Space & Aviation

Explore Space & Aviation across the Smithsonian through stories, events, and exhibitions. Use the filters to browse by format, then bookmark events and exhibitions to keep track of what you want to visit or attend.

377 results
Deep field image of a galactic cluster through the James Webb Space Telescope.
The James Webb Space Telescope observed 13-billion-year-old light, using a closer galactic cluster like a magnifying glass. The work helps experts understand the universe’s earliest stars and mysterious ultra-faint dwarf galaxies.
The “50 for 50” artifacts for Ohio are pieces of the Wright Flyer that Neil Armstrong took to the Moon on Apollo 11.
What happens when we ask a space history to rank five incredible artifacts from California — without knowing what artifacts are coming?
The aftermath of a stellar explosion should be a slowly fading cloud of hot gas. The last thing astronomers expected to find was a population of supernova remnants appearing to dramatically change in brightness.
Astronomers may have found a supernova remnant in an intriguing neighborhood of our galactic downtown.
Wide image showing an expanse of stars in a curved pattern, in various shades of purple.
Astronomers have discovered a calm island of gas in the harsh center of the Milky Way, an environment similar to where most stars may have formed.
Two images spliced together: On the left, Robert Goddard, a balding man in a dark three-piece suit, stands beside a tall, slender early rocket prototype suspended in a dim workshop. On the right: NASA's orange-and-white Space Launch System rocket stands inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, framed by towering tiers of metal service gantries.
Though his own rockets weren’t practical, Robert Goddard inspired others to build better ones.
A glowing green trail curves above the Earth.
Jessica Meir, commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission, shared photos and videos of a green aurora she shot while sheltering in a capsule outside the International Space Station.