Articles

An artist's concept of a moon-sized body slamming into a Mercury-sized world in another solar system. High speed collisions like this were more likely to occur in systems with gas giants, but they took place early in a planet's life, allowing time for the world to recover. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Space Hub

How a Young Jupiter Acted as Both Protector and Destroyer

Like a boisterous older sibling, the gas giant both beat up and protected young Earth

Why Brown Bears Are Misunderstood

Historically feared by humans, brown bears were once aggressively hunted in the contiguous U.S.

Self-Portrait on the Border Line Between Mexico and the United States, 1932, by Frida Kahlo (Colección Maria y Manuel Reyero, New York)

Explore Frida Kahlo's Mexico City

Here are four places with connections to the late Mexican artist to visit on her birthday, July 6, and beyond

The FarmBot Genesis Brings Precision Agriculture to Your Own Backyard

Developed by a team from California, this machine plants seeds, pulls weeds and waters plants individually

Young Syrian refugees play with donated paper and pens in the former Oxy transit camp in Lesvos, Greece.

Child Refugees Pose Unique Challenge for Mental Health Practitioners

As the crisis deepens, mental health experts move from questions of short-term survival to ones of longer-term rehabilitation

Aogashima

The Sleepy Japanese Town Built Inside an Active Volcano

It’s been about 230 years since the last eruption killed half the population. But locals won't let the volcano dictate their future

An artist's rendition of Juno in orbit around Jupiter. The craft is powered entirely by the sun's rays.

Space Hub

It's Official: We Are Now in Orbit Around Jupiter

After a nerve-wracking entry, NASA spacecraft Juno successfully entered the gas giant's orbit

Future of Energy

One Step Closer to Turning Plastics Into Fuel

Researchers in California and China have discovered a new method for breaking polyethylene into liquid fuel and solid wax

Would-be assassin Frank Holt, also known as Erich Muenter

The Harvard Professor Who Shot a Financial Titan and Fomented Anti-German Sentiment in a Pre-WWI America

Readers on July 4, 1915 learned the story of a would-be assassin who said he was trying to keep the U.S. out of the European conflict

Basque craftsmen showed up with a 26 foot-long skeleton, oak timber and other traditional materials and set up shop on the National Mall to build a ship at the Smithsonian’s 2016 Folklife Festival.

There’s a Lot More to This Basque Boat Than Meets the Eye

The lost story of the Basque heritage is just waiting to be discovered and could be revealed just by watching craftsmen rebuild an ancient whaler

Ryan Demirjian, Saro Koujakian, and Mher Ajamian of Armenian Public Radio in Los Angeles.

Armenia

"Armenian Public Radio" Brings Nirvana Attitude to the Folklife Festival

An Armenian-American trio performs traditional folk songs with a modern American sensibility

Cap-Bon-Ami at Dawn Forillon National Park Quebec, Canada

Canada

Visit Canada's Jaw-Dropping National Parks for Free

In honor of Canada's sesquicentennial anniversary, explore its spectacular parks gratis

How Do Your Checked Bags Actually Get on the Plane?

Your bags usually make the same journey you do. But before they've even boarded, they're in for a six-mile automated trip through the bowels of the airport

How Real-time Translation Apps and Online Tools Are Helping Refugees in Turkey Forge New Lives

Refugees and the technology of exile

Statue in front yard, Chalmette neighborhood

Age of Humans

Plastic is Forever: The Art of Mass Consumption

For International Bag Free Day, an intimate look at American mass consumption through the eyes of photographer Chris Jordan

By the “dawn’s early light,” Key saw the huge garrison flag, now on view at the National Museum of American History, waving above Fort McHenry and he realized that the Americans had survived the battle and stopped the enemy advance.

Commentary

Where’s the Debate on Francis Scott Key’s Slave-Holding Legacy?

During his lifetime, abolitionists ridiculed Key’s words, sneering that America was more like the “Land of the Free and Home of the Oppressed”

What Ultra High Speed Penguin Footage Reveals About Pliosaurus

How did the pliosaurus, a 45-foot-long underwater prehistoric predator, keep up with its prey? A biomechanics expert finds answers by observing the penguin

A Coney dog

The Origin of the Coney Island Hot Dog Is a Uniquely American Story

They also have very little to do with the New York City amusement park

Do Insects Have Consciousness?

A new theory has scientists buzzing

Ask Smithsonian

What's the Difference Between Invasive and Nonnative Species? Plus, More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

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