Adler Planetarium

🛸👽 Would you have been fooled?? In 1938—exactly 86 years ago today—a dramatization of H.G. Wells's novel, The War of the Worlds, was broadcast live on CBS radio network. 🎙️ Even though this was clearly a work of fiction, some listeners truly believed the world was under attack. ✍️ 1,349 handwritten letters were sent to Orson Welles reacting to this broadcast! Recently over a thousand Adler Zooniverse volunteers transcribed these letters that are now preserved and readable through the University of Michigan Library. 👀 Read the "War of the Worlds Fan Mail" here: https://lnkd.in/g76vHaNF ✉️ Letter 1: "Handwritten letter from Lydia hark." In the digital collection War of the Worlds Fan Mail. https://lnkd.in/gsEFBFXG. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed October 29, 2024. ✉️ Letter 2: "Handwritten letter from Unsigned." In the digital collection War of the Worlds Fan Mail. https://lnkd.in/gjwwk8c5. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed October 29, 2024. ✉️ Letter 3: "Handwritten letter from George F. Hahn; Dolly Hahn; Clare Hahn; Mrs. Marie Hahn." In the digital collection War of the Worlds Fan Mail. https://lnkd.in/gC6iy24v. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed October 29, 2024.

Last Thursday, the Youth Organization for Lights Out teens welcomed Megan Eaves, the Editor at DarkSky and a travel and science journalist. The teens had a great time talking with Megan, learning about her work, and sharing their own experiences as Light Justice Advocates. Thank you for spending time with us, Megan; it was great to meet you in person! #LightPollution #DarkSkies #Sustainability #SmartCities #Chicago

JOB OPPORTUNITIES 🌟 Looking for a job that’s out-of-this-world? We're hiring! + Content Marketing Specialist + Digital Marketing Specialist + Science Visualization Specialist Consider joining our dynamic team on Chicago’s Museum Campus as we work to fulfill our mission of connecting people to the universe and each other under the sky we all share. 🔭 Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g-_SWMcJ #AdlerPlanetarium #MuseumJobs #ChicagoJobs #Hiring #NonProfitJobs #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing #ContentMarketingJobs #DigitalMarketingJobs

☄️ Check out this The New York Times article "How to See the ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Comet Flaring in Our Night Skies" featuring our astronomer Michelle Nichols: https://bit.ly/4h4kKCD #Comet #AdlerPlanetarium #TheNewYorkTimes #Astronomy

What's up in the night sky this October? 🔭 ABC7 Eyewitness News interviewed our astronomer Dr. Michael Zevin about astronomical happenings this month, and new things to see at the Adler Planetarium: https://bit.ly/4dGDa9q #AdlerPlanetarium #ABC7EyewitnessNews #ChicagoNews

An astronomical event 80,000 years in the making. ☄️ Long ago, comets were, to some, seen as omens of future doom. It seems fitting, then, that we get a potentially bright comet during October 2024 to celebrate the spookiest month on our calendar. Here’s an introduction to Comet C/2023 A3—the latest bright comet to grace our skies in the inner solar system: https://lnkd.in/gYYyRMFK [ 📸: Bill Chiu ] #AdlerPlanetarium #Telescope #Comet #CometC2023A3 #CometTsuchinshanAtlas #Astronomy

It's spooky season, stargazers! 👻 Don’t miss out on this month’s fang-tastic celestial sights: ☄️Surprise! Comet C/2023 A3—also known as Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS or Comet Purple Mountain-ATLAS—recently made its closest approach to the Sun, after having traveled from the Oort Cloud. It’s forecasted to be brightest on October 9 around magnitude -3, and around magnitude +2 on October 12 when the comet is at its closest point to Earth. Stay tuned throughout the month for comet updates! 🌕 The closest supermoon of 2024 rises this month! The hunter’s supermoon will rise on 10/17 and may appear up to 30% brighter and 15% bigger than the average full Moon. 🌟 Venus shines bright at -4 magnitude and sets shortly after the Sun, just above the west-southwest horizon. 🪐 Saturn moves south in the sky throughout each night and gets about 50 degrees high between 9pm–11pm. 🏹 Jupiter hangs out about 10 degrees above Orion the Hunter this month, outshining all the stars in the constellation’s famous belt! ✨ Mars sits near Pollux and Castor—bright stars in the Gemini constellation—but will appear much dimmer than the nearby Jupiter. 🔭 Uranus is theoretically possible to see this month under extremely clear, dark skies. Grab some binoculars and a star chart to help you find it! Learn more about skywatching this month on our blog: bit.ly/4erDPMK [ 📷 : Nick Lake ] #AdlerPlanetarium #Skywatch #Stargazing #Comet #Planets #Supermoon

As Mariah so notably sings: IT’S TIIIIIMEEE!!! 🎶 While it’s not time for Christmas just yet, it IS time for one of Chicago’s coolest phenomena—Chicagohenge! The autumnal equinox is just around the corner and we’re already starting to see the stunning celestial feat known as Chicagohenge. On 9/19–9/22, catch the Sun rising and setting directly in line with any east/west facing street in the city! 🌆 Chicago was famously built on a grid system, meaning most of our streets run directly east/west or north/south. On both the autumnal and spring equinoxes, the Sun rises and sets directly east and west due to the tilt of the Earth. 🌎 Look due east at sunrise and west at sunset to catch our favorite star framed by Chicago’s skyscrapers. But remember, don’t look directly at the Sun! 🙅♀️ #AdlerPlanetarium #Chicagohenge #AutumnalEquinox

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Today, 9/17, many countries around the world celebrate the harvest Moon, our connection to the cosmos and each other. To celebrate, we’re showing off one of our favorite Chinese celestial globes from the 1800s. ✨ How are you celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival? 🌝 #AdlerPlanetarium #HarvestMoon

Oh Moon, how we love you. 🥹 We know we ask you to look up at the Moon a lot. But today especially, we encourage you to take a moment to appreciate the wonder that is our Moon. When you stop to think about it, it’s pretty incredible that this beautiful ball of debris got caught in our planet’s gravity and illuminates the sky each and every night. 🌕 Happy International Observe The Moon Night! 💛 [ 📷: Nenad Spasojevic ] #AdlerPlanetarium #InternationalObserveTheMoonNight #Astronomy