The Adler ‘Scope

Header Image: A person observing through a telescope in July 2021 at the ‘Scopes at the Adler small-group experience inside the Adler Planetarium’s Doane Observatory. I was in graduate school, working on a writing project about vision and light and the brain, when I looked through a real telescope for the first time.   The year […]

Header Image: Adler Planetarium graphic depicting the fall celestial event, Chicagohenge. If you like dark-sky viewing, you’ll get more opportunities for it this September 2021 as Earth’s Northern Hemisphere approaches an equinox. The autumnal equinox, marking the fall season in the Northern Hemisphere, falls on the 22nd, at 2:21 p.m. CDT. On the autumnal equinox […]

Header Image: Snapshot of the annual Perseids Meteor Shower in 2016 from West Virginia. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls Of the three major meteor showers that occur each year, only one takes place when the weather is reliably warm. The Perseid meteor shower is a highlight of this month, August 2021! The Perseids peak around the […]

Header Image: Galaxy cheesecake slices cut up and being served. What’s cooler than a regular cheesecake? A galaxy cheesecake! Celebrate National Cheesecake Day every day with a delectable dessert that is truly out-of-this-world. Galaxy Cheesecake Recipe Ingredients: Cheesecake 72oz soft cream cheese 1 1/4 cups sugar 1.2 tsp salt 4 eggs 3 tbsp lemon juice […]

Header Image: Artist Concept of the Kepler Space Telescope operating during a new mission to find planets. Credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T Pyle 2021 marks the 450th anniversary of the birthday of one of the most noted astronomers in history, Johannes Kepler. Kepler was a German astronomer who started his career as a mathematics teacher before working […]

Header Image: The Moon surface as seen via the Adler’s Doane Observatory in April 2017. It may be the warmest time of the year for the Northern Hemisphere, but the Earth actually is at its furthest point away from the Sun this month, July 2021. Aphelion—the annual point in Earth’s orbit when it’s furthest from […]

Header Image: The Adler Planetarium at night with the constellation Orion shining in the sky. Image Credit: Nick Lake If our social media mentions and DMs are any indication of public sentiment, a lot of you are wondering if the Adler Planetarium is open yet. The answer? It sort of depends on what you mean […]

Header Image: Total solar eclipse from August 21, 2017. An annular solar eclipse occurs—though it won’t be easy to see—and a new season starts this month, June 2021. An annular solar eclipse takes place on June 10; and technically, it is visible in the Chicago area. First off, never look directly at the Sun without […]

Header Image: Eclipse of the Sun illustration from the Adler Planetarium’s Collections Editor’s Note: This blog was originally published in April 2021 and was updated in August 2023 with more current information. There are several topics in astronomy that get lots of people excited: naked-eye visible comets, bright planets, auroras…but eclipses are generally at the […]

Header Image: A person looking through the Doane Observatory telescope at the Adler Planetarium. Written By: Former Digital Collections Access Manager Jessica BrodeFrank and Co-Director of Zooniverse, DH Lead. Dr. Samantha Blickhan Have you ever attempted to search the internet for a specific thing, but found that no matter what you typed in the search […]