Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

An illustration of all 726 solar systems depicting planets confirmed as of October 30, 2018, the end of Kepler’s life span. The colors represent each planet’s temperature, ranging from chilly dark blue to fiery red. The mission yielded so much data that scientists are still announcing new planets years later.

Science

A Blip on a Telescope in a Colorado Parking Lot Bolstered a Space Mission That Has Found Thousands of Planets … and Counting

The Kepler telescope changed how we saw the sky. It’s just one of the devices we’ve sent out beyond the reach of humans to search our solar system

Linda Shiner
Photographs by Ethan Kruse

O’Keeffe’s New Mexico studio Ghost Ranch. Opposite, a 1918 photo portrait by future husband Alfred Stieglitz.

Arts & Culture

Georgia O’Keeffe Ignored Advice to Mimic Great European Masters. Her Goal Instead Was to Be a Great American Painter

Smart News

Latest Features

Stay Up to Date

Get the latest from Smithsonian magazine in your inbox.

Get the latest stories delivered to your inbox every weekday.

A bi-weekly newsletter bringing you thought-provoking perspectives on art, culture and exciting destinations.

A bi-weekly newsletter sharing new discoveries, fascinating stories and enhanced understandings of our past.

A monthly newsletter bringing you the most interesting new research on wildlife, the environment, space, psychology, paleo history and beyond.

Stay connected to new research, exhibits and fascinating stories stemming from the collections of your favorite Smithsonian museums.

Email Powered by Salesforce Marketing Cloud (Privacy Notice / Terms & Conditions)

Uncovering the past. Understanding the present. Informing the future.

Give a Gift Renew
Smithsonian magazine April/May 2026 issue cover
The adult female fox, Shadow, was around 5 months old when Stuart first documented and named her in 2022.
Science The Fox Family of Mount Rainier
Even the scientists who study the animals rarely see them except on camera. But Gretchen Kay Stuart spent a season documenting them up close
Opener
History Plunder at the Pink Temple
Clara and André Malraux conspired to loot the pink temple of Banteay Srei, but their failure started a battle of reclamation
OPENER - Two U.S. Navy officers stroll past the sunlit Georgian splendor of Middleton Tavern in Annapolis, Maryland. Horatio Middleton established the tavern here in 1750. Today, visitors can order classic Chesapeake seafood, including oysters and rockfis
Travel Drafting the Revolution
Taverns, public houses and inns served as meeting places before the war and unofficial headquarters during it. Some still stand—including these nine, where you can raise a glass in memory of the founders
More from the Current Issue
  image   image

Most Popular

None

Smart News

A Century After Causing Controversy, Red Cave Markings in Wales Are Classified Again as Britain’s Oldest Rock Art

None

Smart News

Archaeologists Excavating a Monastery in Spain Identified the Remains of a 14th-Century Queen—and Multiple Skeletons Buried in the Wrong Graves

None

Smart News

Ona Judge Escaped From Slavery While George Washington Was Busy Eating Dinner Inside. Now, a New Mural Honors Her Legacy

None

Smart News

‘Playful Youngster’: See the Rare, Endangered Przewalski’s Horse Born at the Bronx Zoo

None

Innovation

The Gin and Tonic Is a Cocktail With a Storied History. Don’t Overlook Scotland’s Connection to the Classic

Photo of the Day

The powerful rush of water cascades down the granite cliffs at Shannon Falls, near Squamish, British Columbia. The telephoto lens compresses the scene, highlighting the scale of the falls against the surrounding old growth forest, capturing the raw energy of the landscape.

Waterfall at Shannon Falls Provincial Park

By Sam Schaub

Get the Photo of the Day directly to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter.

Sign Up

Smithsonian Videos

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Photographer's Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

A Photographer’s Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Real Story Behind Abigail Adams' 'Remember the Ladies' Letter

The Real Story Behind Abigail Adams’ ‘Remember the Ladies’ Letter

More Videos

Podcast

Smithsonian Podcast: There’s More to That

Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. In There’s More to That, meet the magazine’s journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.

Listen In

Latest Episodes

Podcast artwork

The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

April 23, 2026 | 34 minutes

Podcast artwork

A Photographer’s Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

April 9, 2026 | 32 minutes

Podcast artwork

The Real Story Behind Abigail Adams’ ‘Remember the Ladies’ Letter

March 26, 2026 | 31 minutes

Podcast artwork

Venomous Snakes Represent a Serious Public Health Problem. Scientists Are Biting Back With a Groundbreaking Antidote

March 12, 2026 | 28 minutes

History

Elisenda of Montcada founded the Royal Monastery of St. Mary of Pedralbes in 1327. She was buried there after her death in 1364.

Archaeologists Excavating a Monastery in Spain Identified the Remains of a 14th-Century Queen—and Multiple Skeletons Buried in the Wrong Graves

The tomb of Elisenda of Montcada has long fascinated experts. But the team was surprised to learn that burials supposedly belonging to a medieval knight and abbess held entirely different individuals

Ona Judge Escaped From Slavery While George Washington Was Busy Eating Dinner Inside. Now, a New Mural Honors Her Legacy

One Weather Forecast Changed the Course of WWII. Here’s the Real Story Behind ‘Pressure,’ a Drama About the Meteorologist Who Convinced the Allies to Delay D-Day

More History

Science

Enormous dinosaurs like the Brachiosaurus in this illustration evolved multiple times over millions of years.

What Was the Biggest Dinosaur? Fragmentary Fossils Make It Hard to Tell

Pinning down the most titanic of the large sauropod dinosaurs is not an easy task, since the odds were generally against the biggest ones being buried and preserved

Brazil Lost 80 Percent of Its National Museum Collection in One Night. Here’s How It’s Fighting to Rebuild

Melting Mountain Ice Is Bringing Ancient Secrets to the Surface. Archaeologists Are Racing to Find the Artifacts Before They’re Lost to Time

More Science

Innovation

Sue Schubel hand-paints around 500 a year from her workshop in a converted barn steps from the ocean in Bremen, Maine, a tiny town in the lower third of the state’s craggy coast.

How ‘Seabird Sue’ Blends Art and Science to Attract Birds Back to Lost Habitat

For the past decade, Sue Schubel has been making detailed decoys of terns, puffins and other seabirds to entice real ones to restored or new homes

These Marine Algae Glow When Waves Disturb Them. Their Bioluminescence Could Power Electricity-Free Lamps of the Future

How a Revolutionary Cancer Treatment Could Reset the Immune Systems of Patients With Autoimmune Diseases

More Innovation

Travel

This view of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia taken last week shows the newly revealed cross that completes the temple's main Tower of Jesus Christ. 

From Casa Vicens to the Sagrada Familia, Architect Antoni Gaudí Left an Indelible Mark on Barcelona

To honor the pioneer of Catalan Modernism, who died 100 years ago, learn about both his lesser-known and famous works

This Stockholm Neighborhood Was Built on Ambitious Sustainability Goals. When It Came Up Short, It Doubled Down and Became a Blueprint for Others

From Basket Weaving to Oyster Reef Conservation, Gullah Geechee Women Are Preserving a Living Heritage

More Travel

Arts & Culture

Museumgoers can read the labels on the backs of the paintings, which may provide clues about each work's provenance.

Who Are the Owners of These Nazi-Looted Masterpieces—and Could Displaying Them at One of France’s Most Popular Museums Help Track Them Down?

A new permanent display at the Musée d’Orsay showcases artworks that may have been stolen or sold under suspicious circumstances during World War II. Officials are still hoping to find the families of their rightful owners

The Real Winnie-the-Pooh Lives at the New York Public Library. When Queen Camilla Visited the Bear, She Reunited Him With a Dear Friend

How the Classic American Game of Twister Went From Risqué to Record-Breaking

More Arts & Culture

At the Smithsonian

Explorer Richard Byrd (left) and pilot Floyd Bennett (right) wearing fur parkas, circa 1926

A Century Ago, an Explorer and His Pilot Claimed to Be the First People to Fly Over the North Pole. Here’s Why Experts Doubt That Achievement

While the success of Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett’s polar flight has been disputed, the former went on to accomplish expeditions in Antarctica

Jack Kirby Was a Kid From the Lower East Side Who Became the ‘King of Comics’ and Made Superhero Mythology. Now, New York City Has Named a Street After Him

The Bison Is America’s National Mammal. Here’s How Indigenous Tribes and Conservationists Aided Its Return to the Prairies After Near Extinction

More At the Smithsonian