Inside the Epic Migrations of North America’s Most Fascinating Shorebirds, From Godwits to Curlews
Ornithologist Bruce Beehler tracks down what he calls the “Magnificent Seven,” a charismatic group of migratory birds, in his new book
The Long, Strange Trip of the Titanic Victims Whose Remains Surfaced Hundreds of Miles Away, Weeks After the Ship Sank
Rescuers only recovered the bodies of 337 of the 1,500-plus passengers and crew who died in the disaster. Around one-third of these corpses were buried at sea
How to Watch a Live Stream of the Rare Sunrise Eclipse on Saturday and Catch a Glimpse of Solar ‘Devil Horns’
Early risers can observe a partial solar eclipse in areas of eastern North America on March 29, given clear skies and proper eye protection
Surgeons Are Conducting Rare ‘Tooth-in-Eye’ Surgeries to Restore Vision to Blind Patients in Canada
The complex procedure involves extracting a patient’s canine tooth, adding a plastic optical lens to it and surgically embedding it in the eye
See the Breathtaking Landscape Paintings Inspired by the Boreal Forest, From Europe to North America
Titled “Northern Lights,” a new exhibition in Switzerland showcases artworks of the taiga made between 1888 and 1937
Rare Neck Fossil With Puncture Mark Suggests a Prehistoric Crocodilian Snacked on a Young Pterosaur 76 Million Years Ago
The fossil sheds light on interactions within the Cretaceous food web and may represent the first record of this type of predation in North America
Untold Stories of American History
The Spy Who Exposed the Secrets of the Black Chamber, One of America’s First Code-Breaking Organizations
In 1931, Herbert O. Yardley published a tell-all book about his experiences leading a covert government agency called the Cipher Bureau
Hundreds Died When This Steamship Sank in the Pacific Northwest in 1875 With Gold Worth Millions On Board
A century and a half later, the sinking of the S.S. Pacific remains one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the region’s history
Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Is Shifting Toward Siberia and Raising Questions About Unusual Movement
Scientists released an update to a model that maps the ever-moving pole and has significant implications for navigation systems
The Enduring Mystery of a Plane That Vanished in the Icy Canadian Wilderness With 44 People On Board
Seventy-five years ago, a Douglas C-54D Skymaster disappeared en route from Alaska to Montana. No trace of its crew and passengers, including a pregnant mother and her young son, has ever been found
Meteorite Crash in Canada Is Caught by Home Security Camera in Likely World-First Video Footage
The space rock—recorded with visuals and sound—landed where the homeowner had been standing just minutes earlier
See 25 Incredible Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest
Cast your vote for your favorite of the photographs, which are all contenders for the People’s Choice award, through January 29
The Death-Defying Attempt to Circumnavigate the World in a Canoe
How Captain John Voss put his dugout canoe—and himself—to the ultimate test
Rare and Giant Steller’s Sea Eagle Spotted Thousands of Miles From Home in Eastern Canada Park
The bird, thought to be the only one of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, is presumed to be Stella, an out-of-place raptor spotted at sites across North America in recent years
The Museum of Bad Gifts Is a Celebration of Outlandish Objects, From Ceramic Clowns to Cat Nail Clippings
Presented like pieces of fine art, the peculiar presents are mounted on the walls of a gallery in Toronto. Many of them will ultimately be sold at auction
Meet the Tiny, Adorable Owls That Have Mastered the Art of Hiding
One of the smallest owls in North America, the northern saw-whet lives among us and is rarely seen—but one volunteer science project aims to find them and uncover their secrets year after year
An Abandoned Merchant Ship Was Discovered Floating in the Atlantic in 1872. The Mystery of Its Missing Crew Was Never Solved
Speculation about what happened to the “Mary Celeste,” found empty on this day in 1872, was so rife that even famed author Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a sensational short story about it
A Little Girl Dropped a Message in a Bottle Into a Lake. Her Daughter’s Classmate Found It 26 Years Later
Makenzie Van Eyk wrote the letter as part of a class project in 1998, when she was in fourth grade. Recently, the note was discovered by a boy who goes to school with her daughter—who is now in fourth grade herself
Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries
Go Chasing Waterfalls With These 15 Awe-Inspiring Images
See photographs of the beautiful natural wonders from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
How Captain George Vancouver Mapped and Shaped the Modern Pacific Northwest
The British explorer named dozens of geographical features and sites in the region, ignoring the traditions of the Indigenous peoples who’d lived there for millennia
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