This behind-the-scenes tour of cool
astro stuff in the Windy City includes
Adler Planetarium’s priceless artifacts,
incredible meteorites in the Field
Museum, neutrino detectors
at Fermilab, and the rich
history of Yerkes
Observatory.
by David J. Eicher
44 ASTRONOMY • JUNE 2018
Astronomy
hicago is a fantastic place on this planet. I live a whisper beyond
100 miles (160 kilometers) from this great city, which sprang
up on the American Midwestern plain in the 1830s as a portage
between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Now hosting
2.7 million people, it is the third-largest city in the United States, and
Chicagoland is home to some 10 million people.
Last winter, Astronomy Senior Editor Michael E. Bakich and I traveled
southward to Chicago and the surrounding region to explore some famous
sites associated with the world of astronomy. Now anyone who lives in
the Midwest realizes it’s not a great place for astronomical observing.
Living here as an observer has taxed my patience for 35 years. But
that’s not to say that astronomical treasures don’t exist in
the Windy City.
My comrade Mr. Bakich and I are going to share with
you some of the stunning sights we saw at four great
institutions: Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum,
Fermilab, and Yerkes Observatory.Adler Planetarium sits on
the shore of Lake Michigan
in Chicago. Some 500,000
people visit it each year.
COURTESY OF ADLER PLANETARIUM