Smithsonian Magazine

Physicists Create Homemade Cosmic Dust, Which Could Help Them Figure Out How the Building Blocks of Life First Reached Earth

Cosmic dust normally comes from dying stars. The recipe for a lab-made version includes a few gases, vacuum tubes and ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Rumors Suggested That Anne Boleyn Was a Witch With Six Fingers. Did This Elizabethan Artist Rework a Portrait of the Tudor Queen to Debunk the Gossip?

A new analysis of the Hever Rose portrait suggests that the painter deliberately modified an existing template to showcase ...
Smithsonian Magazine

These Parasitic Beetles Mimic the Smell of Flowers So They Can Trick Bees and Raid Their Nests, New Research Suggests

A beetle species’ larvae seem to bamboozle bees by smelling like flowers. This newly discovered deceptive strategy might be the first known example of an animal imitating floral scents, according to a ...
Smithsonian Magazine

These Lazy Bats Are Super-Efficient Killers That Carefully Conserve Energy to Attack at a Moment’s Notice

Wild fringe-lipped bats spend just one-tenth of the night in flight, but they can precisely snatch a calling frog and nab ...
Smithsonian Magazine

An Asteroid Might Slam Into the Moon in 2032—and Create a Fiery Flash That’s Visible to Earthlings, New Research Suggests

Early last year, asteroid 2024 YR4 caught the public’s attention as its chances of hitting Earth in the near future climbed ...
Smithsonian Magazine

This Carved, Painted Zapotec Tomb Is Mexico’s Most Important Archaeological Discovery in a Decade

Archaeologists in Mexico have uncovered an incredibly well-preserved Zapotec tomb dating back to the early seventh century.
Smithsonian Magazine

The National Gallery of Art Acquires 17th-Century Masterpiece by Baroque Painter Artemisia Gentileschi

"Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy" is the gallery's first work by the Italian artist, who was one of the most influential female ...
Smithsonian Magazine

William Henry Harrison

From Abraham Lincoln’s patent to James A. Garfield’s geometry proof, learn how these 19th- and 20th-century commanders in ...
Smithsonian Magazine

One Was a Teenage Diplomat. Another Was a Nuclear Engineer. Here’s How Eight Presidents Made Their Mark Outside of the White House

From Abraham Lincoln's patent to James A. Garfield's geometry proof, learn how these 19th- and 20th-century commanders in ...
Smithsonian Magazine

See 24 Astounding Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest—and Vote for Your Favorite

The public will choose the winner of the People’s Choice award in a vote that runs from February 4 to March 18 ...
Smithsonian Magazine

An Asian Elephant Was Born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for the First Time in Almost 25 Years. Now, You Can Help Pick Her Name

The calf was born to 12-year-old Nhi Linh, a first-time mother, and 44-year-old Spike. The pair bred as part of a program ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Ron Teasley, Pioneering Baseball Player and One of Two Surviving Negro League Veterans, Dies at 99

The former Brooklyn Dodger and New York Cuban leaves a lasting legacy of coaching and service in his hometown of Detroit ...