Chicago's Lakefront Skyline and the Adler Planetarium

Located on what was once an artificial island on Lake Michigan, the view from the Adler Planetarium is indeed stellar. A favorite spot of locals and tourists alike, Northerly Island is one of the best places from which to enjoy the view of Chicago's lakefront skyline.

Built to house a projector capable of displaying images of celestial objects, the Adler Planetarium, the first in the Western Hemisphere, was opened to the public on May 12th, 1930, thanks to the philanthropic efforts of Max Adler, a senior officer of Sears, Roebuck & Company.

Designed in 1923 by the optical and mechanical engineering firm of Carl Zeiss in Germany, the projector combines an analog computer with precision optics, shining light onto the inner surface of a darkened dome in order to create the illusion of being under the night sky.

The planetarium represents an early form of immersive Virtual Reality. It affords a view of the heavens as seen from anywhere, and at any time, on Earth. I am pleased to honor it on this astronomically significant day by submitting this modern VR panoramic view of my home town.

USA-Canada / USA-Illinois

Lat: 41° 52' 0" N
Long: 88° 37' 26" W

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: Unknown / Undeclared.

Taken with a Minolta A1 (28-200, f/2.8 lens) at 28mm, f/5.0, 1/1600 sec. at ISO 100. Mounted on a Bogen tripod with a homemade "L" bracket. Stitched with PTGui and PanoTools. Published to Quicktime VR format with PanoCube+.