Smithsonian | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/smithsonian/RSS feed for SmithsonianenTue, 01 Sep 2026 13:42:53 +0000Female Treefrogs Experience 'Choice Overload' Amid Too Many Mating Calls From Maleshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/female-treefrogs-experience-choice-overload-amid-too-many-mating-calls-from-males-180989411/Faced with a chorus of potential mates, female Cope’s gray treefrogs may be overwhelmed by the number of options and struggle to make a careful decision, a study suggestsTue, 01 Sep 2026 13:42:53 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/female-treefrogs-experience-choice-overload-amid-too-many-mating-calls-from-males-180989411/Once the Solar System's Ninth Planet, Pluto Was Reclassified 20 Years Ago. Here's Why Planetary Scientists and the Public Alike Love the Small, Icy Bodyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/once-the-solar-systems-ninth-planet-pluto-was-reclassified-20-years-ago-heres-why-planetary-scientists-and-the-public-alike-love-the-small-icy-body-180989383/Pluto is now the most well known of the outer worlds beyond Neptune—and the darling of the solar systemMon, 24 Aug 2026 17:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/once-the-solar-systems-ninth-planet-pluto-was-reclassified-20-years-ago-heres-why-planetary-scientists-and-the-public-alike-love-the-small-icy-body-180989383/See the Cutest Photos of Three Red Panda Cubs Born at the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute This Yearhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/see-the-cutest-photos-of-three-red-panda-cubs-born-at-the-smithsonians-conservation-biology-institute-this-year-180989351/The trio of cubs—including a pair of twins—are healthy and being cared for by their mothers. Their births represent a conservation milestone for the endangered speciesWed, 19 Aug 2026 15:38:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/see-the-cutest-photos-of-three-red-panda-cubs-born-at-the-smithsonians-conservation-biology-institute-this-year-180989351/These Shark Look-Alikes Have Long Confounded Fishers and Scientists on the East Coast. Tracking Where They Migrate Could Help Clear the Confusionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/these-shark-look-alikes-have-long-confounded-fishers-and-scientists-on-the-east-coast-tracking-where-they-migrate-could-help-clear-the-confusion-180989210/Researchers are tagging and tracking spinner sharks to map out their geographic distribution, because they've seen that the range of the very similar blacktip shark has shiftedThu, 30 Jul 2026 19:50:14 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/these-shark-look-alikes-have-long-confounded-fishers-and-scientists-on-the-east-coast-tracking-where-they-migrate-could-help-clear-the-confusion-180989210/In This Bee Species, Why Do Some Daughters Leave Home While Others Stay 'Bee-hind' to Help Mom?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-this-bee-species-why-do-some-of-daughters-leave-home-while-others-stay-bee-hind-to-help-mom-180989218/Biologists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute investigated a flexible social bee species, which helps shed light on the evolution of more complex organizational structures among other insectsTue, 28 Jul 2026 23:05:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-this-bee-species-why-do-some-of-daughters-leave-home-while-others-stay-bee-hind-to-help-mom-180989218/A Little-Known Photographer Captured the First Clear Image of a Total Solar Eclipse 175 Years Ago. Today, These Celestial Events Still Reveal the Mysteries of the Sunhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-little-known-photographer-captured-the-first-clear-image-of-a-total-solar-eclipse-175-years-ago-today-these-celestial-events-still-reveal-the-mysteries-of-the-sun-180989208/Ever since that first daguerreotype on a light-sensitive metal plate, eclipse observations have continued to unveil the star's corona and bring people together to experience the solar system's majestyTue, 28 Jul 2026 20:40:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-little-known-photographer-captured-the-first-clear-image-of-a-total-solar-eclipse-175-years-ago-today-these-celestial-events-still-reveal-the-mysteries-of-the-sun-180989208/Video Captures Orcas Ramming a Sunfish So Hard It Explodes. The Mysterious Behavior Might Be a Form of Play or Juvenile Carehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/video-captures-orcas-ramming-a-sunfish-so-hard-it-explodes-the-mysterious-behavior-might-be-a-form-of-play-or-juvenile-care-180989153/In two incidents documented in Mexico’s Gulf of California, orcas worked together to blast sunfish into smithereens after they had killed the enormous animalsThu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/video-captures-orcas-ramming-a-sunfish-so-hard-it-explodes-the-mysterious-behavior-might-be-a-form-of-play-or-juvenile-care-180989153/Artemis 1's Orion Spacecraft Withstood the Heat of Re-entry in a Critical Test for Humans' Return to the Moon. Now, NASA Will Lend the Historic Capsule to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museumhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/artemis-1s-orion-spacecraft-withstood-the-heat-of-re-entry-in-a-critical-test-for-humans-return-to-the-moon-now-nasa-will-loan-the-historic-capsule-to-the-smithsonians-national-air-and-space-museum-180989094/The exact timeline for the spacecraft's display hasn’t been announced, but the artifact will fit into an upcoming exhibition on how humans have built a long-term presence in Earth orbit and laid the groundwork for farther space travelMon, 13 Jul 2026 19:09:02 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/artemis-1s-orion-spacecraft-withstood-the-heat-of-re-entry-in-a-critical-test-for-humans-return-to-the-moon-now-nasa-will-loan-the-historic-capsule-to-the-smithsonians-national-air-and-space-museum-180989094/