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Articles

Monarch butterflies catching the sun on an oyamel tree in a Mexican overwintering site.

New Research

Five Surprises That Emerged From Monarch Butterfly Genomes

Sequencing 101 butterfly genomes has revealed a few of the monarch’s secrets, including some keys to its epic annual migration

"Rapid and long-lasting climate change is a topic of growing concern as the world looks to the future," says the Smithsonian Institution's official climate change statement.

Age of Humans

The Smithsonian Institution Announces an Official Climate Change Statement

The bold assessment acknowledges that the global climate is warming because of human activities

Researchers have made an important first step towards engineering direct, brain-to-brain communication between humans.

Scientists Prove That Telepathic Communication Is Within Reach

An international research team develops a way to say “hello” with your mind

Autumn in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia.

America’s Best Fall Color Drives

Want to be dazzled by Mother Nature’s fall foliage display? Just hop in the car.

A new Archives of American Art exhibition, "A Day in the Life," looks inside 35 diaries of American artists.

Peering into the Secret Diaries of American Artists

A new Archives of American Art exhibition looks at how artists documented their lives before social media

Northern lights ignite the sky.

On the Hunt for the World’s Most Spectacular Sky Show

Photojournalist Randall Hyman journeys north to Tromsø, Norway, in search of the northern lights

New Research

Crabby Tenants Defend Corals From Marauding Predators

A diversity of coral guard-crabs is needed to fend off attacks by hungry snails and giant spiky sea stars

To enter Son Doong Cave in Vietnam, visitors must descend over 260 feet.

American South

From the Biggest to the Longest, Five Amazing Caves To Visit

New measurements revealed the world’s largest cave, which is unfortunately off-limits. But what are some other impressive underworlds open for visitors?

"Today we can use light to create an artificial sun on Earth, if only for a split-second," writes Steven Johnson. Here, Vaughn Draggoo examines a test site for light-induced nuclear fusion at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California.

The World Is What It Is Today Because of These Six Innovations

In a new book, Steven Johnson describes the many technologies that glass, refrigeration and other fundamental inventions have made possible

"We are limited to one vessel, with nowhere else to go."

Anthropocene

A New Way for Stewardship of Mother Earth: Indigeneity

Smithsonian geographer Doug Herman proposes a return to sustainable solutions, based on the path laid by Indigenous peoples for millennia

Anthropocene

A Poem Dedicated to Earth in the Age of Humans

National Portrait Gallery historian David Ward writes a new ode for the Anthropocene

Latino populations like those in Red Hook, Brooklyn, suffered greatly during Hurricane Sandy

Anthropocene

Latinos Are Suffering the First Effects of Climate Change, Their Voices Need to Be Heard

The director of the Smithsonian Latino Center weighs in on the disproportionate burden that climate change brings to Latino populations

Ice Age humans left their footprints across what is now Willandra Lakes in southeastern Australia.

Anthropocene

How Climate Change May Have Shaped Human Evolution

Evidence is building that past climate change may have forged some of the defining traits of humanity

The movement to dramatically reduce car traffic is picking up speed.

Anthropocene

Helsinki Has a Plan to Get People to Stop Owning Cars

A system being developed in Finland would allow people to subscribe to all kinds of mobility options and pay for everything on their phones

The transparent solar concentrator material doesn’t block visible light, but turns light in other parts of the spectrum into electricity.

Tech Watch

This Clear Plastic Material Harvests Solar Energy Without You Even Knowing It’s There

Researchers are developing transparent solar collectors that let sunlight in, while turning ultraviolet and near-infrared light into electricity

Vice-grips Fossil (detail), 2014, wood, oil paint, polyurethane, pigment, marble dust, cast plastic.

Anthropocene

What Will We Leave in the Fossil Record?

Artist Erik Hagen considers the remnants of modern human life that may be found in rock strata millions of years from now

Paris has spread along the banks of the Seine since 1900.

Age of Humans

Make Cities Explode in Size With These Interactive Maps

From Los Angeles to Lagos, see how megacities have been taking over the planet during the past 100 years

A Burning Man tribute to the last remnants of humanity, a buried Statue of Liberty, depicted in the 1967 science fiction film, Planet of the Apes.

Anthropocene

Six Weird Ways Humans Are Altering the Planet

From deep holes to flying sheep, some signs of human activity might really perplex geologists in the far future

Pack ice and fjord walls with sedimentary strata.

Age of Humans

Have Humans Really Created a New Geologic Age?

We are living in the Anthropocene. But no one can agree when it started or how human activity will be preserved

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Age of Humans

Travel Through Deep Time With This Interactive Earth

Explore key moments in Earth’s transformative history as continents drift and climate fluctuates over 4.6 billion years

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