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# Cosmic Journey

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Looking up, wondering what’s beyond, and exploring the mysteries of the cosmos have been human pursuits for thousands of years. This urge to know more continues, inspiring exploration, creativity, and scientific advancement. Join us on a cosmic journey that takes us from our closest star, the sun, to the far reaches of the universe with events and virtual resources from across the Smithsonian. Stay tuned for information about our Solstice Saturday celebration on Saturday, June 22.
Wonder & Awe
A new Smithsonian guide features stories and activities that connect us to our “place in space” through the lenses of art, culture, history, and science. The sky belongs to everyone—from the women who mapped the universe over a century ago, to the astronomers who captured the first picture of a black hole, to the artists who inspire us with celestial connections.
Learn more aboutWonder & AweCosmic EventsOur Closest Star and Planetary Neighborhood
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) was established in 1890 as a research unit of the Smithsonian concentrating on studies of solar radiance. Today SAO's areas of research include virtually all branches of astrophysics as well as areas of earth and planetary sciences. Learn about the tool SAO built to probe the sun as it makes its closest approach to the sun in 2024. The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum is also a home for Earth and planetary research and shares a wealth of information on our solar system and its history.
       Smithsonian Collection Spotlight  Our Star: Our Sun
Smithsonian collections offer prismatic ways of understanding our relationship to the sun from art to astronomy to solar energy.
       Smithsonian Sparks  A Solar Probe Is on Its Way to Touch the Sun         The journey will culminate in 2024 with its closest ever approach of 3.83 million miles.         National Air and Space Museum  Our Solar System
Discover our planetary neighborhood—as if from interstellar space, moving in toward our sun.
       National Air and Space Museum  How Did We Discover the Planets?
Centuries of research carried out by curious stargazers before us recognized these otherworldly objects.
Our Universe
The Smithsonian has been answering big questions about our atmosphere and beyond for more than a century at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. We continue to ask and answer questions through original research at the National Air and Space Museum and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA). Key areas of research at the CfA include exoplanets, the sun and solar weather, asteroids and comets, and "The Extreme Universe" that includes the study of black holes, pulsars, supernovae, white dwarfs, neutron stars, and magnetars.
       Around the Smithsonian  Mysteries of the Universe
Beginning with studies of our sun in 1890, the Smithsonian has been answering questions about our atmosphere and beyond.
       Smithsonian Sparks  Meet Chandra         You most likely have heard of the Hubble Space Telescope that orbits 332 miles above Earth, but what about Chandra?          3D Digitization  Models of Images Taken by Chandra
Explore 3D models of stars at various stages of the stellar life cycle, created using images generated by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
       Smithsonian Sparks  A “Monster” in the Milky Way Galaxy         Two new studies have produced the first polarized light image of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way.         Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory  Diaries of the Cosmos
Explore the universe and meet the people behind the science with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and NASA's Universe of Learning.
       Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian  DIY Planet Search
Take your own images of distant solar systems, interpret and share the data you gather, and become part of a community of planet hunters!
Culture and the Cosmos
The Smithsonian’s resources lead us to connections across historical contexts, art movements, and cultural traditions to help us understand our place within space.
       National Air and Space Museum  Science Fiction
Take a deep dive into the intersection of culture and the cosmos through a science fiction lens.
       National Museum of Asian Art  The Cosmic Buddha
Explore a 3D rendering of the Cosmic Buddha, where you can zoom into depictions of a symbolic map of the Buddhist world.
       National Museum of African Art  Milky Way Myth         Among the hunter-gatherers of sub-Saharan Africa known as the Khoisan, a myth has been passed on for generations.         National Museum of African American History and Culture  Afrofuturism
From artists to astronauts, the themes of Afrofuturism inform ways of seeing and being across time and space.
       National Museum of the American Indian  Maya Skies: Calendars, Seasons, and Time
The cycles of celestial bodies, particularly the Sun, form the basis of the Maya calendar. Celestial events on the Mayan calendar have been celebrated from ancient times to today.
       National Air and Space Museum  Barbie: An Astronaut for the Ages
Learn about Barbie's long career as one of our nation's foremost space explorers. This 1965 Barbie was released 13 years before NASA accepted its first woman astronauts.
Human Spaceflight
In April 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Soon after in May 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, when he piloted the Mercury spacecraft *Freedom* 7 on a suborbital flight. In July of 1969, the first human stepped on the surface of the Moon. The cosmic journey continues today with the International Space Station and developments in commercial spaceflight.
       Sidedoor Podcast  Space Jocks & Moon Rocks*Sidedoor* joins forces with the National Air and Space Museum to explore the mysteries of lunar science.         Smithsonian 3D  Neil Armstrong's Space Suit
Explore and download 3D models of Armstrong's spacesuit and other Apollo 11 objects.
       National Air and Space Museum  The Apollo Missions
Learn more about the seventeen missions carried out during the Apollo Program.
  Cosmic Collections
Explore space through the lenses of art, history, culture, and science in the Smithsonian's collections.
-  Outer Space 
-  Data Sonification: M104 (Infrared Only) 
-  Card, Commemorative, TV Show, "Lost in Space" 
-  Data Sonification: M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) Optical Only 
-  Visualizing the Cosmic Web 
-  Cosmic Waves 
-  Star Chart, Apollo 11 
-  Cosmic Colonies 
-  Puzzle Wrapper, Buck Rogers 
-  Cosmic Effort 
-  Data Sonification: M104 (Multiwavelength) 
-  Costume worn by Nona Hendryx of Labelle 
-  Constellation 
-  Comet Kohoutek 
-  Data Sonification: Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) 
-  Haley's Comet 
-  Raven Steals the Sun 
-  Toy, Spaceship 
-  *The Jetsons* No. 7 comic book 
-  Space Exploration 
-  Data Sonification: Sagittarius A* Black Hole, Event Horizon Telescope Image 
-  Purple star costume designed by Sun Ra and worn by Arkestra members 
-  *The Mothership* 
-  Blue Asteroid 
-  Model, Starship Enterprise, Television Show, "Star Trek" 
-  Photograph, Project Mercury Astronauts 
-  A Cosmic View-1976 
-  37c Orion single 
-  English Planispheric Astrolabe 
-  Introduction to Astronomy from Smith's illustrated astronomy : designed for the use of the public or common schools in the United States. 
-  Tour: Cosmic Harmonies: Sonifications From NASA Telescopes 
-  Detector, Neutrino, Photomultiplier, Kamiokande II 
-  Data Sonification: Cassiopeia A (Jet) 
-  Record, Cover, Voyager (Duplicate) 
-  Space Riders 
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