Technologies
NASA’s Hubble telescope helps scientists solve mystery of dead galaxies
Why did some galaxies from the early universe suddenly stop making stars? Astronomers look back in time to find out.

As mere mortals, we yearn to travel back in time — an obsession nourished by iconic contraptions such as Marty McFly’s car, Hermione Granger’s time turner and Doctor Who’s police box. Often forgotten, however, are the real-life astronomers who kind of already do it.
Recently, one such research team tapped time travel to solve a space mystery from billions of years ago using a unique combination of super sensitive telescopes: Why did some of the early universe’s galaxies strangely stop popping out stars and become inactive, or quiescent?
Galaxies are thought to be at the pinnacle of their star manufacturing potential at this moment in time, so it’s especially puzzling when we discover any that are dormant. Right now, they should be making more stars than ever.
«The most massive galaxies in our universe formed incredibly early, just after the Big Bang happened,» Kate Whitaker, a professor of astronomy at University of Massachusetts-Amherst and lead author of a new study, said in a statement. «But for some reason, they have shut down. They’re no longer forming new stars.»
It turns out, some old galaxies merely ran low on star fuel, or cold gas, early on in their lifetimes. The results of the group’s study were published Wednesday in the journal Nature and could rewrite our knowledge of how the universe evolved.
But hold on, you’re probably still on that bit about astronomers going back in time. If they can swing that, why didn’t they show up to Stephen Hawking’s famous time-traveler-only dinner party?
You might have heard the term «light-year,» which refers to the distance light whizzes along in one Earth year. We need this term as a measurement because light doesn’t travel instantaneously. Of course, turning on your bedroom lamp leads to near-immediate brightness, but if someone turned on a flashlight while standing on the moon, about 238,900 miles (384,472 kilometers) away, its beam wouldn’t reach us for over a second.
That means moonlight has about a one-second lag for us Earthlings. In effect, when we glance at the moon, we’re seeing everything one second after it happens. We’re sort of looking back in time.
Astronomers scale that concept up by the billions. Using powerful telescopes as time machines, they look into deep space — like, billions of light-years away. For this study that mined the mystery of prematurely «dying» galaxies, for instance, the team looked at six cosmic bodies 10 billion to 12 billion light-years away in the universe.
So, it took 10 billion to 12 billion years for any illumination within the studied area to reach their telescope lenses. That means the astronomers were looking back in time far enough to watch the moments soon after the Big Bang — which occurred about 14 billion years ago — unfold in real-time.
Lo and behold, that’s how they solved the cosmic puzzle. The researchers say the galaxies either burned through their cold gas supply too quickly or are blocked from replenishment.
More specifically, Whitaker and fellow researchers demystified the issue by using a mixture of powerful telescopes: the Hubble Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or ALMA. The Hubble Space Telescope is sensitive to light across the spectrum — even the type humans can’t see.
And as if time travel wasn’t fantastical enough, the team took advantage of another tool called gravitational lensing to enhance the light collected. Basically, the lens’ viewpoint traveled along a line decorated by hundreds of other galaxy clusters.
Gravitational pulls of those galaxies were strong enough to warp beams of light coming from the team’s six galaxies of interest, stretching them while they traveled to Earth. That helped shed light — no pun intended — on juicy details that would have otherwise been missed within the galaxies.
ALMA, on the other hand, used those details to look for levels of the cold gas, or star fuel, needed by galaxies to make stellar bodies. «There was copious cold gas in the early universe, so these galaxies, from 12 billion years ago, should have plenty left in the fuel tank,» Whitaker said.
Now we know — thanks to the closest we’ve come to time travel — those tanks have been empty.
Technologies
Resident Evil Requiem Revealed, but Where’s Leon Kennedy?
The Resident Evil 9 trailer showed off a new character, but not the much-rumored return of Leon.

After a fake-out earlier in Summer Game Fest on Friday, Resident Evil Requiem, or Resident Evil 9, was shown for the first time.
The new title is the first mainline entry since Capcom released Resident Evil Village in 2021, and is rumored to feature series stalwart Leon Kennedy. In the trailer, the only person we saw was a character named Grace Ashcroft, who works for the FBI and appears to have ties to Raccoon City.
For the most hardcore Resident Evil fans, the name Ashcroft will ring a bell. Alyssa Ashcroft was one of the survivors of the online-only title, Resident Evil Outbreak for the PS2. Alyssa was a journalist who was trapped in Raccoon City during the events of Resident Evil 2, and she, along with other survivors, had to escape the city before it was destroyed.
Grace is Alyssa’s daughter, and in the trailer, she is going to visit the Remwood Hotel, where Alyssa was murdered. Later in the trailer, images from what appears to be the remnants of a destroyed Raccoon City are shown — including the police department from RE2 — so it appears Resident Evil 9 will return to where the series started.
Leon’s (rumored) return is a big deal for the series, which has made some of its best games with him in the starring role. He first showed up as a rookie cop in Resident Evil 2, which built on the original game’s success with more story and improved monsters and level design.
He showed up again in Resident Evil 4, which took the series in a new direction by introducing an over-the-shoulder perspective, instead of the usual static camera angles and tank controls. Leon was also one of several playable protagonists in Resident Evil 6, a game that seemed to forget about its survival horror roots. We mostly don’t talk about that one.
But the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 was an excellent return to form, bringing RE4’s gameplay and much better graphics to a fan-favorite entry. The RE4 remake was a similar success.
Resident Evil Requiem is set to drop Feb. 27, 2026, for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, but we’re hoping to get our hands on it this weekend. If you want to catch up on older Resident Evil games, Capcom is having a sale that includes basically all the games, including Village and the three remakes.
Technologies
The Switch 2 Is Here, and I’ve Scoured the Internet for Every Accessory Available Right Now
Technologies
T-Mobile’s Free Premium iPhone 16 Pro Deal Explained. Learn Exactly How It Works
Along with a free iPhone, you can get an extra $800 to pay off your old device.

If you’re starting a new cell phone plan, most major mobile carriers require a multiyear commitment so it’s a big decision you need to consider carefully. First, think about the plan and provider itself: What’s the best coverage in your area and how many lines do you want to add? Next, compare the best mobile phone plan deals to save yourself the most money
T-Mobile has some fantastic deals right now you can take advantage of that make it a pretty competitive pick — especially for Apple fans looking to upgrade.
T-Mobile’s incentives include free lines and streaming services but one huge highlight is the chance to snag the top-rated iPhone 16 Pro free. The language on some of these offers can be a little confusing so we’ve broken down how T-Mobile’s current deals work below. Note that there aren’t any set expirations for these offers so they could vanish at any moment. We wouldn’t wait too long if you’re hoping to take advantage of these savings.
Why these deals matter
You more or less need a phone with reliable coverage these days but costs can add up quickly. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your mobile device or shopping for the best family plans, these T-Mobile deals can help save you some serious cash each month.
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