Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="430" caption="The Division of Radiation and Organisms Laboratory, located in the basement of the Smithsonian Institution Building, a division of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory dedicated to studying the effects of solar radiation on organisms. Shown here is a vacuum type thermocouples of very high sensitivity, used in
Description: On this day, 72 years ago, ornithologist Alexander Wetmore became Smithsonian Secretary--continuing his life-long dedication to field research! Help transcribe Wetmore’s extensive research and make it available for a new generation of field scientists.
Description: [edan-image:id=siris_sic_6823,size=150,left] On this Valentine’s Day, you might wonder if Cupid has ever shot any arrows around the Institution. The Smithsonian has been the site of many romances and even some tragedies, so today I’ll tell a story which combines both. In the process of recording his oral history interviews, Dr. T. Dale Stewart, a physical anthropologist at the
Description: It can be so frustrating to put great effort into something, and then to have your work and achievements called into question. I can't begin to imagine how frustrated Samuel Pierpont Langley was in 1903. By that time, he had spent over forty years studying astrophysics and aerodynamics. His work on astronomically-derived time measurement in the late 1860's is the heart of the
Description: Each Smithsonian Institution Archives collection has a life story. That narrative, much like the biography of a person, can explain how a collection's photographs, letters, and documents relate to each other. Closer inspection may also reveal hidden connections to other archival materials and can help in identifying photographers and writers. This new blog series will turn a