密歇根湖畔的阿德勒天文馆， 芝加哥伊利诺伊州 Adler Planetarium near Lake Michigan, Chicago, Illinois (© Amazing Aerial Agency/Offset by Shutterstock)

密歇根湖畔的阿德勒天文馆， 芝加哥伊利诺伊州 Adler Planetarium near Lake Michigan, Chicago, Illinois (© Amazing Aerial Agency/Offset by Shutterstock)

America's oldest planetarium

When it first flicked on the projector lights in 1930, the Adler Planetarium in Chicago was the only one in the Western Hemisphere. At the time, planetariums themselves were only a 7-year-old invention imported from German lens grinders. But the American public's fascination with stars and distant worlds, it turned out, was skyrocketing. By 1934, the Adler had welcomed over a million visitors.

And though our love for space endures, these days in Chicagoland it's tough to catch a clear night sky past all those wonderful bright lights of the Windy City. That helps explain why the Adler still pulls half a million visitors in a typical year, with three state-of-the-art auditoriums and even a massive telescope that lets visitors view far-off galaxies.

美国最古老的天文馆

1930年，芝加哥的阿德勒天文馆（Adler Planetarium）第一次打开投影仪的灯光时，是西半球唯一的天文馆。当时，天文馆本身只是从德国镜头研磨机进口的一项7年发明。但事实证明，美国公众对星星和遥远世界的迷恋正在飙升。到1934年，阿德勒号已经接待了超过一百万的游客。

尽管我们对太空的热爱永存，但如今在芝加哥，要想在这座多风的城市里捕捉到一片晴朗的夜空是很困难的。这有助于解释为什么阿德勒号在一个典型的年份里仍然吸引了50万游客，有三个最先进的礼堂，甚至还有一个巨大的望远镜，可以让游客观看遥远的星系。