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Photography

Keepers weighed the panda cub Sept. 14, when Mei Xiang left her den. He weighed 1.9 pounds.

The National Zoo Wants Your Cutest Panda Cam Photos

Can’t get enough of the panda cam? You’re not alone.

Cool Finds

Here Are the Winners of Getty Images’ First-Ever Instagram Grant

The photographers come from Bangladesh, Brazil and Russia

Cool Finds

Here’s How Victorians “Photoshopped” Photos

Early photographers used pencils to touch up photographic plates — and the results look pretty freaky

"Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter." A soldier finds his final resting place, July 1863.

Why Can’t We Turn Our Eyes Away From the Grotesque and Macabre?

Alexander Gardner’s photographs of Civil War corpses were among the first to play to the uncomfortable attraction humans have for shocking images

"Meshology" is a collaboration between French photographer Dimitri Daniloff and German computer graphics artist Sven Hauth.

Get Tripped Up by These Tricked-Out Photographs

A new photography collaboration aims for an unbearable lightness

Greetings, 51 Eridani b!

How, and Why, Do Astronomers Take Pictures of Exoplanets?

The latest snapshot of a Jupiter-like world hints at the potential for seeing more diverse planets in direct images

A combined shot shows two Perseids falling a minute apart over Bergen, Norway, on August 13.

See Spectacular Photos From This Year’s Perseid Meteor Shower

The annual event sent sparks flying over dark skies as Earth plowed through debris from a comet

A hyalotype photo printed and mounted as a glass lantern slide, by William and Frederick Langenheim.

Cool Finds

This is the First Known Photo of the Smithsonian Castle

On the Smithsonian’s 175th birthday, a glimpse into the iconic Castle’s construction

Astrophysicist Dr. Brian May is recognized during a July 17, 2015 New Horizons science briefing at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. May spent a long birthday weekend with the science team, attending two morning science plenaries, a meeting with the Student Dust Counter group, and working on stereo images of Pluto with the Geology, Geophysics and Imaging (GGI) team.

Cool Finds

Queen Guitarist Brian May is Now a New Horizons Science Collaborator

As new images were transmitted from Pluto, the rock-star-turned-astrophysicist rubbed shoulders with his heroes

Captivating Photos of the Survivors of the Nepal Earthquake

Photographer Sara Hylton visited the central Asian nation once the 7.9 tremor shook the earth

Mission operations manager Alice Bowman shares the real secret behind the Pluto flyby in December 2014.

These Pictures Give a Rare Glimpse Into the Heart of the Pluto Flyby

Spanning the full 9.5 years of the mission to date, the images by Michael Soluri capture the people behind the epic close encounter

Crystalized acetaminophen, the drug in Tylenol

Cool Finds

When This Photographer Got Sick, He Started Taking Beautiful Photos of Painkillers and Tears

The extreme closeups were one way for the photographer to understand what he was taking

Trending Today

The Russian Government is Teaching its Citizens Selfie Safety

A rash of injuries while taking selfies prompted the new campaign

Two boxers spar in the ring in the outdoor gym Gimnasio de Boxeo Rafael Trejo in Old Havana, Cuba.

These Photos From Cuba Place You in the Boxing Ring

Photojournalist and wedding photographer Rebecca Barger captures vibrant images of local streets, architecture and athletes in Havana

Past and Presence: The Power of Photographs

The shattering nature of violence. The resilience of the human spirit. The power of photographs. A Smithsonian special project

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia (top) and Chickamauga, Georgia (bottom) were the sites of two Civil War battles.

Past and Presence

A Photographic Requiem for America’s Civil War Battlefields

Walking far-flung battlefields to picture the nation’s defining tragedy in a modern light

Yepraksia Gevorgyan fled Turkey with her family. Her father was killed along the way, and her mother died soon after they crossed into Armenia.

Armenia: Smithsonian Guide

One Photographer’s Personal Endeavor to Track Down Survivors of the Armenian Genocide, 100 Years Later

As children, they escaped ruthless state-sponsored violence. Now, these Armenian women and men visit the aching memory of what they left behind

According to some scholars Vincent Van Gogh sits third from the left in this photograph. Surrounding him are artist Emile Bernard, politician Félix Jobbé-Duval, actor André Antoine and artist Paul Gauguin.

Cool Finds

Is This a Photograph of Vincent Van Gogh?

Some scholars think the camera shy artist can be spotted in an image taken by an amateur photographer, while others disagree

Joe

These Stirring Portraits Put a Face on Homelessness

Rex Hohlbein’s method of using social media to get tents, clothing, car repair and other needs to Seattle’s homeless is catching on in other cities

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