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Visitors left notes, photos and mementos at the base of an oak tree Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl had favored after escaping from the Central Park Zoo. A memorial for Flaco was held there on March 3.

What Flaco the Owl’s Death Teaches Us About Making Cities Safer for Birds

Ornithologists and conservationists say humans can take key steps to make urban environments less hazardous for our avian friends

Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, the real Baron Münchhausen, was a retired German officer who fought with a Russian regiment in two campaigns against the Ottoman Empire.

The 18th-Century Baron Who Lent His Name to Munchausen Syndrome

The medical condition is named after a fictional storyteller who in turn was based on a real-life German nobleman known for telling tall tales

JBS Haldane and Edwin Martin Case (pictured) experimented on themselves to study the effects of nitrogen narcosis, in which the gas becomes a powerful narcotic drug under increased pressure.

To Help the Allied War Effort, These Scientists Got Drunk on Nitrogen

During World War II, British researchers conducted tests on themselves to gauge how submariners' brains would function at extreme depths

Farmer Robert Tomlinson harvests forced rhubarb by candlelight on his farm in Pudsey, near Leeds in northern England, in January 2022. 

The English Farmers Who Harvest Rhubarb by Candlelight

The secret to the world’s sweetest rhubarb? Sealed sheds, total darkness and a little old-fashioned flair

This false-colored image of Mercury reflects the varying age and mineral composition of the surface.

The Seven Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Mercury

Only two robotic missions have made it to the Swift Planet, but they were crucial for upending many false assumptions of that sun-scorched world

A beetle collection used for scientific study

Why Do So Many Beetle Species Exist?

Diet played a key role in the evolution of the vast beetle family tree

Sea otters float amid a forest of kelp off California’s Central Coast.

Sea Otters Have Helped Bolster California’s Kelp Forest

A study that looks back more than 100 years shows that where the animals have thrived, underwater forests have, too

Wide-ranging anecdotal reports and studies suggest many animals respond to a total solar eclipse, whether by showing anxiety, performing nighttime behaviors or doing something unexpected.

How Do Animals React to a Total Solar Eclipse? Scientists Document Strange and Surprising Behaviors

Nature enthusiasts work with researchers to figure out how creatures respond to the celestial phenomenon

American video artist Brian Fridge created a five-billboard series in Dallas called View Finder that portrayed a solar eclipse.

The Long History of Art Inspired by Solar Eclipses

For centuries, curious artists have been trying to make sense of the celestial event

Sir David Attenborough

How David Attenborough Went From Delighting at the Natural World to Pleading for Its Future

The environmental icon’s latest series, “Mammals,” showcases the threats humanity has created for our relatives

Furnished with permission from the British to cross into their waters, Samuel Williams set sail for Penobscot Bay in south-central Maine, which he thought was within a solar eclipse's path of totality.

The Eclipse Chaser Who Led an Expedition Behind Enemy Lines During the Revolutionary War

In 1780, astronomer Samuel Williams journeyed to British-controlled territory to view a total solar eclipse

Researchers hold a male red-cockaded woodpecker in Florida’s Osceola National Forest, making sure his tracking bands are correctly in place.

Endangered Woodpeckers Find a New Home on a Military Training Ground

The red-cockaded woodpecker has lost nearly all of its habitat in the southeastern United States, but an Air Force range in Florida is part of an emerging initiative to relocate besieged species on protected land

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Why We Love Eclipses

Two perspectives on the astronomical phenomenon that has fascinated humans for as long as we’ve been watching the skies

Imagine dragons—or go for a dive in the Pacific Ocean and keep an eye out for this astonishing two-inch sea slug known as Goniobranchus sp. 1.

Dive Into the Exotic World of Nudibranchs, the Spectacular Slugs of the Sea

Psychedelic hedgehogs, purple pineapples, living strawberries—these tiny creatures show off their big personalities off the Australian coast

The mountain range is beloved for its challenging rock climbing and unusually varied terrain, from grassland and forest to rugged alpine rises.

Climbing Malawi’s Island in the Sky

A steep, lush massif—the country's highest peak at 10,000 feet—beckons adventurers

A straw-headed bulbul 

How Singapore Became an Unexpected Stronghold for a Critically Endangered Bird

Despite being the smallest country in Southeast Asia, the city-state is now home to the largest population of the straw-headed bulbul

Oral health problems can signify other problems throughout the body.

Why Isn't Dental Health Considered Primary Medical Care?

Ailments of the mouth can put the body at risk for a slew of other ills, yet dentistry is often siloed

Sun bears are named for a gold crescent on their chest, resembling a rising or setting sun. Each bear’s patch is unique, like a fingerprint.

To Save Sun Bears, Scientists First Have to Find Them

The world's smallest bear plays a crucial role in repairing its tropical habitat in Southeast Asia

A scarlet macaw

14 Fun Facts About Parrots: They Can Sing, Use Tools and Live a Long, Long Time

And one species can even weigh as much as a house cat

Why aren't there freshwater seals or dolphins in the Great Lakes?

Why Aren't Dolphins in the Great Lakes? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video '10 Fascinating Facts About Owls

10 Fascinating Facts About Owls

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Preview thumbnail for video 'What Is A Solar Eclipse?

What Is A Solar Eclipse?

Preview thumbnail for video 'Ten Fun Facts About Jellyfish

Ten Fun Facts About Jellyfish

Photo of the day

In post Soviet countries there are a lot of khrushchyovka house districts. These houses form a pattern and they are placed in certain way. They are kind of a reminder of the regime that once was. This inspired me to make a pattern of khrushchyovkas. The Soviet Pattern