As part of Far Out Friday, Dr. Nick Kanas, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, will trace the history of man's attempts to map the night sky from the time of the classical Greeks through the Golden Age of pictorial celestial maps to modern day star atlases. His talk will be illustrated with stunning images from antiquarian celestial maps and atlases from his recent book: Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography.

Copies of Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography will be available for signing immediately following the talk.

Visit the Far Out Friday page on Lecture Series for more information.

As part of Far Out Friday, Northwestern University's Abigail Foerstner will present a talk on her new book James Van Allen: The First 8 Billion Miles, a biography of the space exploration pioneer.

Copies of James Van Allen: The First Eight Billion Miles will be available for signing immediately following the talk.

As an added bonus: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of NASA in October 2008, the Adler Planetarium is pleased to present the 1983 film version of Tom Wolfe's book The Right Stuff. The movie is part of Far Out Friday admission and will begin at 8:15 pm* in the Universe Theater. (*Note: The Far Out Friday event on October 3, 2008 will end at the normal time of 10:00 pm, but moviegoers for The Right Stuff are welcome to stay in the theater until the end of the film at approximately 11:30 pm.)

Visit the Far Out Friday page on Lecture Series for more information.

As part of Far Out Friday, Smithsonian historian Michael J. Neufeld will present a talk on his new book Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, a candid look at Wernher von Braun, father of the U.S. rocketry program.

Visit the Far Out Friday page on Lecture Series for more information.

11th annual Roderick S. Webster Memorial Lecture held at the Adler Planetarium. The lecture was created in 1998 and is hosted each year in memory of Roderick Webster, former Adler Curator and Chairman of the Board. Roderick Webster along with his wife Marjorie Webster, volunteered forty years of dedicated service to developing the Adler's Collection, making it one of the world's greatest science collections as well as a rich resource for scholars and museums. The Webster Lecture is sponsored in part by the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA).

The AIA serves the non-specialist public in two principal ways: through its magazines Archaeology and Dig, and through the lecture program. Each academic year between September and May, Institute headquarters in Boston sends three professional archaeologists to lecture to each of its local societies. Because the local societies are composed of members of the general public as well as professional archaeologists, the lecture program provides a unique opportunity for interested non-professionals to meet practicing archaeologists and to learn of new discoveries.

AIA lectures are free and bring news of the latest archaeological discoveries to the public. AIA local societies, located throughout the United States and Canada, integrate the lectures provided to them by Institute headquarters with locally sponsored lectures and events.

Visit the Lectures page for more information.

The mystery of time has captivated science journalist Dan Falk, who sets off on an intellectual journey in his latest St. Martin's Press book, In Search of Time: The Science of a Curious Dimension. In this illustrated talk, Dan will discuss some of the most intriguing aspects of time: how our ancestors first learned to measure it; how we suspect it — and the universe — began, and what the "end of time" may hold for us; and a brief look at the physics of time travel and the paradoxes it seems to entail.

Visit the Far Out Friday page on Lecture Series for more information.

This is your chance to witness the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century! Join Adler President Paul H. Knappenberger Jr., PhD to experience this rare celestial event from Anji in southern China. We will start in Beijing, touring the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the Temple of Heaven before journeying to Xian for its famed terracotta warriors. From Xian, we will stop at Hangzhou's West Lake and prepare for the solar eclipse adventure. We complete our journey in Shanghai, with exciting options to extend your trip. Dr. Knappenberger will guide you through China's rich history and relationship to the sky.

Visit the Adler Travel page for more information.

Ten percent of the Adler Planetarium's electrical power is now green. We have signed a three year partnership with Community Energy to supply us with clean, renewable wind energy. Ten percent of our power is roughly equivalent to the electricity we use in both of our theaters.

Where are the wind turbines and how does this work? The wind energy that is generated in our name is placed on the national electrical distribution grid reducing the amount of fuel based energy needed.

To learn more about Community Energy, surf over to www.communityenergy.biz.