Header Image: The outside of the Adler Planetarium at night with the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn brightly lit in the background. Image Credit: Mike Smail If skies are clear, we’ll get a chance to see all the planets visible to the unaided eye—and, just maybe, a comet—this month, December 2021. Comet Leonard, discovered in January […]

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: 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: Total lunar eclipse seen in the United States on April 15th, 2014 in San Jose, California. Image Credit: NASA Ames Research Center/Brian Day A good chance to glimpse a hard-to-see planet, a lunar eclipse during Moonset, and the closest Supermoon of the year occur this month, May 2021. Planets To Spot This May […]

Traditionally April’s Full Moon has been called the “Pink Moon,” for the flowers that begin to bloom in the warmer weather. However, some people will be calling it a “Supermoon” this month, April 2021. The Moon’s orbit around the Earth isn’t a perfect circle; sometimes the Moon is further away from Earth, sometimes it’s closer. […]

Header Image: Chicagohenge Image Credit: @cdats It’s the month named for the god of war, Mars; and the planet Mars is a great focus for the month of March 2021. Last month, NASA’s Perseverance Rover successfully landed on the planet Mars. It joined the still-operating Curiosity Rover already on the Martian surface. Perseverance allows NASA […]

Header Image: Illustration of Mars Perseverance landing on the Red Planet. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Blog Last Updated: March 2022 Humans have been fascinated by the fourth planet from the Sun for centuries. At one point, there were some astronomers who were absolutely convinced that canals—created by alien life—stretched across its surface. One thing is for sure: […]

Header Image: Mars can be seen here during its opposition in October 2020. Image Credit: Astrophotographer Nick Lake Is that bright “star” in the sky really a star, or could it be a planet?  There’s plenty of both to look for this month, February 2021! Shortly after sunset, look high in the south-southwest skies to […]

Header Image: Night photography set up with Comet NEOWISE in the background, taken in July 2020. Image Credit: Nick Lake It’s the beginning of 2021, stargazers! Earth is in the “just-right” zone for life to form—it orbits not too far from the Sun, and not too close. However, Earth’s distance from the Sun varies slightly […]

Header Image: The outside of the Adler Planetarium at night with the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn brightly lit in the background. Image Credit: Mike Smail Many of us lost an hour earlier this year, but we get back that hour this month, November 2020! Most of the United States uses Daylight Saving time, which starts […]