Art Meets Science

Comet "Snowstorm" Swirling in This Stunning GIF Is a Tricky Illusion

“Things are not quite as they seem," explains astronomer Mark McCaughrean

Watch Cells Move Within Living Animals in This Breathtaking Footage

The new microscope technique incorporates cutting-edge technology to capture spectacular imagery of cellular activity

Artists and poets have long been inspired by the mathematical patterns found in nature—for instance, the remarkable fact that a sunflower's seeds follow the Fibonacci sequence. But there are myriad other ways that the realms of poetry and mathematics can intersect.

How Poetry and Math Intersect

Both require economy and precision—and each perspective can enhance the other

The artist’s impression of "Self-Conscious Gene."

Sculpture of ‘Zombie Boy’ Fleshes Out London's Science Museum

A giant sculpture of artist and model Rick Genest, who has covered himself in tattoos of the inside of his body, will debut in its new Medicine Galleries

Byaku Gunjo

Peek into the Colorful History of the World's Largest Pigment Collection

<i>An Atlas of Rare & Familiar Colour</i> combs through the rainbow that makes up the Forbes Pigment Collection

Glial cells of the mouse spinal cord, 1899 Ink and pencil on paper, 5 7/8 x 7 1/8 in.

See the Founder of Modern Neuroscience's Unique Way of Looking at the Inner Workings of the Brain Through Art

Art meets science in the first U.S. traveling exhibition of Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s sketches

Johannes Vermeer, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring,' c. 1665

Scientists Study ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ in Hopes of Finding How Vermeer Painted His Masterpiece

The enigmatic work was last examined—and restored—in 1994

The team's work with flavobacterium could lead to the creation of biodegradable, non-toxic paints in all the colors of nature

This Vibrant Bacteria Could Be Used to "Grow" Paint

Researchers genetically manipulated bacteria to produce the iridescent colors seen in peacock feathers, butterfly wings

Researchers used non-invasive analysis to trace the origins of Picasso's bronze sculptures

Metal Blends Offer Clues to Picasso Sculptures' History

Analysis of bronze and sheet metal sculptures reveals how, when and where works were cast

In 2018, researchers at the Art Gallery of Ontario released X-ray scans of this hidden painting beneath Picasso's The Crouching Beggar. The artist used the mountains in the painted-over landscape to shape the curves of his subject's back.

Researchers Uncover Hidden Details Beneath Picasso Painting

Using new imaging techniques, researchers reveal the secrets of the 1902 work "La Miséreuse Accroupie" ("The Crouching Beggar")

Photojournalist Christopher Michel captured this mesmerizing scene just a half mile from the South Pole.

How the Antarctic Sun Creates Breathtaking Optical Effects

A fine haze of ice particles transformed this landscape into an otherworldly scene

Scientists Shine New Light on the Blackest Black Feathers

Birds of paradise feathers boast a unique structure that traps 99.95 percent of incoming light

The Freer Buddha undergoes a CT scan at the National Museum of Natural History. "He wouldn't relax his legs," Donna Strahan recalls with a laugh.

How Science is Peeling Back the Layers of Ancient Lacquer Sculptures

These rare Buddhist artworks were found to contain traces of bone and blood

Meet the Newly Named 86 Stars of the Night Sky

The new names are drawn from China, Australia, South Africa, Maya, Polynesian and Coptic traditions

Each chapter progresses from the very small to the very big.

Learn to Speak the Language of the Universe With This Mindblowing New Book

<i>Magnitude</i> helps you imagine the outer limits of time, speed and distance—without breaking your brain

How 21st-Century Technology Is Shedding Light on a 2nd-Century Egyptian Painting

Researchers at UCLA and the National Gallery of Art have pioneered a technology that goes behind the scenes of a centuries-old artistic process

The stunning image that opens the Siphonophorae chapter in The Art and Science of Ernst Haeckel. Each gelatinous siphonophore is actually a group of colonial organisms all living and working together. To grow, they clone themselves—each new minion specialized for a specific function.

This 19th-Century Illustrator Found Beauty in the Slimiest of Sea Creatures

A new book chronicles Ernst Haeckel's life and his gorgeous renderings of wild things—scales, spikes, tentacles and all

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Millions of Historic Images Pay Tribute to the Diversity of Life on Earth

Bask in the infinitely strange wonder of our planet with these gorgeous biodiversity galleries

Artist’s representation of “neglected story on Smithsonian.com.”

The Ten Stories You Didn't Read in 2017 But Should Have

From music behind prison bars to a San Francisco building with a dark past, here are the top 10 pieces we published last year that deserve another look

Madame Tussauds Berlin--one of the many Tussauds wax museums that bears Marie Tussaud's name--has a wax sculpture of Marie Tussaud herself. Here, she's portrayed sculpting the head of Ben Franklin (which is a thing she actually did).

How Marie Tussaud Created a Wax Empire

From France, to Britain, to the world, Tussaud's waxworks endure

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