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The new dwarf planet candidate, called 2026 ED138, orbits on a plane tiled nearly 25 degrees compared to our solar system's main planets, suggesting it was disturbed by gravitational interactions with Neptune.

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Astronomers Found a Mysterious Object Orbiting Far Beyond Pluto. It Could Be a New Dwarf Planet Hidden in Our Solar System

The dwarf planet candidate, called ED138, appeared in telescope images and takes roughly 280 years to orbit the sun. Astronomers need to determine its size to properly classify it

Carlyn Kranking

A 1963 gelatin silver print of Malcolm X by Gordon Parks

At the Smithsonian

The National Portrait Gallery Wasn’t Allowed to Acquire Photographs When It Opened in 1968. Fifty Years Later, the Smithsonian Museum’s Collection Has Grown to 11,000 Photos and Counting

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Smithsonian magazine November 2026 issue cover
OPENER - skypalace
History The Mighty Metropolis of the Maya
Diane and Arlen Chase have spent a good portion of their lives uncovering the once-great city of Caracol. Their groundbreaking research is rewriting everything we thought we knew about the Maya
OPENER Thomas Jefferson Illustration by Chloe Niclas
At the Smithsonian Untangling an American Mystery
A lock of hair, advances in genetic science and a community of descendants all contributed to solving an American mystery
The Evening Star
Arts & Culture The Skywatchers
Researchers study paintings and literature to uncover untold history of the works, sometimes finding themselves trying to discern celestial bodies from dust
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This Adorable, Orphaned Baby Walrus Was Rescued by Two Researchers in Alaska. Now, He’s Found a New Home in Florida

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Astronomers Found a Mysterious Object Orbiting Far Beyond Pluto. It Could Be a New Dwarf Planet Hidden in Our Solar System

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Smart News

This Mysterious Combination Lock Sank in a 1583 Shipwreck. When Engineers Cracked the Code, It Clicked Open for the First Time in More Than 400 Years

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Science

Fossil Footprints in Brazil Hint at a Cougar-Size Mammal That Walked Among Dinosaurs. It’s Another Sign That Some Early Beasts Grew to Impressive Sizes After All

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Dismantled to Survive the Nazi Blitz, Coventry Cathedral’s Stained Glass Is ‘a Medieval Jigsaw Puzzle.’ Its 12,000 Fragments Are Now Digitized for Public View

Photo of the Day

This is a California Quail and they can move in a hurry but are not able to fly for a significant distance before landing. This quail was on top of a rock checking me out as the rest of the gang quickly gathered whatever food there was to be had in the desert.

In a Hurry

By Michele Hughes

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Preview thumbnail for video 'The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Photographer's Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

A Photographer’s Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

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Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. In There’s More to That, meet the magazine’s journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.

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The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

April 23, 2026 | 34 minutes

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A Photographer’s Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

April 9, 2026 | 32 minutes

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The Real Story Behind Abigail Adams’ ‘Remember the Ladies’ Letter

March 26, 2026 | 31 minutes

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Venomous Snakes Represent a Serious Public Health Problem. Scientists Are Biting Back With a Groundbreaking Antidote

March 12, 2026 | 28 minutes

History

An aerial view of the Bar Hill archaeological site, where excavations uncovered some 8,000 frog bones between 2016 and 2018

Archaeologists in England Discovered 8,000 Roman-Era Frog Bones in a Single Ditch. They Just Solved the Mystery of How the Amphibians Ended Up There

New research suggests that medium-sized birds of prey such as short-eared owls feasted on the frogs during a “short, intensive predation event” some 1,700 years ago

This Mysterious Combination Lock Sank in a 1583 Shipwreck. When Engineers Cracked the Code, It Clicked Open for the First Time in More Than 400 Years

The National Portrait Gallery Wasn’t Allowed to Acquire Photographs When It Opened in 1968. Fifty Years Later, the Smithsonian Museum’s Collection Has Grown to 11,000 Photos and Counting

More History

Science

Scientists are investigating whether GLP-1 drugs, initially approved to treat Type 2 diabetes and made famous for promoting weight loss, could treat wide-ranging conditions including cancer, addiction and dementia.

GLP-1s Are Showing Promise Beyond Weight Loss. Could They Be ‘Wonder Drugs’ for Ailments Like Addiction, Dementia and Cancer?

The medications seem to act on the brain’s reward circuitry and help regulate inflammation, which is why they might have so many positive effects. But research on many potential benefits is still preliminary, so clinical trials will truly put GLP-1s to the test

Fossil Footprints in Brazil Hint at a Cougar-Size Mammal That Walked Among Dinosaurs. It’s Another Sign That Some Early Beasts Grew to Impressive Sizes After All

The Four-Color Theorem Has Haunted Mathematicians for Decades. It Just Got a Rare New Proof, but Some Still Long for a Simpler Solution

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Innovation

The user, if pregnant, will feel raised bumps on both sides of the flat lollipop—a reaction to hCG, a hormone that the body produces during pregnancy.

This Lollipop Could Help Blind Women Independently Detect Pregnancy

Design student Sneha Rao is developing Tact, an edible pregnancy test that allows people with vision impairment to feel its results on their tongues

The Humble History of the Bedpan

This Brain Implant Allows People With Paralysis to Speak and Gesture at the Same Time Via a Mind-Controlled Virtual Avatar

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Travel

“It’s a national treasure,” says Sara Brown Aicher, a retired U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist who spent 31 years at the refuge. “It is one of the last places like it.”

America’s Newest UNESCO World Heritage Site Is a Swamp—and That’s Exactly Why You Should Go

Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is one of the world’s rarest surviving wetland ecosystems. Its new global recognition reveals why protecting this landscape matters far beyond the American South

How an Irish Backroad Tradition Is Rolling Into Small-Town America

Greece Has Its Own Pompeii, and the Ruins Tell a Captivating Story of a Sophisticated, Seafaring Bronze Age Society

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Arts & Culture

The painting does not appear in Altdorfer’s catalogue raisonné and was only identified earlier this year.

German Renaissance Master Albrecht Altdorfer Pioneered Landscape Painting. A Work Previously Unknown to Scholars Just Emerged After 70 Years in a Private Collection

Painted around 1520, the newly identified painting is one of only three pure landscapes painted in oil by the artist. It depicts a lush forest scene with castle ruins and a rainbow emerging from stormy skies

The National Portrait Gallery Wasn’t Allowed to Acquire Photographs When It Opened in 1968. Fifty Years Later, the Smithsonian Museum’s Collection Has Grown to 11,000 Photos and Counting

Dismantled to Survive the Nazi Blitz, Coventry Cathedral’s Stained Glass Is ‘a Medieval Jigsaw Puzzle.’ Its 12,000 Fragments Are Now Digitized for Public View

More Arts & Culture

At the Smithsonian

King and Queen, Henry Moore, bronze, 1952-1953

For Over Four Years, the Hirshhorn Worked to Revitalize Its Sculpture Garden. Today, It’s Home to a ‘King and Queen,’ a ‘Wish Tree’ and a 55,000-Pound Vertical Swimming Pool Artwork

Newly refreshed by Japanese artist-architect Hiroshi Sugimoto, the sunken garden welcomes National Mall visitors with bronze masterpieces, contemporary stunners and a stage set for creative performances

What Can Space Offer Humanity? In Pursuit of the Answer, Astronauts Have Been Making a Home in Microgravity for Decades

At the Bodega, Customers Can Get Pork Rinds, Plantains and Just About Anything They Need. Here’s How These Stores Became a ‘Community Anchor’ of Latino Life

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