Smithsonian Magazine

How Many Glaciers Will Survive Until the End of the Century? These Four Scenarios Show It’s Not Looking Good

Researchers calculated every glacier’s lifespan and found that even at the most ambitious Paris Agreement goal, the planet ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Flesh-Eating Screwworms Are Creeping Closer to a Comeback in the United States

Roughly 60 years ago, the United States eradicated the New World screwworm, an insect that feeds on living tissue. But now, ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Mysterious Shipwreck Discovered in ‘Pristine’ Condition in Lake Ontario—With Its Masts Still Standing

Divers found the well-preserved vessel while searching for a different wreck called the "Rapid City," which sank near Toronto ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Saturn’s Moon Titan May Not Have an Underground Ocean After All

A new analysis of data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft may upend Titan’s status as an ocean world. But it might still have ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2025, From Medical Breakthroughs to an Interstellar Visitor

All year long, these moments captivated the public, demonstrated dangerous trends, and pushed research and innovation forward ...
Smithsonian Magazine

For 25 Years, the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program Has Kept Weekly Tabs on Volcanic Eruptions Around the World. Here’s How They Do It

Since 2000, specialists at the National Museum of Natural History have produced the world’s foremost report on active ...
Smithsonian Magazine

These Linguists Are Creating a New Dictionary of Ancient Celtic Languages—With Help From ‘Curse Tablets’ and Roman Records

The project aims to produce a record of the Celtic languages spoken in Britain and Ireland, though the majority of these ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Thousands of Couples Gather Under the Mistletoe in Washington, D.C. to Kiss Their Way Into a New World Record

A total of 1,435 couples almost tripled the Guinness World Record for the largest number of people kissing beneath the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Take Flight With These 20 Awe-Inspiring Aviation Images

See airplanes of all sizes, shapes and colors from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest ...
Smithsonian Magazine

The Animal Care Stories That Shaped 2025 at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Smokey Bear. Ham the Space Chimp. Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling. Not many animals reach celebrity status, but it’s a bit of a tradition here at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. In January, we rolled out ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Fossils Suggest That Some Ancient Burrowing Bees Made Their Homes in Rodent Skulls

While cleaning fossils retrieved from a cave on a Caribbean island, a researcher noticed something strange in the hollow ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Mary, Queen of Scots, Wrote This Letter Hours Before She Was Executed. Her Words Are Going on Display for the First Time in Years

The deposed Scottish queen wrote the four-page missive to her brother-in-law just a few hours before her execution in 1587 ...