The Adler ‘Scope

The evening of March 13, 1781, William Herschel was observing the sky with a fine 7-foot refracting telescope he’d made by himself, from the backyard of his home in Bath, England. At that time, Herschel was earning his bread as a musician, but he had been developing a strong interest in astronomy, sacrificing many of […]

You probably know that it takes many minds and lots of teamwork to achieve scientific breakthroughs like human spaceflight. But did you know the same principle applies to complex terrestrial feats like producing a planetarium show? The Adler’s newest show, Imagine the Moon, was a massive team effort. The Adler’s Guest Experience and Theaters teams […]

The longest days and shortest nights of the year—for Earth’s Northern Hemisphere, anyway—take place this month, June 2019. The first day of summer for the Northern Hemisphere occurs on the solstice, at 10:54 am CDT on the 21st. It’s the longest day of the year, with the Sun rising very early and setting very late. […]

We’ve been an Adler family since our son, Hudson, picked up his first toy space shuttle and never put it down. I remember his first trip—when he was perhaps three years old—and the look of wonder on his face as it dawned on him that the rockets, the planets, the stars, and moon were all […]

Header Image Photo Credit: Mark Subbarao, Dinoj Surendran, and Randy Landsberg Hello! Welcome to our 4th AstroFan! The past few features have dealt with some of the coolest objects in space (neutron stars, our Moon, exoplanets, etc)—this feature of AstroFan is going to switch things up and focus on the actual SPACE around these objects, […]

Editor’s Note: Updated in May 2023 to reflect more current and updated information. Lee Garcia Former Facilities Support Team Lead You’ve worked at the Adler for 6 years. (WOW!) What is one of your favorite memories from your time here? Finding love under the stars! What is your favorite exhibition, sky show, or experience at […]

Youth Organization for Lights Out (YOLO) is a STEM civic action program created to empower high school youth to advocate within their community about a single environmental issue: light pollution. The program began in a biology class at World Language High School located in Chicago’s South Lawndale neighborhood. It has evolved into an afterschool program […]

By Jesus Garcia (Electronics Design System Engineer and Educator) and Dr. Geza Gyuk (Astronomer). On Wednesday, April 17, 2019, the Adler sent its first mission to space! This ambitious project was a collaboration between students, scientists, and volunteers from around Chicagoland. Last spring, students from the ITW David Speer Academy, a public four-year charter high […]

“Chicago’s Black Women in STEAM” is a series on The Adler ’Scope that highlights the awesome women of Chicago who are doing amazing things in science, technology, engineering, art, and math fields here in our own community. Meet women of varying ages, backgrounds, and interests and learn their unique stories. Jessica Nicole EsquivelParticle Physicist, PhD […]

It’s Astronomy Day! On such a day we could seize the opportunity to talk about what it feels like to look up through a telescope or how our collections experts preserve centuries-old astrolabes or the latest updates on our Adler teen-led underwater meteorite hunt… but as I watch the people around me do what they […]