A Gorgosaurus consumes its prey.

Amazing Fossil Preserves Teenage Tyrannosaur’s Last Meal

Stomach contents from a juvenile Gorgosaurus reveal it feasted on small, bird-like species 75 million years ago

Our ten favorite science books of the year covered everything from astronomy to undersea exploration.

The Best Books of 2023

The Ten Best Science Books of 2023

From stories on the depths of the ocean to the stars in the sky, these are the works that moved us the most this year

Neanderthals have held our fascination ever since we first identified their remains.

Here’s What We Know About Neanderthals So Far

Today, thanks to new artifacts and technologies, findings about our closest relatives are coming thick and fast

Half a century on, Kohoutek may be due a little more respect. Though it disappointed the media and the public, it proved to be a bonanza for serious scientists.

The ‘Comet of the Century’ Failed to Impress, but It Wasn’t Such a Disaster After All

Highly anticipated before its arrival in late 1973, Kohoutek became an interplanetary punchline. But astronomers may have gotten the last laugh

The northern lights cast an eerie glow upon an abandoned, wrecked airplane.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These 15 Photos Capture the Beauty of the Northern Lights

Spiking solar activity could mean more chances to see the awesome aurora borealis

Chinstrap penguins incubate eggs.

Chinstrap Penguins Sleep Over 10,000 Times a Day—for Just Four Seconds at a Time

The amazing microsleep strategy may be an adaptation to group living and lurking predators in a harsh Antarctic environment

In 2023, wildfires ravaged communities in Canada, Hawaii and elsewhere across the globe.

There's More to That

Why Wildfires Are Burning Hotter and Longer

As conflagrations become more difficult to contain, a citizen movement to try to manage them through “prescribed burns” is growing

Atlantic bluefin tuna circle a holding pen near Malta. The Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico were long thought to be the only locales where the massively valuable fish spawns.

Bluefin Tuna Get Busy Off North Carolina

The extremely valuable fish likely spawn in a patch of the Atlantic Ocean called the Slope Sea

Svalbard reindeer graze during an early snowfall. If temperatures rise again, food may be trapped under ice during a critical time for packing on winter pounds.

Northern Europe and the British Isles

The World’s Smallest Reindeer Get Their Day in the Sun

On Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, a rare animal is thriving—for now

This year's titles include Daughter of the Dragon, Whalefall and Witness.

The Best Books of 2023

Smithsonian Scholars Recommend Their Favorite Books of 2023

Curators and staffers satisfied their endless curiosity with novels, short stories, biographies, art collections and journalistic reporting

Stark-Star grapes—native to North America, and considered a “champion cultivar” by Jerry Eisterhold, founder of TerraVox Winery.

The Man Who’s Saving America’s Forgotten Grapes

Bordeaux. Napa Valley. Missouri? This vintner wants to put this once-booming wine region back on the map

The horned marsupial frog, which carries its eggs in a pouch on its back, lives in the canopy of tropical rainforests.

The Surprise Reappearance of a Rare Frog Has Scientists Leaping to Protect Its Habitat

The marsupial frog, which incubates its young in a pouch on its back, was thought to be extinct in some countries

Why can't machines process CO2 the way trees do?

Why Can’t Machines Process CO2 Like Trees? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

The products range from measuring games to coding activities—and even include a robot that introduces children to artificial intelligence.

Ten Engineer-Selected STEM Toys to Give as Gifts in 2023

From coding to building to circuitry, these educational activities support basic skills to serve children in science, engineering and beyond

In 1958, dozens of red-breasted flycatchers, like the one pictured here, flew off course and visited the United Kingdom.

One Reason Migrating Birds Get Lost Is Out of This World

Solar energy can alter the Earth’s magnetic field and likely lead the animals astray

An Indian cobra found in the farmlands of Kanchipuram, India. The country has the highest rate of snakebite deaths in the world.

An Inside Look at the Effort to Curb Deadly Snakebites in India

With around 58,000 human deaths from snakebites each year in the country, a lot more must be done to save lives

A screenshot of the 3D model

An Interactive 3D Model of the JFK Assassination Site, Grassy Knoll and All

A Danish graphic designer has pieced together historic photos and maps to create an interactive digital diorama of the fateful moments

Ketamine and esketamine are the only psychedelics currently being used clinically with eating disorder patients.

The Future of Mental Health

Are Psychedelics the Future of Eating Disorder Treatment?

The drugs have been shown to reduce depression and anxiety symptoms and make individuals more flexible in their thinking

The OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule (foreground) landed in the Utah desert on September 24, carrying samples collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu (background). 

There's More to That

How NASA Captured Asteroid Dust to Find the Origins of Life

The sample of the space rock Bennu that OSIRIS-REx collected could unlock an ancient existential mystery

This well-preserved track from Australia clearly shows the four toes of an ancient bird.

Australia’s Oldest Known Bird Tracks Are 120 Million Years Old

In that age, the continent was attached to Antarctica, but migrating animals still traveled to the polar region for sustenance

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