The views of the solar system that one can see while standing here on Earth are often impressive, if not mindblowing. But from the inner solar system to its outer reaches, the closer and more detailed views of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the other planets that have been achieved during the Space Age show unparalleled beauty and visions difficult to fathom.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History joined with inventor Daniel A. Henderson to acquire two prototypes and related documentation for a pioneering wireless picturephone technology developed in 1993. Henderson recently was awarded six U. S. patents for innovation incorporated in the wireless system and device.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum debuted a major site-specific light sculpture by Jenny Holzer (b. 1950) Saturday, Nov. 3. Holzer is an internationally renowned artist best known for her pioneering work incorporating texts into light-based sculptures and projections. The sculpture, titled "For SAAM," is on public display in the museum's third floor Lincoln Gallery with other contemporary artworks from the permanent collection.

John Alexander (b. 1945) is internationally renowned for his paintings and drawings, which convey humor, rage and a robust appreciation of the human and natural world. "John Alexander: A Retrospective," on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from Dec. 21 through March 16, 2008, is the first full-scale examination of the artist's three-decade career.

What compels people to dance? What fuels the choreographer's creative vision? Why do most dancers devote their entire lives to this art form? Many artists refer to a spirit within that defines and drives their need to move, to create, to dance. It is this spirit that is explored in the evocative Smithsonian traveling exhibition "The Dancer Within."

The Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard, a signature element of the renovated Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, opens to the public Sunday, Nov. 18. The building houses the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

More than 100 of the finest paintings from the Japanese Edo period (1615–1868) will be featured in "Patterned Feathers, Piercing Eyes: Edo Masters from the Price Collection," on through April 13, 2008 at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

The story of Jason and the Golden Fleece is one of the most enduring of ancient Greek myths. According to legend, Jason and his shipmates, the Argonauts, set sail on a perilous journey from Greece to Colchis (modern-day Georgia), then located beyond the known world.

The range of artistic expressions by self-taught African American artists from the rural South and the urban North is explored in a new traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian has selected eight artists to participate in its 2008 Native Arts Program.

"Kate: A Centennial Celebration" opens Nov. 2 at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. The lively show offers a glimpse of Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) as a vibrant actress who shaped her image from the moment she stepped into Hollywood and continued to do so through more than 50 years of her career. The exhibition will be on view through June 1, 2008.

More than 100 of the finest paintings from the Japanese Edo period (1615–1868) will be featured in "Patterned Feathers, Piercing Eyes: Edo Masters from the Price Collection," on view Nov. 10 through April 13, 2008 at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.