Smart News: Science News | Smithsonian Magazine

Colored images show the bright supernova as seen by two different telescopes (the Dark Energy Camera on the left and the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network 1-meter telescope on the right).

New Research

The Brightest Supernova Ever Observed Tests the Limits of Physics

This explosion blazes about 570 billion times brighter than our Sun, according to researchers

January 15, 2016

An artist's rendition of Juno in orbit around Jupiter. The craft is powered entirely by the sun's rays.

Armed with over 18,000 solar cells, the Jupiter orbiter is taking solar-fueled space exploration to new lengths

January 15, 2016

Alex is the first January Atlantic hurricane to form in almost 80 years

January 14, 2016

Cool Finds

Star Light, Star Bright, Here’s Why the Heavens Look Brighter Tonight

It’s not just because the air is clearer

January 14, 2016

For the first time since 1974, no climbers reached the peak of Mt. Everest.

For the first time in over four decades, red tape and poor conditions prevented any climbers from conquering the mountain

January 14, 2016

New Research

Was the “Wow!” Signal From Aliens or a Comet Flyby?

The 1977 blast from space is often cited as our best evidence of alien contact, but a news study suggests it may have just been comets

January 14, 2016

Not so fast...incandescent bulbs could soon become more efficient thanks to nanotechnology.

New Research

Incandescent Light Bulbs May Have a Bright Future After All

Nanotechnology could turn the inefficient bulbs’ weakness into a strength

January 12, 2016

A piebald horse is usually called a pinto or paint in the U.S.

New Research

Geneticists Figured Out How Animals Get Their White Spots

The answer could help people with certain genetic conditions and diseases

January 11, 2016

An artist's impression of Philae's landing on Comet 67P. Philae is the small craft beneath the Rosetta orbiter. It detached from Rosetta and landed on the comet on November 12, 2014. Now it may be out of contact forever.

As Comet 67P hurtles further and further away, it’s taking the ‘little lander that could’ along with it

January 11, 2016

New Research

Microbe Cells Don’t Outnumber Your Own

For years people have cited the ten-to-one ratio, with microbes dominating human cells, but that number is probably wrong, according to recent research

January 11, 2016

A meteorite discovered in the Australian ouback on New Year's Eve.

Cool Finds

4.5 Billion-Year-Old Meteorite Found in the Australian Desert

This 3.7 pound rock could help scientists learn about Earth’s origins

January 8, 2016

New Research

Old, Dense Star Clusters Might Be the Place to Look for Complex Alien Life

The age and density of globular star clusters could give alien life both the time and resources necessary to brew complex society

January 8, 2016

Keeper Jessica Jones with Lamas and Alpacas during the annual animal stocktake at ZSL London Zoo, UK.

Ensuring every animal is present and accounted for

January 7, 2016

This monitor lizard is definitely not thinking of eating poisonous toads.

New Research

Scientists Trained Monitor Lizards Not to Chow Down on Poisonous Toads

And they did it by feeding them smaller and less-poisonous toads

January 7, 2016

A women harvests millet in Arunachal Pradesh, India

New Research

This Ancient Grain May Have Helped Humans Become Farmers

Millet’s short growing season and low water needs might also benefit a modern world stressed by climate change

January 7, 2016

The science doesn’t back up the claims that playing memory and attention games can prevent mental decline

January 6, 2016

The first hydrogen bomb was detonated by the United States in a test over the Marshall Islands in 1952.

Why North Korea’s alleged nuclear test is drawing skepticism and fear alike

January 6, 2016

A mosquito feeding on a small Northern Bog Orchid (Platanthera obtusata)

New Research

New Street Lamps Lure Mosquitoes With Fake Human Scents

Lighting the way in the fight against mosquitos

January 6, 2016

Trioceros hoehnelii, one of the 20 chameleons whose tongues a researcher tested for speed

New Research

Tiny Chameleon’s Tongue Can Beat the Fastest Sports Car

The Rosette-nosed Pygmy Chameleon can launch its tongue toward prey at 8,500 feet per second

January 6, 2016

A logarithmic scale captures the whole universe

Cool Finds

This Image of the Universe Captures Its Immensity

Comets, planets, galaxies and the cosmic web crowd together in this portrait of everything known

January 5, 2016

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