Whether you're a passionate astronomer or a beginner eager to explore the cosmos, join us as we deep-dive into seasonal skywatching. Gain valuable insights into identifying meteors, stars, and fascinating deep-sky objects that grace the night sky. Interested in learning more? Check out this piece from Smithsonian Magazine on the celestial events to watch in 2024: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/nine-dazzling-celestial-events-to-watch-in-2024-180983505/ And don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos exploring the wonders of the natural world. --- Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Video Editor: Sierra Theobald

Recently digitized footage showing Marines loading onto LST with supplies on equipment and waiting on the beach, among other things. (U.S. Marine Corps History Division and Moving Image Research Collections, University of South Carolina)

Put your hands together for our host, Eric Schulze, as he dives into history to answer your questions.

Jeffersons respect for the enlightenment ideals of memory, reason and imagination shaped how he organized his library (Video: Molly Roberts). Read more at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/on-the-hunt-for-jeffersons-lost-books-38566672/

Listen to a short lecture given by curator Margaret Weitekamp on Gene Kranz career with NASA and how his vest ended up at the Smithsonian

Our host, Eric Schulze, explains how science is tackling this puzzling question from space.

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E., it covered the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum under tons of ash. Millennia later, in the mid-18th century, archeologists began to unearth the city, including its famed libraries, but the scrolls they found were too fragile to be unrolled and read; their contents were thought to be lost forever. Only now, thanks to the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning, scholars of the ancient world have partnered with computer programmers to unlock the contents of these priceless documents. In this episode of “There’s More to That,” science journalist and Smithsonian contributor Jo Marchant tells us about the yearslong campaign to read these scrolls. And Youssef Nader—one of the three winners of last year’s “Vesuvius Challenge” to make these clumps of vulcanized ash readable—tells us how he and his teammates achieved their historic breakthrough. Read Smithsonian’s coverage of the Vesuvius Challenge and the Herculaneum scrolls here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/three-students-decipher-first-passages-2000-year-old-scroll-burned-vesuvius-eruption-180983738/) , here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/buried-ash-vesuvius-scrolls-are-being-read-new-xray-technique-180969358/) , and here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/archaeologoists-only-just-beginning-reveal-secrets-hidden-ancient-manuscripts-180967455/) . Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Rye Dorsey, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Music by APM Music.

How the American Ingenuity Award winner plans to build a self-sustaining civilization on Mars

The American Ingenuity Award winner is using geographic information systems to map history's most iconic landscapes

Lonnie Bunch, the director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, discusses the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, one of America's greatest monuments.

In 1896, Thomas Edison set off to a remote Canadian district near the Alaska border, with cameras in tow. He succeeded in capturing fascinating images of the prospectors brought in by the Gold Rush.

Host Eric Schulze opens the floodgates of knowledge to reveal the answer.

Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry. Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/ Video produced by Sierra Theobald. Special thanks to Drew Gardner Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA

But at speeds nearing 100 mph, there's a fine line between helping and hurting

"They have given mankind a completely new way of looking at the universe." – Stephen Hawking, congratulates Kip Thorne, Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Ronald Drever, the first scientists to detect gravitational waves. | Smithsonian magazine #IngenuityAwards The Smithsonian has been celebrating innovation in American culture for more than 150 years, and following in this tradition, Smithsonian magazine presents the American Ingenuity Awards, honoring revolutionary breakthroughs in the arts and sciences, education and social progress.

The answer has everything to do with falling flat on your face

More on the unsuccessful plot to kill Lincoln: http://j.mp/VnSZ9g During his inauguration tour in 1861, the president's life was threatened in the city of Baltimore.

The legendary Stan Lee, creator of the Avengers, Spiderman and Iron Man, has partnered with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to launch the first global online course about superheroes to fans around the world. Taught by "The Dark Knight" producer Michael Uslan, students will go into the vaults of the Smithsonian collection and hear from industry experts. Register now (http://bit.ly/1DsdJ3W) and beginning May 5, 2015, you can become a certified expert on superheroes. Sign up for the verified certificate to earn an original piece of artwork from top artist Phil Jimenez (Wonder Woman, New X-Men) with Phil's, Stan Lee’s, and Michael Uslan’s signatures.

Spinning tails on the moths' wingtips scramble bats' echolocation signals to keep the moths from being eaten

Quiksilver captures stunning aerial views of the world champion surfer's dazzling technique

Eric Schulze delves into little Rover's mind to see what all that racket is about

Regular dust bathing removes pest and parasites and keeps the wild bird's iridescent feathers in top condition. (Credit: Carla Rhodes)

Not one to hide from the bitter truth, our host, Eric Schulze dishes up the answer

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Wayne-Thiebaud-is-Not-a-Pop-Artist.html He made a name for himself painting pastries and other everyday objects, but his other work--cartoons and cityscapes--showcase the scope of his talents.

By 1953, six years after the Bell X-1 first went supersonic, that airplane and others were routinely flying at more than twice the speed of sound. On December 17, 1953the 50th anniversary of the Wright brothers first powered flight at Kitty HawkMajor Yeager sat down at the Pentagon for an informal press briefing to discuss his own Mach 2.43 flight in the X-1 five days earlier. Video: Department of Defense, Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

The American Ingenuity Award winner is on the brink of using the human genome to provide better diagnostics for deadly diseases

When Gary Roberts found this orphaned elephant next to its dead mother, he made an attempt to fly it to safety

Selected by Eli Reed for our special issue, this up-and-coming photographer discusses his work

Feeling blue? Try watching this one-minute video. Our Ask Smithsonian host, Eric Schulze, explains how colors affect our moods.

A Smithsonian entomologist demonstrates how tarantulas feed by placing live crickets inches from their jaws.

Follow us to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, where the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag came together for a historic feast.

“Superman isn’t coming. It is a moment in our time when we must look to ourselves, and not take for granted or wait for something from the top to come down, but rather…pick up the torch, carry the torch, to find information and the truth…” – Erin Brockovich applauds Marc Edwards and LeeAnne Walters for their work exposing the Flint water crisis | Smithsonian Magazine American #IngenuityAwards Read more about Edwards and Walters’ work: http://smithmag.co/D4dIHy The Smithsonian has been celebrating innovation in American culture for more than 150 years, and following in this tradition, Smithsonian magazine presents the American Ingenuity Awards, honoring revolutionary breakthroughs in the arts and sciences, education and social progress. http://smithmag.co/R7hyRO

This video does not contain hidden messages that will make you want to watch more Smithsonian videos.

Members of the Gullah community discuss the changes facing them today

A shipwreck discovered off New Zealand dates to a time before Cook's arrival

This stripy toe sock appears to have warmed the foot of a tot in the late antiquity period

Some researchers initially dismissed the remains of Palaeopascichnus lineari as teeny turds from a bygone era

Investigators discovered that the original print of "The Roaring Lion" had been sold to a buyer in Italy

"Le Lyonnais" descended into the depths off the coast of Massachusetts after colliding with the "Adriatic," a sailing vessel that left the floundering steamship to fend for itself

Officials launched an investigation and recovered the $360,000 print less than a week after it vanished from Grove Gallery. Two men have been charged for the crime

Experts have confirmed that the image of "Knight, Death and the Devil" is a real master engraving by the renowned German artist Albrecht Dürer

Archaeologists unearthed a series of mudbrick rooms filled with religious tributes, soldiers' personal effects, engraved weaponry and animal bones

When the blaze in Moscow subsided on September 18, 1812, the French—who had traveled hundreds of miles into Russia—were left without vital resources as a brutal winter approached

The artist's cityscapes, once dismissed as too masculine, would later influence the floral artworks that became central to her iconic style

To boost the iconic queen conch's population, researchers are relocating the heat-stressed creatures to cooler, deeper waters to help them find mates

Due to a drought in Eastern Europe, the scuttled German vessels are reemerging 80 years after they disappeared beneath the river's surface

A ring could explain a mysterious arrangement of impact craters near the equator and might even have caused an ice age, according to a new study

A blockbuster exhibition in London examines the Dutch Post-Impressionist's creative output between 1888 and 1890, which was one of the most productive periods of his career

The energetic streams are together 23 million light-years in length—roughly as long as 140 Milky Way galaxies lined end to end