those I care about the most. 

Venus is one of the smallest planets in the Solar system and minute compared to the billions of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, yet outside of the moon it is the brightest object in the night sky. It is a nice sentiment to know that the smallest objects can shine brighter than the biggest. I can give my girls all the science tools and books but if there is one lesson I want them to learn the most from Venus it would be to shine brightly no matter how small you think you may be.