art and more

Odilon Redon (1840 -1916, French) ~ Pandora, 1914

This is the Veil Nebula, which Hubble saw on July 1, 2020.

Have you ever looked up what our Hubble Space Telescope saw on your birthday? (Or your anniversary, or your pet's adoption day, or...)

We've given our popular interactive page a new look — and, just as importantly, it now shows you five different cosmic sights Hubble was checking out on the day that you picked.

"Underwater Landscapes of Crespo Island" (Paysages sous-marins de l'île Crespo), from Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869).

Golden bees. The honey bee. 1890. Book cover, detail.

Night Fisherman Under Giant Tree

by Ramy Hefny

It’s Fossil Friday, so soar into the weekend with Archaeopteryx! When this dinosaur was first described in 1861, it caused a sensation. Discovered shortly after Charles Darwin proposed the theory of evolution by means of natural selection, Archaeopteryx provided an example of evolution in action—a fossil that showed the transition between reptiles and birds. The first Archaeopteryx fossils ever found included exquisitely preserved skeletons with clear imprints of wings and feathers, but also teeth and a bony tail. Today, scientists think Archaeopteryx wasn’t able to fly very well, but the species still represents a turning point in paleontologists’ understanding of the relationship between ancient dinosaurs and modern birds in the design of both its body and brain. You can spot Archaeopteryx, and so much more, at the Museum! Plan your visit.