Careers in Space Science

Featured Careers

We thought it would be nice to start our careers in space science section with a bit about some of our in-house researchers. Check back to see future interviews with Adler staff as well as outside experts working in a variety of careers related to space science.

A great way to get started in a space science career is participating in a teen internship program.

Learn more about out teen internship programs.

Gamma Ray Astronomer

Larry Ciupik, M.S., Adler Planetarium

What does an astronomer at the Adler do?

It’s a varied role. Every day it turns out that we have very different kinds of things to do. We don’t do a lot of individual answering of questions. The web as really changed that. Nowadays, you get very few questions from people because they can Google it and be shown a thousand answers. We do have the Space Visualization Lab where we answer visitor’s questions everyday for an hour. We also talk about our research.

Learn more about being a Gamma Ray Astronomer.

Curator

Bruce Stephenson, Ph.D., Adler Planetarium

What does a curator at the Adler do?

The Adler Planetarium has a collection of scientific instruments dealing with the history of astronomy. The curators—there are two and a half curators in the Webster Institute—study these instruments for exhibit purposes, for our own research, and to answer questions that we get from visitors and questions that come in over the Internet.

Learn more about being a Curator.

Interactive Visualization Developer

Julieta Aguilera, Adler Planetarium

What does an interactive visualization developer do?

I work in the Adler’s Space Visualization Laboratory visualizing,  programming  and  designing interactives to  bring  the  excitement  of  cutting edge astronomy to the public.

Learn more about being an Interactive Visualization Developer.

Radio Astronomer

Doug Roberts, Ph.D., Adler Planetarium

What does an astronomer do?

I am a radio astronomer. A radio astronomer uses radio telescopes to observe the sky the same way that an optical astronomer uses telescopes that use mirrors. Radio telescopes look like satellite dishes and show what the sky looks like in radio wavelengths.  Looking at the sky in radio waves is important since they can penetrate through the gas and dust in the galaxy, which obscures the sky in optical wavelengths that our eyes see in.

Learn more about being a Radio Astronomer.