Long before Sputnik, something else was already circling our planet—seen by pilots, tracked by radar, and photographed for decades. If the decoded signals are real, this object has been observing ...

Compact objects are compact stellar remnants, such as white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes and specific types of these objects (e.g., pulsars and boson stars), as well as their larger ...

Welcome to Smithsonian Open Access, where you can download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s images—right now, without asking. With new platforms and tools, you have easier access to ...

A California teenager has uncovered a cosmic treasure trove while mining archived NASA data—an achievement that earned him formal praise from NASA leadership in early 2026. What began as a summer ...

Metamorphopsia distorts central vision, making straight lines look wavy and flat objects look rounded. It happens when the retina or macula is damaged by disease, injury, or aging. Common causes ...