Smithsonian

The new image of the Milky Way's black hole, seen in polarized light. It shows the organized magnetic fields that surround the black hole itself, from which no light can escape.

Astronomers Capture Dazzling New Image of the Black Hole at the Milky Way's Center

The first image of the black hole taken in polarized light, the new view shows the supermassive structure's magnetic fields and hints that it could be hiding an enormous jet

Wildflowers, spongy tundra grass and Brooks Range mountains emerge from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Alaska's North Slope.

Alaska's Frigid North Slope Was Once a Lush, Wet, Dinosaur Hotspot, Fossils Reveal

Conditions north of the Arctic Circle, where dinosaurs roamed in abundance during the mid-Cretaceous, were warmer than today, with rainfall comparable to “modern-day Miami”

The moon’s shadow, as seen from the International Space Station, passes over central Asia during a 2020 total solar eclipse.

A History of Total Solar Eclipses Seen by Astronauts From Outer Space

Since the Gemini 12 mission in 1966, a handful of people have seen these stunning celestial events from orbit—or watched the moon’s shadow pass over Earth

An artist's rendition of the Europa Clipper mission, set to launch to Europa in October. The mission could provide new insights about the life-supporting potential of the moon, which hosts a massive saltwater ocean beneath its icy surface.

Jupiter's Moon Europa May Have Less Oxygen Than Previously Thought

The new findings could have implications for whether Europa's vast ocean contains the conditions necessary to support life

Joro spiders aren't particularly bothered by the vibrations of a busy city environment.

Joro Spiders, Spreading in the Southeast, Can Survive Surprisingly Well in Cities

Unlike most spiders, the hustle and bustle of urban areas doesn’t seem to disturb the non-native Joros, a new study finds

Farmers have shown a renewed interest in planting coffee in the shade of other plants. The resulting farms are visited by a multitude of creatures from ants to birds to bats.

How Shade Coffee Aids Conservation

When managed in the right way, the farms that provide our morning brew can be a refuge for plant and animal biodiversity

Researchers have developed a new video hardware and software system to show humans how insects and other animals experience color. Here, they show an orange-barred sulphur butterfly as it might look to a bird. (The insect appears yellow to humans.)

See the World Through the Eyes of Animals With These Stunning New Videos

By making ultraviolet light accessible to our eyes, a novel camera system reveals how insects, birds and other creatures experience color

This spring, Brood XIII and Brood XIX of periodical cicadas will emerge together for the first time since 1803.

Cicadas Are Coming: Rare 'Dual Emergence' Could Bring One Trillion of the Bugs This Year

The 13-year and 17-year broods that will emerge from underground this spring will be appearing together for the first time in 221 years

An artist's depiction of a person carving a pendant from bones of a giant sloth roughly 25,000 to 27,000 years ago. Research this year suggested humans and the sloths lived in Brazil at the same time, strengthening evidence that our ancestors populated the Americas earlier than thought.

Thirteen Discoveries Made About Human Evolution in 2023

Smithsonian paleoanthropologists reveal some of the year’s most fascinating findings about human origins

When the National Portrait Gallery opened more than a half-century ago, just 17 percent of its collection represented women—either as subjects or creators (above: Carmen de Lavallade, Michele Mattei, 2003, printed 2018). Today, that number has roughly doubled.

Beyoncé, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Other Iconic Women Take Their Place at the Smithsonian

This year, the National Portrait Gallery's annual showcase of new acquisitions spotlights female subjects and female artists

The Smithsonian's Cher Ami will play a role in tonight's multimedia performance “November 1918: The Great War and The Great Gatsby” at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Cher Ami, the Iconic World War I Carrier Pigeon, Makes His Debut at Carnegie Hall

A treasured Smithsonian artifact is reputed to be the heroic savior of the embattled “Lost Battalion” on the Western Front

Julie Packard by Hope Gangloff is on view at the National Portrait Gallery in the new show, "Forces of Nature: Voices That Shaped Environmentalism."

Meet the Steely Gaze of Environmentalism

A new show at the National Portrait Gallery focuses on the defenders of Mother Earth over the past 150 years

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner came across this hominin tibia in Kenya’s Nairobi National Museum. The magnified area shows cut marks.

Our Human Relatives Butchered and Ate Each Other 1.45 Million Years Ago

Telltale marks on a bone from an early human’s leg could be the earliest evidence of cannibalism

“From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya With Ayana V. Jackson” is currently on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art through April 2024 (above: When the Spirit of Kalunda Comes So Does Kianda, Ayana V. Jackson, 2018-2022).

Meet the Inhabitants of the Mythic World of Drexciya

Artist Ayana V. Jackson creates an undersea realm honoring those who jumped or were thrown overboard during the trans-Atlantic slave trade

“Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings” is on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (above: A grouping of bronze and ceramic wine cups and warmers that date to 1100-1150 B.C.E.) 

A U.S.-China Collaboration a Century Ago Helped Find Riches of a Lost Civilization

The first U.S. exhibition to display the wonders of China’s ancient city of Anyang is on view at the National Museum of Asian Art

At the Mosul Cultural Museum, the Lion of Nimrud is being carefully restored (above: the cuneiform text on the figure is realigned and rejoined) as world organizations lend support to restore a city that has long stood at the heart of Western civilization.

Mosul Cultural Museum to Reopen in 2026

Traveling to the ancient Iraqi city, the Smithsonian’s ambassador at large reports on the international efforts to aid recovery

Hosts Emily Martin and Matt Shindell speak with Anisha Abraham and to her actor friend Jo Chim, who has written and directed a 30-minute film called “One Small Visit,” dramatizing a visit the Abraham family (above) enjoyed with the astronaut Neil Armstrong.

A New Neil Armstrong Film Makes One Giant Leap for Kindness

Smithsonian podcasts deliver doses of optimism this month, featuring Bill Nye and a story of a warm welcome from the astronaut’s family

The National Museum of Asian Art's on-going exhibition "Ay-O’s Happy Rainbow Hell," (above: rainbow night 10 from the series, "Rainbow Passes Slowly" by Ay-O, 1971, screenprint 5/55) is part of the museum's 2023 centennial celebrations.

Take a Radiating, Immersive Trip Into ‘Ay-O’s Happy Rainbow Hell’

The National Museum of Asian Art is the first U.S. museum to survey the vivid silkscreens from the 91-year-old Japanese artist

The exhibition "Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures," (above, right: A scene from the 2014 Ghanian short film "Afronauts") is on view through March 24, 2024, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History.

What Is Afrofuturism?

A new exhibition defines how artistry and activism over decades gave rise to the idea and promise of a future that could advance Black life

A Smithsonian staffer carries a horse from the carousel for transport to the restoration facility.

The Smithsonian’s Historic Carousel Undergoes Restoration

The artifact hails from a Baltimore community, where a young African American child became the face of desegregation when she took her ride in 1963

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