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Science / Our Planet

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Where Did Harriet Tubman Escape to and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Theropods, the dinosaurs Gates studied, hail from the Triassic period.

A Surprising New Theory of How Dinosaurs Got So Huge

Those species with adorned skulls increased in body size faster than those without

The largest gem-quality diamond ever found in North America goes on view at the Smithsonian.

The Foxfire Diamond Bedazzles as Smithsonian’s Newest Rock Star

The largest gem-quality diamond ever found in North America glows bright blue in the dark

Marc Edwards and LeeAnne Walters

Without These Whistleblowers, We May Never Have Known the Full Extent of the Flint Water Crisis

A concerned mother and a renowned scientist spearheaded the investigation that exposed the dangers lurking in the water supply of the Michigan city

Mustard gas from wars past is decaying in the world's oceans—but scientists don't yet know how dangerous it could be. Here, U.S. Navy ship prepare for scheduled deployment in the Pacific Ocean in 2014.

Chemical Weapons Dumped in the Ocean After World War II Could Threaten Waters Worldwide

How worried should we be? Chemists are racing the clock to find out

Payam Pourtaheri and Ameer Shakeel enjoy casual conversation with Radia Perlman, 2016 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee during the Meet the Experts session at 2016’s Collegiate Inventors Competition.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Could These College Inventors Tackle the Global Pesticide Problem?

Developed by a team of University of Virgnia students, AgroSpheres break down pesticide residues on crops hours after they are applied

Brian Helmuth and his lab at Northeastern University engineered the little black data loggers from polyester resin.

Robot Shellfish May Tell Us About Climate Change’s Impact on Marine Species

Climate scientists at Northeastern University have developed “robomussels” with sensors to track temperatures in mussel beds

Mangroves are rich and biodiverse coastal ecosystems that flood and emerge with the tides. Now villagers are burning these trees to better their lives.

Madagascar’s Mangroves: The Ultimate Giving Trees

Locals already use the trees for food, fuel and building materials. Now they’re burning them to make lime clay

Six Places on Earth That Scientists Say Look Like Other Planets

The eerie resemblance these locales have to Mars and beyond has attracted researchers for years

Zak van Biljon photographed Kennedy Lake in British Columbia using infrared film.

Art Meets Science

Looking at Nature Through Infrared Film Will Have You Seeing Red

See the world on a whole different spectrum

From top left, clockwise: male orangequit; female tungara frog; purple mort bleu butterfly; sunflower; red coral; Galapagos marine iguana

Big Data Just Got Bigger as IBM’s Watson Meets the Encyclopedia of Life

An NSF grant marries one of the world’s largest online biological archives with IBM’s cognitive computing and Georgia Tech’s moduling and simulation

Some researchers are trying to harness the energy from huge storms.

Future of Energy

Can We Capture Energy From a Hurricane?

Loaded with power, massive storms may be another conduit for renewable energy

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

Discover Cuba’s Unspoiled Shores

Thanks in part to government conservation efforts, Cuba’s 3,500 miles of coastline are a wealth of beauty and history

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Journey to the Center of Earth

How Earthquakes and Volcanoes Reveal the Beating Heart of the Planet

The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program has stitched together a visual archive of the world’s earthquakes and volcanoes

A sun-bleached skull is evidence of the first recorded jaguar predation on a black bear, linked to the big cat roaming this terrain.

The Return of the Great American Jaguar

The story of tracking a legendary feline named El Jefe through the Arizona mountains

Why Do We Still Have Morse Code and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answer

A beach in Juneau, Alaska. Sea levels in Alaska are not rising, but dropping precipitously due to a phenomenon known as glacial isostatic adjustment.

Journey to the Center of Earth

Melting Glaciers Are Wreaking Havoc on Earth’s Crust

Sea levels are dropping, earthquakes and volcanoes are waking up, and even the earth’s axis is moving—all because of melting ice

Visitors cast shadows on the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, at sunrise.

From Our Photo Contest: Soak Up the Beauty of America’s National Parks

2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the National Parks Service. Enjoy these standout images submitted by our photo community

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