As 2017 comes to a close, let’s revisit some of our favorite stories of the year: stories of solar eclipses, scientific women, the Spitfire, and spacecraft.
Five Things to Know About the Spitfire, the Legend of Dunkirk
Did you know that the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum houses examples of two of the main airplanes featured in Christopher Nolan's 2017 film, Dunkirk? We have a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire and a Messerschmitt Bf 109 of the Luftwaffe, although the Museum’s aircraft are slightly younger than those that participated in Operation Dynamo.
Hidden Figures and Human ComputersThe breakout movie Hidden Figures told the story of three African American women who worked as mathematicians at NASA. The story sheds light on the significant contributions of the three women—Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—but also the broader impact that women had behind the scenes at NASA.
A Closer Look at the Friendship 7 SpacecraftIn 2017, the Museum shared new photographs of Mercury Friendship 7 following its conservation. This is the same spacecraft that John Glenn piloted into Earth orbit, an American first. The images reveal details of the spacecraft that can be easy to overlook when taking the capsule in as a whole.
The Death of a King, End to a War, and the Solar EclipseOn August 21, 2017, people across the United States turned to the sky, eclipse glasses in place, to witness a total solar eclipse. Eclipses have occurred throughout history and some have fascinating stories associated with them. In this blog post, we explore two such compelling tales.
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