Smithsonian Magazine

Astronomers Peered at the Early Universe and May Have Discovered a New Kind of Celestial Object: Black Hole Stars

Since the James Webb Space Telescope started collecting data in 2022, it has found puzzling objects dubbed little red dots. A ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Schlitz Beer, an Iconic Midwestern Pour, Runs Dry in Chicago After 177 Years. Its Legacy, However, Goes Far Beyond the Pint Glass

With significant roles in the Great Chicago Fire, 1893 World’s Fair and modern-day architecture, the beer’s impact on the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Here’s Why These Male Spiders Sacrifice Themselves by Somersaulting Into Females’ Fangs While Mating

While mating, a male redback spider somersaults so that his abdomen lands in his partner’s awaiting fangs, seemingly ...
Smithsonian Magazine

A Medieval Man’s Injuries Reminded One Archaeologist of Modern-Day Car Crash Victims. They Turned Out to Be the Work of an English Trebuchet

A skeleton unearthed in Scotland likely belongs to a soldier struck by a high-speed projectile during Edward I's 1304 siege ...
Smithsonian Magazine

This Library Book Was 150 Years Overdue. Fortunately for the Man Who Just Returned It, Librarians Won’t Be Enforcing a $20,000 Late Fee

"The Antiquities of Athens" had likely been missing from an Australian library since the 1870s. Staffers say its recovery is ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Two Oceans, One Country And Twenty Times The Sharks

Fossil shark scales from Panama’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts show that the two seas never held the same number of sharks, ...
Smithsonian Magazine

How X-Rays, Plastic Cups and Spools of String Help National Zoo Researchers Find Wild Box Turtle Nests

To figure out why Eastern box turtle numbers are dropping across Virginia, Smithsonian researchers are turning to some ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Marine Biologists Solved a Wildlife Mystery From the Walkway of the Golden Gate Bridge: How the Harbor Porpoise Mates

The dolphin-like marine mammals returned to San Francisco Bay in 2008 after a decades-long absence from the area. Scientists ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The Global Web of Subsea Cables That Connects the World Can Now Detect Whales—Even When They’re Silent

A diving whale revealed how existing technology makes it possible to monitor cetaceans swimming quietly across the seabed ...
Smithsonian Magazine

For the First Time, an mRNA Flu Shot Will Be Available to Some People in the United States. Here’s What You Should Know

The Food and Drug Administration just approved the new type of flu vaccine for adults ages 50 and older. It relies on the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Jackie the Bald Eagle, Who Captured Hearts Around the World Via Livestream, Has Died After Battling a Mysterious Illness

A raptor center in California had been caring for the animal since mid-July, after she had an altercation with two young ...