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Outer Space, our solar system and Earth’s geography, geology and human environmentDiscover Smithsonian articles by place—including Earth, the solar system and outer space.
A New Way to Generate Brain Cells from Pee
This trick could help supply cells for studying the mechanisms of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
December 11, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Most Exclusive Coffee in the World Is Harvested From Elephant Poo
Two cups of the so-called Black Ivory coffee cost around $50, while a pound of the digested beans total a tidy $500
December 11, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Start Hoarding Your Beans, Thanks to Climate Change, $7 Coffee May Be the Norm
Starbucks most expensive cup of coffee to date raises the question, how high can we go?
December 10, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
Environmentalists Want To Keep Oil Platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Wait, What?
Oil companies want to pull their rigs from the Gulf, but environmentalists are saying "no"
December 10, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
This Weird Map Visualizes Air Pollution as Nose Hair Length
If there's one thing nobody wants, it's really long nose hairs. Which is perhaps why Clean Air Asia has decided to start visualizing each person's air pollution as super-long, disgusting nose hairs
December 10, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Stylish But Illegal Monkey Caught at Ikea
A confused monkey wearing a shearling coat and diaper was found wandering around outside an Ikea store in Toronto
December 10, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Should Trophy Hunting of Lions Be Banned?
Some argue that tourist safari hunts generate important money for African nations—but can lions afford the loss?
December 07, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
It’s Been 40 Years Since Anyone Rode a Rocket to the Moon
Apollo 17 took off forty years ago today
December 07, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
It’s the Final Day of the Doha Climate Talks, And, Uh, Did Anything Actually Happen?
Reports from Doha don't provide much hope that any progress has been made on the increasingly urgent issue of global climate change
December 07, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Lions Are Disappearing From Africa
New research shows that lions are quickly disappearing across Africa's once-thriving savannahs due to human population growth and massive land use conversion
December 07, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Motopia: A Pedestrian Paradise
Visit the futuristic town where drivers and non-drivers live in perfect harmony
December 06, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Where to Watch the Biggest Waves Break
From Waimea Bay to "Mavericks," here are some superb sites to watch surfers catch the biggest breakers in the world this winter
December 06, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
After Decades of Wishing for a Mars Colony, It May Finally Be Within Reach
With multiple paths to the red planet laid out, we might actually see people on Mars in the next few decades
December 06, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
The Day Henry Clay Refused to Compromise
The Great Pacificator was adept at getting congressmen to reach agreements over slavery. But he was less accommodating when one of his own slaves sued him
December 06, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Drinking Tea Was Once Considered an Irresponsible, Reckless Pursuit for Women
Poor Irish women who drank tea in the 19th century might as well have been chugging a bottle of whiskey
December 05, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Oldest Book Printed on American Soil To Go Up for Sale
A 372-year old book of psalms is set to go up for auction
December 05, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Blame Napoleon for Our Addiction to Sugar
Prior to 1850, sugar was a hot commodity that only society's most wealthy could afford
December 04, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
World’s Greatest Extinction May Have Actually Been Two Extinctions in One
The Permian-Triassic extinction nearly wiped out life on Earth
December 04, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Hagfish Slime May Cover Models in Future Fashion Shows
The hagfish aims to make a slimy splash on the fashion runway with a tough, silk-like material harvested from its bountiful snot-like secretions
December 04, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Urbanization Is Supersizing Spiders
City-dwelling spiders are bigger than their country-living brethren
December 03, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
