But how can the solar atmosphere get hotter, rather than colder, the farther you go from the Sun's surface? A suborbital rocket launched in July provides the answer.

The post HI-C adds big piece to the solar corona puzzle appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have found that six percent of red dwarf stars have habitable, Earth-sized planets and the closest could be just 13 light-years away!

The post Earth-like planets discovered right next door to Earth appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Marc Fries, a research associate in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, answers some basic questions about meteorites.

The post Russian Meteor Q&A with Smithsonian Expert Marc Fries appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers using NASA's Kepler mission have detected two Earth-sized planets orbiting a distant star.

The post First earth-sized planets found appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Forget the deep forest, “today the highest densities of deer in the state of Virginia are in suburbia,” says William McShea, ecologist and research scientist at the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va.

The post Browsing suburbia: Virginia’s parceled-up farms and forests are ideal refuge for white-tailed deer appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Even dying stars could host planets with life – and if such life exists, we might be able to detect it within the next decade. […]

The post New evidence of extraterrestrial life may come from dying stars appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

March is Women’s History Month and to honor it Smithsonianscience.com presents six images of women scientists selected from the Smithsonian Institution Archvies’s Flicker photoset Women […]

The post Six pioneering female scientists you’ve probably never heard of… appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New maps of the subsurface of Mars show for the first time buried channels below the surface of the red planet. Mars is considered to […]

The post Water channels discovered on Mars appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Among vertebrates few animals rival poison dart frogs for their vibrant electric blue, yellow, red and orange skin colors. Some experts have long believed these […]

The post Poison dart frog toxins best suited for deterring biting arthropods, research reveals appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Spiral galaxies are some of the most beautiful and photogenic residents of the universe. Our own Milky Way is a spiral. Our solar system and […]

The post Powerful computer simulations show how spiral galaxies get their arms appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A century from now researchers will gather data from a forest in Maryland to see how, during the previous 100 years, varying levels of species […]

The post Smithsonian scientists launch 100-year project to examine the future of forests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Striking Caribbean sunsets occur when particles in the air scatter incoming sunlight. But a particulate shadow over the sea may have effects underwater. A research […]

The post Human shadow cast over the Caribbean slows coral growth appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Cheeseburgers. Ice cream. French fries. These are a few of the culprits, doctors warn us, responsible for atherosclerosis, a disease commonly known as hardening of […]

The post Ancient mummies reveal atherosclerosis is very likely just a part of aging appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Marmosets on track for obesity appeared to be more efficient in their feeding behavior. “Although all animals consumed the same amount of liquid, the ones […]

The post Obese marmosets are more developmentally advanced as infants, study shows appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

All bear species except for one live in either temperate or tropical woodlands. Only the polar bear is a stranger to the forest, living and […]

The post Polar bears in a warming world: Q&A with Don Moore of the National Zoo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This image shows farmer Roy Bardole seated at the controls of his combine in a cornfield on a farm in Iowa. A GPS guidance system […]

The post GPS and the farmer… appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In our solar system, only one planet is blessed with an ocean: Earth. Our home world is a rare, blue jewel compared to the deserts […]

The post Astronomers discover two water worlds orbiting star Kepler-62 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Covered in venomous spines the exotic and strikingly banded Indo-Pacific lionfish would be a painful mouthful to any creature that may try to catch and […]

The post Biologist Andrew Sellers turns lionfish invasion into research opportunity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The inventions of Alexander Graham Bell—most famously the telephone but also methods of recording sound—have allowed people to hear each other’s voices for more than […]

The post “Hear My Voice”: Smithsonian identifies 130-year-old recording as Alexander Graham Bell’s voice appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Plato, the Greek philosopher and mathematician, described music and astronomy as “sister sciences” that both encompass harmonious motions, whether of instrument strings or celestial objects. […]

The post Music of the Spheres: Star Songs appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Unique among Earth’s creatures, turtles are the only animals to form a shell on the outside of their bodies through a fusion of modified ribs, […]

The post Discovery: Turtle shells appeared 40 million years earlier than previously believed appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Did you know the Smithsonian created the world’s first full cast of a whale? It was a blue whale exhibited in 1904 at the St. […]

The post 100 Years of Whales @ Smithsonian! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

If you had a time machine that could take you anywhere in the past, what time would you choose? Most people would probably pick the […]

The post Young star suggests our sun was a feisty toddler appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Most skygazers recognize the Orion Nebula, one of the closest stellar nurseries to Earth. Although it makes for great views in backyard telescopes, the Orion […]

The post Cat’s Paw Nebula “littered” w/ baby stars appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

These striking images of six insect heads and mouthparts were drawn from fossils by Conrad Labandeira, Curator of Fossil Arthropods (insects and related animals) at […]

The post Prehistoric mouthparts appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Based on a treasure trove of recent discoveries, astronomers now know that planets are remarkably plentiful in our galaxy and may be common throughout the […]

The post Dust trap around distant star may unlock mystery as to how planets form appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Emmett Duffy, currently the Gluckman Professor of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, has been appointed director of the Smithsonian’s […]

The post Emmett Duffy named director of Smithsonian’s Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On June 7, 2011, our Sun erupted, blasting tons of hot plasma into space. Some of that plasma splashed back down onto the Sun’s surface, […]

The post Solar splashdown appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian is delighted to be included in this year’s Aspen Ideas Festival (June 26 – July 2 in Aspen, Colo.) which will gather some of […]

The post Three Smithsonian scientists to participate in Aspen Ideas Festival appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

All stars begin their lives in groups. Most stars, including our Sun, are born in small, benign groups that quickly fall apart. Others form in […]

The post First transiting planets in a star cluster discovered appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft launched at 10:27 p.m. EDT Wednesday, June 26 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Its primary goal is […]

The post NASA launches IRIS carrying Smithsonian-built telescope appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, has posed an enduring mystery. Why is it so hot? The Sun’s visible surface is only 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, […]

The post Sun’s loops are displaying an optical illusion appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A team of researchers has for the first time mapped the above ground carbon density of an entire country in high fidelity. They integrated field […]

The post Research team creates first carbon map of an entire country: Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Rooting through the garbage for a late-night snack or stealing food from the cat’s bowl, the suburban raccoon is a nocturnal, intelligent animal. Yet life […]

The post Suburban raccoons more social yet dominance behavior remains that of a solitary animal appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As economic expansion and development fragments the forest landscape of central India, the species that rely on that habitat—including endangered tigers and leopards—face dwindling populations […]

The post Forest corridors essential to gene flow in India’s leopard and tiger populations appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute are celebrating the birth of a female Przewalski’s (Cha-VAL-skee) horse—the first to be born via artificial insemination. The […]

The post First wild horse species born from artificial insemination at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Observed in the wild, tucked away in museum collections, and even exhibited in zoos around the world―there is one mysterious creature that has been a […]

The post Smithsonian scientists discover new carnivore: the olinguito appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In 2009, during an expedition by a Russian research ship, a small length of yellow flesh about 5 centimeters long was dredged up from the […]

The post Last seen 140 years ago, deep sea worm resurfaces, delighting scientists appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To download the free e-book Best of Both Worlds: Museums, Libraries, and Archives in a Digital Age, by G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian, […]

The post Smithsonian secretary on the future of museums, libraries and archives appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The center of the Milky Way galaxy, with The supermassive black hole Sagittarius A–at center–is revealed in this image. Astronomers have used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to […]

The post Sagittarius A: Center of the Milky Way appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers are constantly on the hunt for ever-colder star-like bodies, and two years ago a new class of objects was discovered by researchers using NASA’s […]

The post Coldest brown dwarfs blur lines between stars and planets appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Grow fast, die young is not a lifestyle normally associated with trees. But in the forests of the Northeastern United States the red maple follows […]

The post Effects of human impact are long lasting for forests in Northeast U.S. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Sometime during the Middle Eocene a prehistoric mosquito slurped down a final blood meal then died and sank to the bottom of a pond in […]

The post Blood molecules preserved for millions of years in abdomen of fossil mosquito appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Hot spots of mercury pollution in aquatic sediments and soils can contaminate local food webs and threaten ecosystems, but cleaning them up can be expensive […]

The post Toxicity of mercury hot spots can be reduced with application of activated carbon, researchers discover appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

  The surface of Venus is hidden beneath a perpetual blanket of clouds, but radar allows scientists at the National Air and Space Museum to […]

The post Mapping Venus with radar appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas and oceans, Dolabrifera dolabrifera is a species of sea hare, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Aplysiidae. […]

The post Sea hare chemical fights leishmaniasis appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History have just named and described the Spectacular Guyane False-form beetle, or Guyanemorpha spectabilis, from Guyane (French Guiana). […]

The post Remarkably large and colorful new beetle discovered in French Guiana appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The scale of the universe can be difficult to comprehend. Pretend you are going to make a scale model with a basketball representing the Earth […]

The post Can iPads help students learn science? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For scientists who study non-insect invertebrates, the sheer diversity of these odd and fascinating creatures is both intoxicating and daunting. Occupying niches in habitats the […]

The post Non-insect invertebrates are focus of new global genome-sequencing alliance appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

W49A might be one of the best-kept secrets in our galaxy. This star-forming region shines 100 times brighter than the Orion nebula, but is so […]

The post SMA reveals giant star cluster in the making appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.