Latest news with #Astronomy
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tech company addresses CEO and HR boss cuddling at Coldplay concert
The artificial intelligence firm whose CEO and HR boss were caught in an embarrassing clinch at a Coldplay concert has issued a terse statement on the scandal. Astronomy, a billion-dollar AI company, wrote on LinkedIn that it has opened an investigation into the incident, and insisted it 'is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.' 'Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,' the statement read. The moment went viral as Andrew Byron, the firm's CEO, fell to his knees as a kiss-cam at a concert for the rock band zeroed in on him and his apparent partner at the show, his Chief People Officer Kirstin Cabot. The company said it's board of directors has 'initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.' The tech firm added that reports that its vice-president of HR, Alyssa Stoddard, was not at the event, as had been claimed on social media. 'Andy Byron has not put out any statement, reports saying otherwise are all incorrect,' the statement concluded. It is unclear if the pair have been suspended, but that astronomy's board have likely been hugely embarrassed by the multi-day saga which has swept the globe and has been viewed millions of times on social media. The viral moment unfolded Tuesday night at Gillette Stadium, as Byron and Cabot were seen cuddled in each other's arms enjoying the show. As they appeared on the big screen, the pair panicked, with Byron falling to his knees and Cabot putting her face in her hands and turning away. The crowd roared with laughter at the sight, while frontman Chris Martin said: 'Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy.' After the hilarious kiss-cam video circulated through social media, Daily Mail revealed that Byron exclaimed '[expletive] hell, it's me' as he appeared on the stadium big screen. Cabot, 56, seemingly uttered a more measured, 'this is awkward', on realizing she and Byron were exposed. On Friday, new footage emerged showing Martin's cringing reaction once the pair had moved off the big screen. 'I don't know what to do,' the singer said through laughter as the crowd erupted. 'Oh [expletive], I hope we didn't do something bad.' Byron's firm is valued at over $1 billion, with the company experiencing rapid growth since he became CEO in 2023. That year, Astronomer reported a 292% growth in revenue for its 'Astro' platform. Just a week before his unfortunate viral fame, Byron appeared on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) TV to celebrate the company after it raised $93 million in its Series D round of financing. A beaming Byron described the investment as 'a huge opportunity' and 'very exciting' for the firm. When Cabot joined the firm as HR boss in November 2024, Byron heaped praise on her, saying she would be a 'perfect fit' at his company. 'Kristin's exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory,' he said in a press release at the time. 'She is a proven leader at multiple growth-stage companies and her passion for fostering diverse, collaborative workplaces makes her a perfect fit for Astronomer.' The Coldplay fan who filmed the moment that Byron and Cabot were caught on the kiss-cam, Grace Springer, 28, spoke out on Friday as her footage became a global hit . Grace, from New Jersey, told the US Sun that she had no idea who the pair were when they sent the stadium into hysteria. She said the moment became the talk of the show due to their 'interesting reaction', and admitted that 'a part of me feels bad for turning these people's lives upside down.' But she added in a cheeky swipe: 'Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.' Springer said there was 'a lot of talk' about the kiss cam at the show, but 'no one knew who they were'.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Tech company FINALLY addresses Coldplay concert cuddling between its CEO and HR boss with ominous statement
The artificial intelligence firm whose CEO and HR boss were caught in an embarrassing clinch at a Coldplay concert has broken its silence. Astronomy, a billion-dollar AI company, wrote on LinkedIn that the firm 'is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.' 'Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability.' The moment went viral as Andrew Byron, the firm's CEO, fell to his knees as his apparent partner at the show, his Chief People Officer Kirstin Cabot, tried to hide her face. The company said it's board of directors has 'initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.' The tech firm added that reports that its vice-president of HR, Alyssa Stoddard, was not at the event, as had been claimed on social media. 'Andy Byron has not put out any statement, reports saying otherwise are all incorrect,' the statement concluded.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers capture birth of a new solar system around sun-like baby star
Astronomers have, for the first time, discovered the moment when planets started to form around a sun-like baby star, scientists reported Wednesday. The specks of planet-forming material are emerging around HOPS-315, a protostar or baby star located 1,300 light-years away from us. One light year is approximately 5.88 trillion miles. While astronomers have seen discs of gas and dust around protostars before, they've never before identified a new planetary system at such an early stage. Minerals in the system around HOPS-315 are just starting to form. "We're seeing a system that looks like what our Solar System looked like when it was just beginning to form," study co-author Merel van 't Hoff, a professor at Purdue University, said in a news release from the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The observatory paired up with NASA's Webb Space Telescope to identify the minerals forming the new solar system. Researchers turned to data from our own solar system to determine that these minerals show the start of a new system. In Earth's solar system, the first solid materials to form can now be found inside ancient meteorites. Those ancient meteorites contain a mineral called silicon monoxide, which only forms at extremely high temperatures, like those near a young star. Scientists were able to identify the formation of silicon monoxide around HOPS-315, which they said tells them they've caught the development of a solar system at an early stage. "This is the first time this early stage of planet-building has ever been observed outside our own Solar System," the Planetary Society wrote in a social media post about the discovery. The discovery marks "the birth of the seeds of the planets," study co-author Edwin Bergin, a professor at the University of Michigan, told CBS News. The silicate-mineral rich material around HOPS-315 will make planets after another million years or so. "So we are watching the beginnings of the construction of planets," Bergin said. With the discovery, Bergin said researchers now know what to look for to find other budding systems. ESO's Alma telescope network in Chile captured an image of the still-forming planetary system around HOPS-315. In orange, the image shows the distribution of carbon monoxide blowing away from HOPS-315. Blue shows a narrow jet of silicon monoxide, which is also beaming away from the baby star. Astronomers hope it can help them learn more about the dawn of our solar system. "This system is one of the best that we know to actually probe some of the processes that happened in our Solar System," van 't Hoff said in a news release. HOPS-315 is much younger than the Sun; it's about 100,000 years old, Bergin said. "So we get a glimpse of the system in its infancy," Bergin said in an email. "Given that the Sun is 4.6 Billion years old this is a baby star that is still gaining mass and getting bigger." Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files Fighting elderly loneliness
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
New tiny world beyond Neptune discovered, giving boost to ‘Planet Nine' theory
Astronomers used a telescope in Hawaii to find a new object on the outer edges of our solar system, helping to fuel evidence of a long-standing theory about Planet Nine, or Planet X. For years, scientists have theorized about a ninth planet beyond Neptune because of the orbital patterns of smaller objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy objects beyond Neptune. Pluto is considered a Kuiper Belt Object, or KBO. The theoretical planet would be the ninth planet because in 2016 Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet after the object Eris was discovered. On 95Th Anniversary Of Pluto Discovery, Its Home Observatory Celebrates Solar System's Underdog On Tuesday, scientists with the Subaru Telescope operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan revealed a fourth member of the sednoids, a group of small bodies with "peculiar orbits." The findings were published this week in Nature Astronomy. Nicknamed "Ammonite," researchers say it could provide more evidence for the hypothetical "Planet Nine" beyond Neptune. Ammonite has likely been around since the solar system's infancy and has maintained a stable orbit for about 4.5 billion years, according to the research group. This newly discovered object follows a different orbit than the other sednoids. Telescope Captures Sight Of Bright Auroras, But These Aren't On Earth "The numerical simulations conducted in this study suggest that if Planet Nine exists, its orbit should lie even farther out than previously predicted," according to a news release from the observatory. "Furthermore, the existence of Planet Nine would also need to explain why Ammonite's orbit does not cluster with those of the other sednoids." According to Dr. Fumi Yoshida, of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health and the Chiba Institute of Technology, who led the survey project, Ammonite is too far away from Neptune for major gravitational influence. "The presence of objects with elongated orbits and large perihelion distances in this area implies that something extraordinary occurred during the ancient era when Ammonite formed," Yoshida said. "Understanding the orbital evolution and physical properties of these unique, distant objects is crucial for comprehending the full history of the Solar System." According to NASA, "Planet X (Planet Nine) has not yet been discovered, and there is debate in the scientific community about whether it exists."Original article source: New tiny world beyond Neptune discovered, giving boost to 'Planet Nine' theory Solve the daily Crossword
CBC
3 days ago
- Science
- CBC
Birth of a solar system: Astronomers observe early planet formation for 1st time
Social Sharing Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system. It's an unprecedented snapshot of "time zero," scientists reported Wednesday, when new worlds begin to gel. "We've captured a direct glimpse of the hot region where rocky planets like Earth are born around young protostars," said Leiden Observatory's Melissa McClure from the Netherlands, who led the international research team. "For the first time, we can conclusively say that the first steps of planet formation are happening right now." The observations offer a unique glimpse into the inner workings of an emerging planetary system, said the University of Chicago's Fred Ciesla, who was not involved in the study appearing in the journal Nature. "This is one of the things we've been waiting for. Astronomers have been thinking about how planetary systems form for a long period of time," Ciesla said. "There's a rich opportunity here." NASA's Webb Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile teamed up to unveil these early nuggets of planetary formation around the young star known as HOPS-315. It's a yellow dwarf in the making like the sun, yet much younger at 100,000 to 200,000 years old and some 1,370 light-years away. A single light-year is nine trillion kilometres. In a cosmic first, McClure and her team stared deep into the gas disk around the baby star and detected solid specks condensing — signs of early planet formation. A gap in the outer part of the disk allowed them to gaze inside, thanks to the way the star tilts toward Earth. They detected silicon monoxide gas as well as crystalline silicate minerals, the ingredients for what's believed to be the first solid materials to form in our solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago. The action is unfolding in a location comparable to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter containing the leftover building blocks of our solar system's planets. The condensing of hot minerals was never detected before around other young stars, "so we didn't know if it was a universal feature of planet formation or a weird feature of our solar system," McClure said in an email. "Our study shows that it could be a common process during the earliest stage of planet formation." WATCH | Some days feeling shorter? Here's why: Why Earth will spin slightly faster on 3 days this summer 7 days ago While other research has looked at younger gas disks and, more commonly, mature disks with potential planet wannabes, there's been no specific evidence for the start of planet formation until now, McClure said. In a stunning picture taken by the ESO's Alma telescope network, the emerging planetary system resembles a lightning bug glowing against the black void. It's impossible to know how many planets might form around HOPS-315. With a gas disk as massive as the sun's might have been, it could also wind up with eight planets a million or more years from now, according to McClure. Purdue University's Merel van 't Hoff, a co-author, is eager to find more budding planetary systems. By casting a wider net, astronomers can look for similarities and determine which processes might be crucial to forming Earth-like worlds.
