A seemingly tranquil galaxy that has been the scene of violent cosmic events has been captured in new telescopic images, European astronomers said.　The galaxy, NGC 1187, discovered by English astronomer William Herschel in 1784, looks tranquil and unchanging but it has hosted two supernovae explosions since 1982, they said.The galaxy‘s half a dozen prominent spiral arms containing large amounts of gas and dust show bluish features indicating the presence of young stars born out of the clouds of

Technology Aug. 2, 2012

A man and his companion were thrown off an airliner in Chicago over the weekend after arguing with attendants over his severely sagging pants, the airline said.The Chicago Tribune said the unnamed man was kicked off a Spirit Airlines flight, bound for Orlando, Fla., at O‘Hare International Airport.The report said the man and the woman with whom he was traveling Sunday morning became “verbally abusive” and threatened physical harm to flight attendants. His pants were “excessively low,” hanging be

World News Aug. 1, 2012

A demonstration by the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church in Washington state was interrupted by dozens of counter-protesters dressed as zombies.Melissa Neace, 27, of Spanaway, said she rallied the zombie hoards on Facebook after discovering eight members of the Kansas-based church were planning a demonstration Sunday at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in DuPont, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash., reported Tuesday.Westboro‘s lawyer sent a fax to DuPont Police Chief Ron Goodpaster about the church’s pla

World News Aug. 1, 2012

The point at which people put an ex-partner‘s photo away after a split is usually when they are emotionally ready to move on, a British psychologist says.“It’s not surprising that nearly half of us keep some kind of visual memento of past partners -- this goes for partners who were divorced or died as well -- a photo generates strong emotions as it unleashes memories of past attachment and times,” Corinne Sweet, behavioral psychologist said in a statement.A survey for Friends Reunited, a social

Technology July 31, 2012

NASA released new images from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) showing U.S. flags planted in lunar soil.The new images have finally given proof that the flags are still standing.Astronauts planted flags during each of the six American moon landings, starting from Apollo 11’s landing in 1969 to Apollo 17’s in 1972. The American moon landings remain the only manned flights to touch down on a heavenly body.According to an analysis of the shadows they cast on the surface of the moon, five

Technology July 31, 2012

Al Capone‘s green and black Cadillac touring car was among the items on the block Saturday at a Michigan auction. Alan Squindo of RM Auctions told the Detroit News the car could go for as much as $500,000 at the sale in Plymouth, Mich. The event was not open to the public. Squindo said the car would be valuable even without its history. “This is a very special automobile, not withstanding its Capone history,” Squindo said. “It is a luxury car from a classic era as one of the first bulletproof ca

Mobility July 30, 2012

LONDON -- South Korea had on Saturday everything a country could possibly have on a single day at an Olympic Games: a feel-good gold medal; a silver medal that almost never came; and a bronze medal that seemed as disappointing as an Olympic medal could be.Pistol shooter Jin Jong-oh captured South Korea‘s first gold medal in London in the men’s 10-meter air pistol event. It was also the country‘s first medal of any color at this year’s Olympics.Star swimmer Park Tae-hwan survived a ruling fiasco

Olympic Games July 29, 2012

A boy is recovering after he was hit in the face by a bird while riding a roller coaster at an amusement park in New Jersey.The collision occurred as the Kingda Ka coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson was returning to the station Thursday.Park spokeswoman Kristen Siebeneicher tells the Asbury Park Press (http://on.app.com/N1hV0G ) the boy was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries to his face and neck. She says it‘s unclear what type of bird it was, but characterized it a

World News July 29, 2012

In a series of tests at Cambridge University, birds had to compete against boys and girls aged four to ten.In two of the three tests, birds did just as well as children up to seven years old.The tests was modeled on Aesop’s fable in which a thirsty crow can drink from a pitcher if it uses pebbles to raise the water level to within its reach.In the first task, both the birds and children quickly realized that adding stones to a cylinder half-filled with water would raise the water level.But in th

Technology July 26, 2012

U.S. actress Kristen Stewart publicly apologized for cheating on her boyfriend, Robert Pattinson, with the married director of “Snow White and the Huntsman.”　The longtime couple are the stars of the romantic “Twilight” vampire film franchise and have been dating for several years.Several media outlets reported Tuesday Stewart, 22, recently had a brief fling with director Rupert Sanders, who is 41, married and the father of two children. TMZ said Stewart publicly confirmed the affair Wednesday an

Film July 26, 2012

French archaeologists have discovered a roughly 5,000-year-old pharaonic solar boat in an expedition in Abu Rawash, west of the Egyptian capital, the antiquities ministry said on Wednesday.The antiquities minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, said the boat was up to 5,000 years old. “It goes back to the era of Pharaoh Den, one of the First Dynasty kings,” he said in a statement.The six-metre (19.6 feet) long and 1.5-metre wide boat “is in good condition,” he added. Its planks are now undergoing renovation

Technology July 26, 2012

An 89-year-old South Carolina woman said she used her .38-caliber pistol to ward off two men who broke into her home.Ruby Hodge of Blenheim said she heard knocking on her door just after 8 a.m. Monday and was on her way to answer when two men forced their way through the door, the Florence Daily News reported Wednesday.Hodge said she retrieved the gun, which belonged to her late husband, from beneath her mattress and the men arrived at her bedroom to find her pointing the revolver at them.“They

World News July 26, 2012

A British designer says his line of sarcastic tote bags for London residents annoyed by the Olympic Games is proving popular.Toby Leigh said he took great care not to violate any Olympic copyrights when he created the totes, which are modeled on the London 2012 logo but do not contain the word “Olympics” or any associated symbols, The Sun reported Tuesday.“You can‘t use the words London 2012 or the Olympic rings, but they can’t copyright the word London,” Leigh said. “The typeface isn‘t the same

World News July 25, 2012