# What is this array for (at this airport)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 19, 2005, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513 "2005-01-19T07:58:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/1 "2005-01-19T07:58:57Z")
While surfing TerraServer and looking around at various airports, I encountered a rather spooky-looking array; [here it is](http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=4&S=8&Z=16&X=8993&Y=92700&W=1&qs=%7csears+tower%7cillinois). What exactly is this, and why is it in a hurricane-shaped pattern? ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/2 "2005-01-19T08:48:56Z")
The domed building you are looking at is the \*\*Adler Planetarium \*\* just north of the airport. It’s probably a piece of artwork related to astronomy. BTW Meigs field is no longer an airport. The runway was torn up by Mayor Daley last year. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/3 "2005-01-19T08:50:08Z")
Looks to me like it might just be a sculpture or other ornamental setup of some kind. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/4 "2005-01-19T10:58:14Z")
Speaking as a Chicago area pilot and long-time worker drone in the Loop, not to mention occassional Adler toursit, I can safely say that has absolutely nothing to do with an airport (and Meigs has been destroyed - that picture is at least two years old). The swirly bit is part of the Adler ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/5 "2005-01-19T15:34:24Z")
Yup, I’ve been to that thingy & walked around it. What you see on the aerial photograph are just stones. They’re roughly rectangular, measuring about 1’ x 1’ x 2.5’, and they’re just lying flat on the ground. Also, it’s not evident from the photograph, but if you stand at the center there are four gaps leading outwards, at roughly ENE, WNW, ESE, and WSW. I didn’t get any confirmation about this, but I believe that they’re aligned such that if you stand at the center on June 21 (or December 21st), the sun rises aligned with one gap and sets aligned with another. So it’s got a bit of a Stonehenge-eqsue quality. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/6 "2005-01-19T16:16:16Z")
Can’t add anything except to state we live in a seriously cool age when someone from (Arizona I guess) can look at arial photos of another part of the world, post the photo link to a message board and quickly get a reply from someone who has walked arround the particular sculpture. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/7 "2005-01-19T16:20:57Z")
I’ve _driven_ around there, _virtually_, in a game called Midtown Madness. (The landmark isn’t included in the game) ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/8 "2005-01-19T22:08:28Z")
Boy, **Bippy** , are you ever right. I will never cease to be amazed at the possibilities. As far as demolished structures (now that I’m thinking, I could have sworn I saw a thread here about Meig’s and its closing), I notice that Soldier Field is in a bit of disarray; I guess that one is done in too? (I’m clueless as to many sports facts.) So, thanks to the tips, I googled “Adler Planetarium” and found that this is called “[America’s Courtyard](http://www.artic.edu/aic/students/sciarttech/2b2.html)”. Indeed, as **MikeS** said: > [@](#): > > _From the linked site:_ > This center stone is quartered into four sections that come together to form a cross point, which is aligned to the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west. Laid out on the south lawn of the planetarium, the sculpture serves as a type of observatory—a place to track the movement of celestial objects, such as the sun. In this respect, it resembles ancient monuments, such as Stonehenge (2950–1500 B.C.), which may have been erected to record major celestial events. Why, that’s awesome! And such visibility from relatively small stones, too! I had thought that this was otherwise, actually; I have seen in another aerial photograph a similar array, which, upon remembering to ask a pilot acquaintance today, is known as a segmented circle. Apparently, this is a navigational aid used when the tower is closed (or nonexistent). I had thought that this was a similar thing. Thanks for the help! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/9 "2005-01-19T23:24:41Z")
If that is a planetarium, then I’ll wager that the artwork (?) is a representation of a spiral galaxy. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/10 "2005-01-19T23:27:21Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > If that is a planetarium, then I’ll wager that the artwork (?) is a representation of a spiral galaxy. And what **Joe** posted. Still, I’d bet they made it look like a spiral galaxy on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/11 "2005-01-20T00:48:36Z")
> [@Joe K](#): > > I had thought that this was otherwise, actually; I have seen in another aerial photograph a similar array, which, upon remembering to ask a pilot acquaintance today, is known as a segmented circle. Apparently, this is a navigational aid used when the tower is closed (or nonexistent). I had thought that this was a similar thing. Well, now that you mention it, yes, I could see where someone unfamilar with airport equipment might confuse the swirly stones with a segmented circle. However, they’re different enough that the comparison did not occur to me without your prompting. Partly, it’s _too_ symmetrical to be an airport segmented circle, but unless you know how to read the beasties it’s not a fact that leaps out at you. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/12 "2005-01-20T00:59:22Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > The domed building you are looking at is the \*\*Adler Planetarium \*\* just north of the airport. It’s probably a piece of artwork related to astronomy. BTW Meigs field is no longer an airport. The runway was torn up by Mayor Daley last year. The last time I visited the **Adler Planetarium** it was at the north end of an island in Lake Michigan and east of The Field Museum of Natural History. When was it moved? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/13 "2005-01-20T01:07:05Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > The last time I visited the **Adler Planetarium** it was at the north end of an island in Lake Michigan and east of The Field Museum of Natural History.When was it moved? \<[switchboard.com](http://switchboard.com)\> lists it as: Adler Planetarium 1300 S Lake Shore Dr Chicago, IL 60605-2403 Phone: (312) 322-0300 ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/14 "2005-01-20T01:09:12Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > \<[switchboard.com](http://switchboard.com)\> lists it as: > Adler Planetarium > 1300 S Lake Shore Dr > Chicago, IL 60605-2403 > Phone: (312) 322-0300 OOOPS They built an airport AND tore it up since I was there. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-array-for-at-this-airport/285513/15 "2005-01-20T01:25:35Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > The last time I visited the **Adler Planetarium** it was at the north end of an island in Lake Michigan and east of The Field Museum of Natural History. > > When was it moved? Never. The planetarium was built on the northeast corner of a spit of land that is properly called a peninsula. Meigs was built on an artificial extension of said penisula named (for some reason) _Northerly Island_ even though it wasn’t an island, it’s in the middle (not north of) Chicago, and in fact it lies _south_ of the bit of land that attaches the landfill to the original lakeshore. But then, Chicago has never been strong on logic. > [@](#): > > OOOPS They built an airport AND tore it up since I was there. Meigs field opened in 1948. You know, you are allowed to visit Chicago more often than every 67 years 😃