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 […]

Header Image: Up close image of the Moon taken by an Adler Planetarium astronomer in June 2020. Image Credit: Michelle Nichols The “Red Planet” is at its closest and brightest for the year this month, October 2020. On the 6th, the planet Mars reaches its closest point to Earth for the next 15 years. In […]

Header Image: Photo taken of Venus by NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Have you heard the news? On September 14, 2020, a scientific team through the Royal Astronomical Society announced the detection of phosphine molecules in clouds on Venus! This means Venus—the hottest, terrestrial planet in our solar system—is making headlines […]

Header Image: In this 30 second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls Hello stargazers! One of the best annual meteor showers of the year occurs this month, August 2020. The Perseid meteor shower is expected […]

Header Image: Look Up to see Jupiter and Saturn are among the stars of Sagittarius the Archer throughout July 2020. With clear skies, a clear view to the eastern horizon, and good timing, you may be able to see all five naked-eye visible planets this month, July 2020. The brilliant planet Jupiter starts the show, […]

This year’s summer solstice occurs on the 20th, at 4:44 p.m. Central Daylight Time. On that date the Sun rises just before 5:15 a.m. and doesn’t set until shortly after 8:30 p.m. Between those times, the Sun gets very high in the sky. Keep in mind this takes place in the Northern Hemisphere; those in […]

Header Image: A beautiful image of The Whirlpool Galaxy taken by an Adler Planetarium Telescope Volunteer. Image Credit: Bill Chiu Our universe is vast, mysterious, and ever expanding! Astronomers are constantly discovering and uncovering new secrets about space, which we know can lead to lots of questions. What is a black hole? When can you […]

What’s better than the near approach of a comet? How about the near approach of two comets? That’s what we’re expecting during the month of May, 2020! Comet C/2019 Y4, also known as Comet ATLAS, was discovered late last December. It will come closest to Earth on May 23rd, at a distance of about 72 […]

Happy April, stargazers! The closest supermoon of the year takes place this month, April 2020. Supermoon is a nickname that describes a Full Moon that occurs within 10% of its closest approach to Earth. Astronomers refer to supermoons as a perigean Full Moon. The April 7th Full Moon is just under 222,000 miles from Earth. […]