The Pharos "lighthouse"
A lighthouse is a type of building, typically a tower, erected to emit light as a navigational aid to sea-going vessels.
History and specifics[]
Lighthouse keepers generally led an isolated life, and often were eager to talk to visitors. (ENT - The Romulan War novel: Beneath the Raptor's Wing)
Pulsar emissions were considered a type of natural lighthouse. (TOS novel: Uhura's Song, TOS - Mere Anarchy novel: Things Fall Apart, Star Trek Adventures RPG module: Core Rulebook)
In ancient times, Ulann monks maintained a lighthouse in the Monastery of Ulann on Vulcan. (LUG RPG module: The Way of Kolinahr)
In the year 280 BC, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was built on Earth. It was known as the seventh wonder of the ancient world. (VOY episode: "11:59")
In the 22nd century, the shimmering water by the 1877 Point Bonita Lighthouse at the entrance of San Francisco Bay near Sausalito inspired an early Starfleet admiral, who chose the water's color as the uniform color for Starfleet Academy cadets. (TOS - Starfleet Academy novel: Cadet Kirk)
In the 2250s decade, Starfleet constructed Project Pharos, an interstellar lighthouse. The Pharos tower extended out of the atmosphere of the planet it was built on; Starfleet intended it to broadcast navigational data throughout the Marrat Nebula, and to log illegal traffic. When the Starfleet engineers were drilling the foundations for Pharos they discovered vast quantities of dilithium — when the Klingon Kaaj learned of this he saw Starfleet's efforts an attempt to claim the open system and attacked the lighthouse. A battle between the IKS Varchas and USS Enterprise followed, and at a stalemate Captain Christopher Pike fired on the planet itself; destroying the contested planet and Pharos, but in the process starting a chain reaction in the dilithium that made the planet one huge beacon. (EV comic: "The Fires of Pharos")
In 2267, Hikaru Sulu showed images of planetary landscapes to generational ship Wanderer resident Katholin Arwen. The first image he chose was of a shore with a lighthouse. (TOS novel: The Galactic Whirlpool)
In 2270, Captain James T. Kirk thought of rocky shorelines and lighthouses when his ship encountered a slow-moving hexagonal cylinder, and wondered if it might be a type of navigational beacon. (TOS novel: Chain of Attack)
A picture of a lighthouse.
In 2293, Captain Kirk had a picture of a lighthouse in his quarters aboard the USS Enterprise-A. (TOS movie: The Undiscovered Country)
In 2376, Harry Kim suggested adding a lighthouse to the Fair Haven holographic program when Tom Paris described its foggy Irish coastal setting as depressing. (VOY episode: "Fair Haven")
In 2377, Belinda and Sonya Gomez debated whether to visit Sun Bay Beach or the Punta Mulas lighthouse in Vieques, Puerto Rico, but ended up choosing the beach. (COE eBook: Breakdowns)
Lighthouses[]
- Lighthouse of Alexandria (Egypt)
- Point Bonita Lighthouse (San Francisco Bay)
- Project Pharos (Pharos siteworld)
- Punta Mulas (Vieques, Puerto Rico)
- Monastery of Ulann lighthouse (Vulcan)
Appendices[]
Background[]
Pharos is the etymological ancestor of the word lighthouse in many languages, originating from the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt, the location of the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the world.
Appearances[]
References[]
- TOS movie: The Undiscovered Country
- VOY episode: "11:59"
- VOY episode: "Fair Haven"
- TOS novel: The Galactic Whirlpool
- TOS novel: Chain of Attack
- TOS novel: Uhura's Song
- TOS - Mere Anarchy novel: Things Fall Apart
- TOS - Starfleet Academy novel: Cadet Kirk
- TNG novel: Losing the Peace
- TNG novel: The Genesis Wave, Book 2
- DS9 - Millennium novel: Inferno
- ENT - The Romulan War novel: Beneath the Raptor's Wing
- COE eBook: Wildfire, Book 2
- COE eBook: Breakdowns
- Star Trek Adventures RPG module: Core Rulebook
- LUG RPG module: The Way of Kolinahr
External links[]
- Lighthouse article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Lighthouse article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.