Latest news with #Polaris
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Summer solstice 2025 is here! Today marks the longest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Sunlovers rejoice, for the summer solstice is upon us, bringing the longest day of 2025 while heralding the beginning of astronomical summer in the northern hemisphere. The summer solstice occurs because of a 23.5 degree tilt in Earth's rotational axis that may have arisen when an ancient Mars-sized body slammed into our planet billions of years ago, triggering the formation of our moon. The angle of this tilt is — to all intents and purposes — consistent all year round, and is currently fixed with the north celestial pole pointing close to Polaris, the current north star. Thanks to this tilt, we experience the changing seasons, equinoxes and solstices — events that have been celebrated by cultures around the world for thousands of years. Some of humanity's most iconic ancient monuments like Stonehenge and the Mayan Chichén Itzá Pyramid were purpose built to align with these seasonal markers. In the northern hemisphere the summer solstice occurs when the sun reaches its northernmost point relative to Earth's celestial equator (which is simply our planet's regular equator projected out into space). Conversely, the winter solstice takes place when the sun is in its southernmost position relative to the celestial equator. The 2025 summer solstice arrives at 10:42 p.m. EDT on June 20 (0242 GMT June 21). On this day, skywatchers across the northern hemisphere will enjoy the longest stretch of daylight all year. In New York, for example, the sun will spend more than 15 hours beating a path through the sky. At the same time, those in the southern hemisphere will mark the winter solstice, which heralds the shortest day of 2025 below the equator. You can calculate exactly how much daylight you will experience in the days around the summer and winter solstices online using daylight tracker. Naturally this amount of sunlight makes it a challenging time of year for amateur astronomers, but that doesn't mean that the summer months aren't bursting with deep space targets and beautiful asterisms. Be sure to check out our daily guide to June's night sky to discover which targets to prioritize during those short summer nights. Editor's Note: If you find a creative way to capture the Summer Solstice and want to share it with readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Is SoundHound Ready to Challenge Big Tech in Automotive AI?
SoundHound AI SOUN is increasingly positioning itself as a real contender in the automotive AI space, traditionally dominated by tech giants. In the first quarter of 2025, the company reported revenue of $29.1 million, up 151% year over year, driven by rapid expansion in its restaurant and automotive voice AI solutions. Its proprietary Polaris platform is central to this growth, offering faster and more accurate voice recognition across multiple languages, which is key for noisy environments like car interiors.A key highlight is SoundHound's push into voice commerce. By enabling drivers to order food, book parking, or make reservations hands-free, SoundHound is expanding its in-car offerings beyond simple commands, and automakers are noticing. Several OEMs, including Tencent's mobility unit, are testing SoundHound's conversational AI as an alternative to big tech over 13,000 restaurant locations already using its system and multiple large OEM pilots underway, SoundHound is building a large and scalable voice ecosystem. The launch of Amelia 7.0, a platform of agentic AI voice assistants, further enhances its edge by letting AI agents perform complex tasks autonomously and a slight miss on revenue expectations and ongoing margin pressure due to recent acquisitions, the company reiterated its full-year guidance of $157–$177 million and aims for profitability by year-end. SoundHound's ability to innovate, execute, and scale across industries suggests it may be more than just a niche player—it could become a serious contender in automotive AI. The road ahead is competitive, but SoundHound is showing it knows how to drive forward. In the race for automotive AI dominance, SoundHound faces stiff competition from well-funded rivals like Alphabet Inc. GOOGL and Aurora Innovation AUR. Google's Android Automotive OS powers infotainment systems in vehicles from Volvo, Ford, and others, offering built-in access to Google Assistant, a dominant player in voice AI with deep ecosystem integration. Its advantage lies in scale, cloud capabilities, and consumer familiarity, making it a formidable Innovation, while more focused on autonomous driving, is also advancing human-machine interaction within self-driving systems. Its emphasis on real-time decision-making and safety-critical voice commands aligns closely with the kind of seamless, in-vehicle voice experiences SoundHound is both GOOGL and AUR have broader resources, SoundHound's strength lies in specialization. Its end-to-end conversational AI stack, freedom from hardware dependencies, and rapid deployment across OEMs give it a differentiated edge, especially as automakers increasingly look for alternatives to big tech. SoundHound plunged 5% in the past three months, underperforming the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry's 3.3% rise. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research In terms of its forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, SOUN is trading at 20.29, higher than the industry's 19.26. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SOUN's 2025 loss per share has remained unchanged at 16 cents per share. Nonetheless, the estimated figure reflects an improvement from the year-ago loss of $1.04 per share. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research SOUN stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Aurora Innovation, Inc. (AUR) : Free Stock Analysis Report SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Cash-Producing Stock to Own for Decades and 2 to Ignore
A company that generates cash isn't automatically a winner. Some businesses stockpile cash but fail to reinvest wisely, limiting their ability to expand. Cash flow is valuable, but it's not everything - StockStory helps you identify the companies that truly put it to work. Keeping that in mind, here is one cash-producing company that excels at turning cash into shareholder value and two that may struggle to keep up. Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 3.3% Founded in 1954, Polaris (NYSE:PII) designs and manufactures high-performance off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, and motorcycles. Why Do We Avoid PII? Annual sales declines of 11.6% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market Earnings per share fell by 17.2% annually over the last five years while its revenue was flat, showing each sale was less profitable Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up Polaris is trading at $40.62 per share, or 27x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why PII doesn't pass our bar. Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 26.4% Spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 2014, Keysight (NYSE:KEYS) offers electronic measurement products for use in various sectors. Why Do We Think KEYS Will Underperform? Demand cratered as it couldn't win new orders over the past two years, leading to an average 3.3% decline in its backlog Falling earnings per share over the last two years has some investors worried as stock prices ultimately follow EPS over the long term Shrinking returns on capital suggest that increasing competition is eating into the company's profitability At $158.19 per share, Keysight trades at 21.7x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than KEYS. Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 10.5% Developing sirens that warned of air raid attacks or fallout during the Cold War, Federal Signal (NYSE:FSS) provides safety and emergency equipment for government agencies, municipalities, and industrial companies. Why Are We Backing FSS? Sales pipeline is in good shape as its backlog averaged 10.8% growth over the past two years Operating profits and efficiency rose over the last five years as it benefited from some fixed cost leverage Earnings growth has trumped its peers over the last two years as its EPS has compounded at 28.7% annually Federal Signal's stock price of $99.64 implies a valuation ratio of 26x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it's free. Market indices reached historic highs following Donald Trump's presidential victory in November 2024, but the outlook for 2025 is clouded by new trade policies that could impact business confidence and growth. While this has caused many investors to adopt a "fearful" wait-and-see approach, we're leaning into our best ideas that can grow regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Take advantage of Mr. Market by checking out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today Sign in to access your portfolio
Time of India
6 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
How do birds find their way during migration: A look at their navigation system
Source: Wikipedia Billions of birds migrate in and out of the US annually. Birds embark on incredible journeys globally, flying thousands of miles to reach their destination. Some birds rely on a remarkable array of senses to navigate, such as the 'the arctic tern', logging an astonishing distance in its lifetime- equivalent to flying to the moon and back. Birds utilize a range of senses to orient themselves, including some that are familiar to humans, and others remain a mystery to us. Birds have an impressive navigation system, they utilize various cues to navigate during migration, including sight and smell. Seasonal migrants often rely on familiar landmarks like rivers and mountain ranges, while those flying over vast bodies of water rely on their sense of smell. How birds use the sky to find their way Mostly birds migrate at night, as they cant rely on the sun for direction during that time, they use the stars to navigate. Specifically, the position and rotation of the stars around the celestial pole, which is marked by Polaris (the North Star). By learning the position and patterns of stars around this point, birds can determine their direction. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 오스템 임플란트 받아가세요 임플란터 더 알아보기 Undo According to LiveScience, research on the passageways of seabirds called Scopoli's shearwaters found that blocking their nasal passages- sense of smell didn't affect their flight over land, but they got lost over water. Birds also navigate using sun and stars, with a 'sun compass' that combines the sun's position with their integral clock. This innate GPS-like system allows them to determine their direction, and studies confirm that disrupting their internal rhythm with artificial lights throws off their navigation. Thus, highlighting the importance of this sun compass mechanism. Multifaceted navigation system that allows birds to find their way When the sky is cloudy and birds can't see the sun, the stars, or other landmarks, they rely on other extraordinary senses to navigate. One such sense is magnetoreception, which allows birds to detect the Earth's magnetic fields generated by the rippling molten metals in our planet's core. Study shows that altering magnetic fields around pigeons disrupted their homing abilities. While the exact mechanism is not clear, Professor Peter Hore suggests that birds use some sort of chemical reaction whose outcome depends on the strength and direction of Earth's magnetic field. Researchers have confirmed that there's a molecule called cryptochrome, present in birds' retinas. Cryptochrome responds to magnetic fields in lab settings, requiring blue light, but the details of its sensitivity remain unknown. Additionally, some research points to magnetoreception mechanisms in birds' beaks, involving magnetite-interacting receptors connected to the brain. Birds also detect polarized light, using retinal cells to sense the patterns that reveal the sun's position, even on cloudy days. Bird navigation can aid conservation Researchers are understanding the complex navigation systems of birds. Since birds inherit their migratory routes and distances primarily through genetics, identifying the responsible genes and their mechanisms could significantly improve conservation strategies. Also read | Astronomers discover high-altitude clouds darkening skies in YSES-1 system
Vancouver Sun
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Amid upheaval abroad, universities urge Ottawa, Quebec to invest in attracting talent
Four major Quebec universities are proposing initiatives to make the province a landing spot for high-level researchers and urged the federal and provincial government to step up at a unique moment to attract talent from around the globe. 'As political and social tensions weaken the global research ecosystem, Quebec and Canada have a unique opportunity to position themselves as havens for rigorous and independent research,' the group, calling themselves Polaris, said in a statement released Saturday that highlights a number of moves, including co-ordinated steps at the provincial and national level to attract talent. The four universities — Universite Laval, McGill University, Universite de Montreal and Universite de Sherbrooke — hope to leverage political and social tensions affecting researchers around the world to lure them to Canadian schools. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The group of universities have put together a series of proposed options and opportunities under the Polaris platform and argue both Quebec and Ottawa have a role to play in making them happen. Vincent Poitout, vice-rector of research and innovation at Universite de Montreal, says there is a window to transform a very unfortunate situation in science, particularly in the United States, into an opportunity for Canada. 'The goal is to reposition Canada as a superpower in research and innovation and to restore its place among the world leaders,' Poitout said in an interview. 'Canada must seize the moment, and the moment won't necessarily last very long (…) It's a global competition, so the time to do it is now.' The universities note a recent survey published in the journal Nature that found 75 per cent of researchers in the United States are considering leaving the country. The Quebec institutions are suggesting the creation of new research chairs in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence, health and biodiversity. There is also a call to offer targeted scholarships in order to recruit prospective doctoral and post-doctoral students. In addition, the group is calling for supports for early-career researchers and investment in modernizing research infrastructure. Dominique Berube, vice-president of research and innovation at McGill University, said there has been much discussion in Canada's research community about how best to support American colleagues and maintain collaboration while balancing provincial and national priorities of ensuring sovereignty in research and other domains. The universities describe their proposals as 'well-considered' and 'scalable.' 'As much as we do recognize that there are a lot of priorities that need to be addressed — and we don't want to diminish in any in any way the many challenges that the governments are facing — nevertheless, all nations across the world are investing massively at this moment in technologies and in science,' Berube said. In Canada, which could have claimed some sort of leadership in artificial intelligence or quantum computing, the country risks losing that advantage. The Polaris proposals also require the help of the federal government to fast track immigration for researchers wanting to come to Canada. While some proposals target researchers based in the United States, particularly Quebecers and Canadians pursuing careers there, the initiatives aim to attract talent from around the world by 'offering them a space for freedom of thought, scientific rigour, innovation, and unparalleled creativity to advance their research.' 'We've got great talent in Canada right now, but there's talent everywhere in the world that might have thought about going to the United States and now there needs to be other opportunities, and that's what we want to be able to offer,' Berube said. There's no deadline to act, but the government and higher education institutions need to be ready as students and researchers consider their options. The group statement notes European countries have already committed 'significant resources' to universities for recruitment. 'I think that in the next year, that's the moment that we need to address the recruitment of researchers,' Berube said. 'And after that, the investments must slowly come.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
