Thursday, February 13

Day: February 15, 2018

Two giant galaxies set for collision
Featured, Technology

Two giant galaxies set for collision

    Our Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy two giant galaxies in our local patch of the universe are heading for an immense collision with each other in only a few billion years’ time. So which will dominate in this intergalactic tussle? Our recent work has turned up an interesting result on measuring the mass of the Andromeda galaxy, which at a distance of only 2 million light years is our cosmic next-door neighbor. Both Andromeda and the Milky Way appear to have about the same total mass, about 800 billion times that of our sun, suggesting that the result of this intergalactic gravitational battle may actually be a tie. In a few billion years, Andromeda and the Milky Way will merge. It is essential that we know their masses if we are to understand the details of t...
Queen jokes with fat England rugby stars
Featured, United Kingdom

Queen jokes with fat England rugby stars

    The Queen has joked with two of England’s rugby stars about the fitness levels of the UK’s players as she celebrated the achievements of the Commonwealth. Brothers Billy and Mako Vunipola, who have Tongan heritage but were brought up in the UK, laughed when they said the Queen questioned the widely held view that today’s rugby sportsmen were tougher and fitter. Prime Minister Theresa May and husband Philip made a surprise appearance as did Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who earlier in the day had given a major speech on Brexit. His brother quipped: I think she was calling us fat which is fair enough. Billy, who has missed out on Six Nations rugby due to a broken forearm, said: It’s a massive honour that we are here and a privilege, something we will probably brag...
What’s the immigration status of Melania Trump’s parents
America, Featured

What’s the immigration status of Melania Trump’s parents

    Several readers asked about the immigration status of Melania Trump’s parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, after spotting social media posts such as this one: With congressional debate beginning on overhauling immigration laws, it’s certainly an interesting question. President Trump has favored bills that would severely restrict so-called chain migration, including the granting of immigration visas to the parents of U.S. citizens. So naturally, readers have wondered whether the president is being hypocritical. Let’s see what we can find out. First of all, we should note that this particular tweet falsely claims that Melania Trump, who is a native of Slovenia and married Donald Trump in 2005, stayed in the United States illegally after her visa expired and that she ma...
Woman climbs into X-ray machine during security check
Asia, Featured

Woman climbs into X-ray machine during security check

    A woman climbed into an X-ray machine during a security check at a Chinese train station, saying she was trying to make sure her handbag wasn't stolen. Security staff got a fright when they saw the woman's body flashing across their screen. She jumped onto the conveyor belt because she feared that she could lose her handbag during the screening process at a train station in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, according to the Daily Mail. Footage shows the woman emerging from the X-ray machine, hunched over on the conveyor belt before someone helps her off. Images show the woman's silhouette and heels as she crouches over her handbag while passing through the scanner. The woman grabbed her bag and left the area before security staff had a chance to intervene, and it's u...