Header Image: The outside of the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, IL at sunset in the fall. When you were a kid, you probably learned your ABC’s using stuff like, “A is for…apple” or “B is for…bee” or “C is for…cat” to represent each letter. While those options are all fine and good and cute, what if […]

Header Image: The JWST is being lifted into a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center before it was launched in December 2021. Image Credit: NASA/Desiree Stover In July 2022, the first images from the JWST captivated people all over the world, including here at the Adler Planetarium. This massive, collaborative effort to explore […]

Header Image: The Cosmic Cliffs in NGC 3324, also known as the Carina Nebula. This image was taken by the JWST and shows cosmic dust and gas a part of the nebula, but also previously obscured star nurseries and stars that we can now see with the space telescope’s infrared light. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, […]

Header Image: Three Tusken Raider cosplayers sitting on the steps outside the Adler Planetarium for the 2014 Adler After Dark: Geek Chic event. As we were preparing to celebrate Star Wars Day, Adler Astronomer Dr. Geza Gyuk raised a very interesting scientific question about the Star Wars universe: Why do all the aliens in Star Wars […]

Header Image: Eclipse of the Sun illustration from the Adler Planetarium’s Collections Editor’s Note: This blog was originally published in April 2021 and was updated in August 2023 with more current information. There are several topics in astronomy that get lots of people excited: naked-eye visible comets, bright planets, auroras…but eclipses are generally at the […]

Header Image: Illustration of Mars Perseverance landing on the Red Planet. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Blog Last Updated: March 2022 Humans have been fascinated by the fourth planet from the Sun for centuries. At one point, there were some astronomers who were absolutely convinced that canals—created by alien life—stretched across its surface. One thing is for sure: […]

Header Image: The Jupiter-Saturn Great Conjunction happening in December 2020 can be viewed when lookin southwest after local sunset. In astronomy, we often tie a time period to something. “It’s been 50 years since this one thing happened,” or “it’s been 3 years since we saw this other event in the sky.” Every once in […]

Header Image: Astrophotography picture of the Moon. Image Credit: Nick Lake What, exactly, is a blue moon, and how rare is it? This question seems like it should have a straightforward answer, but as with all things related to language, it’s complicated. Absurd, Impossible, or Rare? The phrase blue moon has been around for several […]

Image Caption: The Andromeda Galaxy taken by an astrophotographer. Image Credit: Nick Lake From galactic paintings to space poetry, everyone’s favorite out-of-this-world muse—aka our universe—inspires all kinds of stellar works of art. Our staff came together and composed a few short poems all about aspects of space that inspire them. STAGES In my youth, I […]

Header Image: Planetarium guests attend a sky show with the Zeiss Mk II projector at the Adler c. 1955. Image Credit: The Adler Planetarium Archives When the Adler Planetarium opened in 1930 as America’s first planetarium, the centerpiece was a star projector made by the Carl Zeiss company of Germany, the Zeiss “Mark II”. This […]