Category: Astronomy 101
Scientists release first close-up photo of a black hole
Black Holes are incredible beasts… Nothing can escape from them and yet they power quasars—the brightest beacons in the Universe. They warp space, bending light, and slow time to a stopping point. In their hearts lurks a singularity where the laws of physics break down. But they are shrouded in mystery. We have lots of […]
The Universe that unites us
Header Image: Grace Wolf-Chase giving a lecture at McCormick Theological Seminary, February 2019. Photo Credit: Tricia Koning Photography It’s a Thursday night in February and I am seated in a classroom at McCormick Theological Seminary in Hyde Park, waiting for a science lecture to begin. At this moment in history, when so much of our […]
Have You Ever Really Seen the Stars?
When was the last time you saw more than five stars in the night sky? More than ten? Twenty? How about the Milky Way? Ever looked up a vast, hazy band of light that trails from one end of the night sky to the other and felt as though the heavens were reaching down toward […]
Mapping the Cretaceous Sky in SUE’s New Exhibit
Header Image: SUE in the brand-new exhibit at the Field Museum with the night sky display in the background When Chicago icon SUE the T. rex had a new exhibit designed, our very own Nick Lake used his expertise and Adler’s technology to map what a Cretaceous sky might have looked like in SUE’s time. […]
AstroFan: Reimagining the Origins of the Moon with Synestia
Hello again! Welcome to the second installment of our AstroFan series! This month’s topic focuses on Synestia, a molten HOT new theory regarding the origins of our Moon. If you’re like me and love action-packed collisions, then buckle up and enjoy this trip back in time to proto-Earth! A few weeks ago a colleague and […]
Webcomic: A Balloon’s Journey to the Edge of Space
The following is a webcomic created by Adler Visiting Researcher, Reheynah (Rey) Maktoufi! In this comic, you’ll meet Defiance, a payload box, who is about to journey to the edge of space with the Adler’s Far Horizons‘ team! In loving memory of Poppy Defiance remembers Poppy earlier that day in Stratosphere:
Copernicus: The Astronomer & the City
Who’s that guy sitting on a pedestal greeting you as you walk up to the Adler Planetarium? It’s one the most prominent astronomers in the history of modern science, Nicolaus Copernicus! In honor of his 545th birthday, let’s dive into the history behind this statue & this astronomer’s legacy. When you approach the Adler Planetarium […]
An Introduction to our Monthly Series “AstroFan” and Binary Neutron Stars
Greetings! My name is Bianca and I work in marketing at the Adler Planetarium. I started here about three months ago in November 2018. Things you need to know about me: 1. I’m a Sci-Fi nerd2. And I think space is FREAKING awesome With that, I present to you my new monthly blog series “AstroFan”—I mean, how could I work in a SPACE […]
Remembering Opportunity, the little rover that could
On Wednesday, February 13, 2019, NASA officially announced the “death” of Opportunity (2003-2018), a rover sent to Mars by NASA in 2003 for a 90-day mission that turned into a staggering fifteen years. Opportunity landed on Mars on January 25, 2004, three weeks after its companion rover, Spirit, touched down on the other side of […]
Happy Valentine’s Day “With Love, from the Man on the Moon”
Author: Carlyn Hill (Former Content Strategist) The greatest love story on Earth didn’t take place on Earth at all—it happened 238,900 away from Earth on our celestial neighbor! In honor of Valentine’s Day, read about the grand romantic gesture Captain James A. Lovell Jr. made while orbiting the Moon on Apollo 8. “You want […]
