Man Enters the Cosmos

Man Enters the Cosmos
File:20070701 Man Enters The Cosmos.JPG View facing north from north of Adler Planetarium
Artist	Henry Moore
Year	1980
Type	Bronze
Location	Adler Planetarium (outdoor), Chicago, IL

Burnham Harbor view of the Planetarium with the sculpture clearly visible

Moore's Sculpture has plaques explaining its significance and usage

Standard unmodified equatorial sundial

Man Enters the Cosmos is a cast bronze sculpture by Henry Moore located on Lake Michigan lakefront outside the Adler Planetarium in the downtown area of Chicago. ref name=PAG>City of Chicago Department of Public Affairs (2005). "The Chicago Public Art Guide" (PDF) (PDF). Retrieved 2007-09-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)</ref>

It is a work of art created in the form of a functional bowstring equatorial sundial in 1980. This sculpture measures approximately Template:Ft to m. The sundial was formerly located slightly further south at the main entry plaza to the Planetarium, but it now sits directly on the lakefront.

The sundial has two plaques on its base. The one on the left is a commemorative one discussing the benefactor and purpose of the sculpture, which was to recognize the space exploration program. The one on the right is an equation of time table to correct for the time differences caused by the axial tilt of the Earth as well as its orbital eccentricity.

The sculpture is composed of two bronze semicircles, one set inside and at right angles to the other and a slim bronze rod that extends from one end of the outer semicircle to the other that serves as the gnomon. The shadow of the rod projects onto the inner semicircle, which serves as the dial face, to mark the time of day. Over the course of the year different sections of the rod serve as the style, which is the part of the gnomon that indicates the time. At the summer solstice, when the Sun is highest, the style is closest to the top of the rod, and at the winter solstice it is closest to the bottom. At the equinoxes it is exactly in the center of the length of the rod.

This type of sundial is known as an equatorial sundial because the plane of the dial face is parallel to the Earth's equatorial plane. Two primary examples of modified equatorial sundials are bowstring equatorial and armillary dials. Both of these modified equatorial sundials can be read year-round on the same surface, regardless of whether the Sun is above or below the equatorial plane whereas a standard equatorial sundial changes sides with each equinox and is virtually unreadable near the equinoxes when the Sun is located on the equatorial plane.

Moore used to take pride in viewing his sculptures in the open-air environment, and once said he would prefer to see his sculptures in any open landscape than in even the most beautiful buildings he knew. In Chicago, Moore has a total of four public sculptures on display. He also has Nuclear Energy situated at the National Historic Landmark, National Register of Historic Places, Chicago Landmark Site of First Self-Sustaining Nuclear Reaction. His other Chicago works are Large Interior Form at the Art Institute of Chicago and Reclining Figure.