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Two Alpine ibexes butt heads, slamming their horns together in a powerful battle that could be heard from far away. They wandered up the slope together afterward.

Smart News

See 15 Stunning Images That Won the German Society for Nature Photography’s Annual Contest

From a lunging frog to the majestic movements of penguins, the honored photographs capture the wonder of wildlife and beauty of natural landscapes

Carlyn Kranking

The subject of this portrait is often identified as Mary Boleyn.

History

History Remembers Mary Boleyn as the Scandalous ‘Other Boleyn Girl.’ New Research Debunks the Myths Surrounding the Tudor Mistress

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Smithsonian magazine April/May 2026 issue cover
The adult female fox, Shadow, was around 5 months old when Stuart first documented and named her in 2022.
Science The Fox Family of Mount Rainier
Even the scientists who study the animals rarely see them except on camera. But Gretchen Kay Stuart spent a season documenting them up close
Opener
History Plunder at the Pink Temple
Clara and André Malraux conspired to loot the pink temple of Banteay Srei, but their failure started a battle of reclamation
OPENER - Two U.S. Navy officers stroll past the sunlit Georgian splendor of Middleton Tavern in Annapolis, Maryland. Horatio Middleton established the tavern here in 1750. Today, visitors can order classic Chesapeake seafood, including oysters and rockfis
Travel Drafting the Revolution
Taverns, public houses and inns served as meeting places before the war and unofficial headquarters during it. Some still stand—including these nine, where you can raise a glass in memory of the founders

Photo of the Day

Through the refined eye of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based photographer Dave Thompson, a simple snow-covered road becomes an elegant study in line, texture, contrast & light.

In this image, Dave captures the hush of a fresh morning snowfall with its sculpted branches, detail imitating monochrome pen and ink, and the soft luminosity that settles over the landscape like a veil. His composition uses the road as a natural leading line, drawing the viewer down the hill and deeper into the scene while the trees, delicately frosted and perfectly spaced, create a rhythmic visual balance. The photograph feels both still and alive, a moment suspended with crystalline clarity.

Vergennes Drive on a Snowy Morning

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