Adler Planetarium, Chicago, IL

Research & Collections

Astronomy Research

Prime Focus Newsletter

Astronomy Department Staff

Visiting Scholars Program

Resources

About the Adler Astronomy Department

The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum has taken the lead among planetariums world-wide in establishing an astronomy and astrophysics research group in a museum setting. Adler Planetarium astronomers possess rich and diverse expertise in many areas of astronomy as well as other closely related science fields such as particle physics and geophysics. Several members of the Adler Astronomy Department also hold joint appointments at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. The nature of these joint appointments strengthens the integration of the Adler and its educational mission with the research community.

The primary missions of the Astronomy Department are: (1) to conduct forefront research in astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology, while effectively integrating research programs with public outreach; (2) to be a leading resource in conveying the methodology, concepts and discoveries of astronomy to the public; (3) to provide content for Adler projects that convey the process of science; and (4) to be a leading center of highly skilled science interpreters, who can effectively bridge the gap between the research and educational communities, and help train other scientists to becomemore effective in their outreach efforts.

Annual Report published in the Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol 37, No 1, 2005.

Prime Focus Newsletter

The prime focus of a telescope is the first possible focus of the primary mirror without the use of secondary optics. It is also where the brightest image would be formed. It is where you go to get the best "first-hand" information. The Astronomy Department newsletter, Prime Focus, is meant to be a direct source of information on the Astronomy Department. It is published quarterly.

• No. 1, 2005.09
• No. 2, 2005.12
• No. 3, 2006.03
• No. 4, 2006.06
• No. 5, 2006.10
• No. 6, 2007.10
• No. 7, 2008.01
• No. 8, 2008.05

Astronomy Department Staff

Click for information about our staff members.

Lucy Fortson
Geza Gyuk
Larry Ciupik
Mark Hammergren
Doug Roberts
José Francisco Salgado
Michael Smutko

Mark SubbaRao
Grace Wolf-Chase
David Steele
Andy Puckett
Rivka Rosen
Niklas Karlsson

Visiting Scholars Program

The Visiting Scholar in Astrophysics program brings outside researchers to the Adler for extended (7-20 days) visits to foster collaborations with Adler scientists. The program includes support for travel, accommodations, food, computer and a small honorarium for visiting scientists. In addition to working with Adler researchers, these scholars may host public lectures, teach public courses on their research projects to visitors or present lunch lectures to Adler staff and educators.

Facilities

The Adler Astronomy Department has the unique distinction of being located on the premises of the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum. Through joint appointments at the University of Chicago, the Adler Astronomy Department has access to the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-m telescope, which is owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium. The Doane Observatory is located on the site of the Adler Planetarium, on the shore of Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago, and houses a research-grade 0.5-m Cassegrain telescope built by DFM Engineering. Its instrumentation has recently been upgraded, and includes a 1k x 1k Finger Lakes Instrumentation CCD camera, an SBIG STV high-speed CCD camera, and several video cameras with a standard complement of astronomical filters. The Doane also houses instruments for daytime solar viewing including a Coronado SolarMax 90 hydrogen-alpha telescope. The observatory is routinely used for public observing events, evening classes, live sky shows, and of course, research by the Adler’s astronomers.

Projects

Adler Researchers are involved in many projects at the leading edge of scientific knowledge. The Astronomy Department has particularly strong groups in four areas:

Star Formation

With recent advances in infrared and submillimeter detector technology, it is now possible to study the earliest stages of star formation in unprecedented detail, and to build up a global picture of the evolution of star formation activity in different molecular cloud environments. It has become clear that the life history of a star (and possible accompanying planets) is determined not only by conditions at birth, but also interaction with the star's environment in the "formative years". The Star Formation group at the Adler is performing large multiwavelength imaging and spectroscopic surveys of different star-forming regions from the near-infrared to the microwave regions of the spectrum. These surveys use data from the a variety of telescopes ranging from the Arizona Radio Observatory (ARO), to the Spitzer and IRAS space telescopes. The group plans to target some of these regions for early observations with the airborne SOFIA telescope.

VERITAS

Gamma ray astronomy is poised to open a new window on the Universe—providing actual images from some of the most cataclysmic events imaginable. Since late 2004 the Adler has been an official science team member of the VERITAS collaboration, participating in the construction of four 12-meter gamma-ray telescopes at Mt. Hopkins. The array was completed in April 2007 and will help map the northern sky in gamma ray energies from 50 GeV to 50 TeV (see veritas.adlerplanetarium.org). The VERITAS group at the Adler, along with colleagues at the University of Iowa, is responsible for auxiliary camera systems that are attached to the main VERITAS telescopes. These cameras and the software used to collect their data allow VERITAS scientists to pinpoint locations of gamma ray emitting objects with greater accuracy. The Adler group is also part of the VERITAS team that studies Active Galactic Nuclei, objects that emit a tremendous amount of energy and spew vast jets of material out into intergalactic space. These jets are thought to powered by a black hole at the center of the AGN. By using VERITAS data in conjunction with data from other wavelengths, we hope to gain an understanding of how gamma rays are produced in extreme environments such as AGN and probe the physics of black holes, supernovae, starburst galaxies and possibly dark matter. The Adler is also the lead institution for the VERITAS Education and Outreach program. The Adler VERITAS group currently consists of four team members and is funded in part by awards from the Brinson Foundation and the National Science Foundation.

Asteroid Characterization

It is becoming increasingly clear that the asteroid belt has a long and complex history with many stories to tell us about both the origin and evolution of the Solar System. Of particular interest are the clues the asteroids hold about the formation of the first planetesimals, precursors to the terrestrial planets. These first planetesimals, large enough to have differentiated, appear to have been almost entirely either destroyed or lost from the solar system. The Adler's Asteroid Characterization group is carrying out a program of visible to near-infrared spectroscopy using the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-meter telescope to search for asteroids that are fragments of the destroyed planetesimals. The identification of these fragments provides important information on the early history of our Solar System.

Astrophysical Data Mining/Visualization

Improvements in detector technology have revolutionized the ability of astronomers to collect data. The steady march of computer technology has likewise expanded our ability to process this data and to run the simulations of the underlying physics. To extract meaning from such vast pools of data will require new techniques. The Adler Astronomy Department hosts a strong group working in the areas of data mining and visualization, two tools that will form the backbone of our future ability to understand the Universe. In addition to working on projects such as searching for suppernovae in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data, this group forms the core of the new Space Visualization Lab, a new center for bringing the best of astronomical visualization to our visitors, students and the general public.

In addition Adler astronomers are active in the study of the Galactic Center, very cool White Dwarfs, Planetary Exospheres, and other fields.


		Research & Collections Astronomy Research Prime Focus Newsletter Astronomy Department Staff Visiting Scholars Program Resources About the Adler Astronomy Department The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum has taken the lead among planetariums world-wide in establishing an astronomy and astrophysics research group in a museum setting. Adler Planetarium astronomers possess rich and diverse expertise in many areas of astronomy as well as other closely related science fields such as particle physics and geophysics. Several members of the Adler Astronomy Department also hold joint appointments at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. The nature of these joint appointments strengthens the integration of the Adler and its educational mission with the research community. The primary missions of the Astronomy Department are: (1) to conduct forefront research in astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology, while effectively integrating research programs with public outreach; (2) to be a leading resource in conveying the methodology, concepts and discoveries of astronomy to the public; (3) to provide content for Adler projects that convey the process of science; and (4) to be a leading center of highly skilled science interpreters, who can effectively bridge the gap between the research and educational communities, and help train other scientists to becomemore effective in their outreach efforts. Annual Report published in the Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol 37, No 1, 2005. Prime Focus Newsletter The prime focus of a telescope is the first possible focus of the primary mirror without the use of secondary optics. It is also where the brightest image would be formed. It is where you go to get the best "first-hand" information. The Astronomy Department newsletter, Prime Focus, is meant to be a direct source of information on the Astronomy Department. It is published quarterly. • No. 1, 2005.09 • No. 2, 2005.12 • No. 3, 2006.03 • No. 4, 2006.06 • No. 5, 2006.10 • No. 6, 2007.10 • No. 7, 2008.01 • No. 8, 2008.05 Astronomy Department Staff Click for information about our staff members. Lucy Fortson Geza Gyuk Larry Ciupik Mark Hammergren Doug Roberts José Francisco Salgado Michael Smutko Mark SubbaRao Grace Wolf-Chase David Steele Andy Puckett Rivka Rosen Niklas Karlsson Visiting Scholars Program The Visiting Scholar in Astrophysics program brings outside researchers to the Adler for extended (7-20 days) visits to foster collaborations with Adler scientists. The program includes support for travel, accommodations, food, computer and a small honorarium for visiting scientists. In addition to working with Adler researchers, these scholars may host public lectures, teach public courses on their research projects to visitors or present lunch lectures to Adler staff and educators. Facilities The Adler Astronomy Department has the unique distinction of being located on the premises of the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum. Through joint appointments at the University of Chicago, the Adler Astronomy Department has access to the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-m telescope, which is owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium. The Doane Observatory is located on the site of the Adler Planetarium, on the shore of Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago, and houses a research-grade 0.5-m Cassegrain telescope built by DFM Engineering. Its instrumentation has recently been upgraded, and includes a 1k x 1k Finger Lakes Instrumentation CCD camera, an SBIG STV high-speed CCD camera, and several video cameras with a standard complement of astronomical filters. The Doane also houses instruments for daytime solar viewing including a Coronado SolarMax 90 hydrogen-alpha telescope. The observatory is routinely used for public observing events, evening classes, live sky shows, and of course, research by the Adler’s astronomers. Projects Adler Researchers are involved in many projects at the leading edge of scientific knowledge. The Astronomy Department has particularly strong groups in four areas: Star Formation With recent advances in infrared and submillimeter detector technology, it is now possible to study the earliest stages of star formation in unprecedented detail, and to build up a global picture of the evolution of star formation activity in different molecular cloud environments. It has become clear that the life history of a star (and possible accompanying planets) is determined not only by conditions at birth, but also interaction with the star's environment in the "formative years". The Star Formation group at the Adler is performing large multiwavelength imaging and spectroscopic surveys of different star-forming regions from the near-infrared to the microwave regions of the spectrum. These surveys use data from the a variety of telescopes ranging from the Arizona Radio Observatory (ARO), to the Spitzer and IRAS space telescopes. The group plans to target some of these regions for early observations with the airborne SOFIA telescope. VERITAS Gamma ray astronomy is poised to open a new window on the Universe—providing actual images from some of the most cataclysmic events imaginable. Since late 2004 the Adler has been an official science team member of the VERITAS collaboration, participating in the construction of four 12-meter gamma-ray telescopes at Mt. Hopkins. The array was completed in April 2007 and will help map the northern sky in gamma ray energies from 50 GeV to 50 TeV (see veritas.adlerplanetarium.org). The VERITAS group at the Adler, along with colleagues at the University of Iowa, is responsible for auxiliary camera systems that are attached to the main VERITAS telescopes. These cameras and the software used to collect their data allow VERITAS scientists to pinpoint locations of gamma ray emitting objects with greater accuracy. The Adler group is also part of the VERITAS team that studies Active Galactic Nuclei, objects that emit a tremendous amount of energy and spew vast jets of material out into intergalactic space. These jets are thought to powered by a black hole at the center of the AGN. By using VERITAS data in conjunction with data from other wavelengths, we hope to gain an understanding of how gamma rays are produced in extreme environments such as AGN and probe the physics of black holes, supernovae, starburst galaxies and possibly dark matter. The Adler is also the lead institution for the VERITAS Education and Outreach program. The Adler VERITAS group currently consists of four team members and is funded in part by awards from the Brinson Foundation and the National Science Foundation. Asteroid Characterization It is becoming increasingly clear that the asteroid belt has a long and complex history with many stories to tell us about both the origin and evolution of the Solar System. Of particular interest are the clues the asteroids hold about the formation of the first planetesimals, precursors to the terrestrial planets. These first planetesimals, large enough to have differentiated, appear to have been almost entirely either destroyed or lost from the solar system. The Adler's Asteroid Characterization group is carrying out a program of visible to near-infrared spectroscopy using the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-meter telescope to search for asteroids that are fragments of the destroyed planetesimals. The identification of these fragments provides important information on the early history of our Solar System. Astrophysical Data Mining/Visualization Improvements in detector technology have revolutionized the ability of astronomers to collect data. The steady march of computer technology has likewise expanded our ability to process this data and to run the simulations of the underlying physics. To extract meaning from such vast pools of data will require new techniques. The Adler Astronomy Department hosts a strong group working in the areas of data mining and visualization, two tools that will form the backbone of our future ability to understand the Universe. In addition to working on projects such as searching for suppernovae in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data, this group forms the core of the new Space Visualization Lab, a new center for bringing the best of astronomical visualization to our visitors, students and the general public. In addition Adler astronomers are active in the study of the Galactic Center, very cool White Dwarfs, Planetary Exospheres, and other fields.