Venus: morning star

I love astronomy. The stars and planets fascinate me. Such a vast and infinite field to explore!
Right now, the planet Venus can be seen in the morning sky - one of my favorites. Since it's the closest planet in our solar system to the earth, it catches and reflects more sunlight to us, making it the brightest thing in the sky, other than the moon. Its brightness certainly must have captivated the ancients who studied the starry sky so thoroughly.
Since Venus' orbit is inside the earth's orbit, it is never far from the sun as viewed from the earth; depending on the time of the year, it either is seen in the evening just after sunset, or in the morning just before dawn. The names "evening star" and "morning star" for the planet both have significance and meaning.
A few years ago, I wrote an essay about the religious symbolism attached to Venus. For those interested, see here:
We barely scratch the surface with what we can see in the skies above, but still it's a constant source of wonder. Perhaps the psalmist said it best:
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
"For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour." (Psalm 8:3-5)
What an interesting contrast. Man is tiny and insignificant amid the vastness of the heavens; but yet, above all creation, man is crowned with "glory and honour."
I #GiveThanks for the vastness and wonder of the heavens and the lessons it teaches.

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