Technologies

Astronomers have 12 new tools to study dark matter mysteries

A dozen stellar streams have entered the chat.

Studying dark matter is complicated. In reality, the best way to think about the phenomenon is as transparent matter. We can’t seem to see it, and it doesn’t interact with light, so essentially, it’s invisible to us.

But scientists haven’t backed down from the challenge. To date, they’ve come up with numerous unique ways to unveil the elusive stuff, as well as theories to explain it — and in a paper published Tuesday in the Astrophysical Journal, a team of experts just added several new tools to the dark matter quest’s arsenal.

They discovered a dozen never-before-seen stellar streams, or sparkly, yet pulverized, remnants of ancient dwarf galaxies and star clusters orbiting the Milky Way. For eons, the Milky Way’s gravitational pull has been disrupting such river-like structures’ paths and eventually forcing them to merge with it.

In other words, our home galaxy has been feasting on its neighboring cosmic cul-de-sacs as though they’re well-placed buffets. «As our galaxy is getting older, it is getting fatter,» Ting Li, a professor at the University of Toronto and lead author of the paper, said in a statement. «This study gives us a snapshot of the Milky Way’s feeding habits, such as what kinds of smaller stellar systems it ‘eats.'»

So, where does dark matter tie in?

Well, stellar streams offer a roundaboutway of deriving information of the universe’s hidden building blocks by providing adjacent clues. For instance, astronomers can measure the streams’ orbital speed, rotation trajectory, chemical composition and shape to see what isn’t present.

«Think of a Christmas tree,» Geraint F. Lewis, a professor at the University of Sydney and author of the paper, said in a statement. «On a dark night, we see the Christmas lights, but not the tree they are wrapped around. But the shape of the lights reveals the shape of the tree. It is the same with stellar streams — their orbits reveal the dark matter.»

The logic is fitting, as the only reason we even know dark matter and dark energy exists is due to a sort of indirect reasoning: According to scientists’ calculations, all the universe’s normal matter can’t explain how most galaxies are held together and all the universe’s normal energy can’t account for it’s continuous expansion. We call the missing piece of the expansion puzzle dark energy, and of the structure puzzle, dark matter.

As per the team, the more stellar streams we can find, the closer we may be to understanding the nature of the universe’s mysterious side. In fact, that’s part of why Li and collaborators initiated a program called the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey to dedicate themselves to locating as many as possible. Along with data from the European Gaia mission — which aims to chart an ambitious 3D map of our galaxy — that’s how the research team found the new, promising stellar streams.

Further down the line, Li said, stellar streams may prove critical in figuring out how the Milky Way came to be in the first place, after the Big Bang. «For me, this is one of the most intriguing questions, a question about our ultimate origins,» Li said.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 25, #806

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Aug. 25, #806.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle was all over the place for me. I solved the blue category right away, but did not even see the purple theme coming. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: A bad situation.

Green group hint: Tiny circles.

Blue group hint: Frosty the Snowman smoked one.

Purple group hint: Not up.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Predicament.

Green group: Small spherical things.

Blue group: Pipe-smoking accessories.

Purple group: What «down» might mean.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is predicament. The four answers are fix, jam, mess and pickle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is small spherical things. The four answers are mothball, pea, pearl and pom-pom.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is pipe-smoking accessories. The four answers are filter, lighter, pipe cleaner and tamper.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is what «down» might mean. The four answers are feathers, guzzle, sad and willing.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 25 #540

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 25, No. 540.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Some students have been back to school for weeks, but others see that first day looming large. Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has a timely related theme. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Back to school.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Stock your locker.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

PACK, PACT, TOLL, LAPS, SLAP, SLAT, LOST, BOOK, BOOKS, CRAP

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

LAPTOP, FOLDERS, BACKPACK, NOTEBOOKS, CALCULATOR

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is SUPPLIES. To find it, look for the S that is five letters down on the far-right row, and wind backwards.

Technologies

Back-to-School Deal: Tello’s Unlimited Plan Gets You Cell Service for $15 Per Month Your First 3 Months

Tello’s back-to-school deal lets you save big on cellphone service, but you have until Monday to take advantage of this discount.

The cost of every day basics continues to go up, but we take great pride in looking for ways to help you cut your expenses wherever you can. If you haven’t considered switching phone plans, maybe it’s time to do just that. Phone plans are a necessary line item on everyone’s budget, but switching to a cheaper one can help you save money every monty — which adds up over time.

If you’re looking to make a change, Tello is offering Unlimited phone plans for just $15 per month for your first three months this back-to-school season. You pay this as a $45 upfront payment rather than month to month, which may be preferable for some customers. After your initial three-month period on the Tello plan, the price reverts to the usual cost of $25 per month. But this deal is available only to new Tello customers until Monday.

Tello offers 5G and 4G LTE nationwide coverage so you can reliably get through phone calls or surf the internet. The plan includes unlimited data, 35GB of high-speed data, and free Wi-Fi and hotspot calling. US plans include free calls and texts to more than 60 countries, including Canada, India and Mexico. Data speeds slow down after you use your 35GB. Tello allows you to bring your own phone or lets you get a new one for a separate fee.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

If you’re looking for an even more budget-friendly plan, you can also consider their 2GB plans for $10 per month. Right now their 5GB plan is $10 for the first month and then just $14 per month. These have data limits, but they include unlimited talk and text. Once you select your plan, it will renew every 30 days unless you cancel or change it.

Looking for more ways to save on your phone plan but not sure if this deal is for you? Check out our list of the best cheap phone plans or best family plans so you can find exactly the plan you need.

MOBILE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 512GB Unlocked AI Phone (Silver Shadow):

$920 (save $280)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G 128GB Unlocked Phone (Awesome Black):

$350 (save $50)
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE 128GB Unlocked AI Phone (Gray):

$525 (save $125)
Moto G Stylus 5G 256GB Unlocked Phone(2024 Model, Caramel Latte):

$300 (save $100)
Apple iPhone 14 128GB Unlocked Phone (Refurbished, Midnight):

$334 (save $295)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

At just $15 per month for three months (and $25 after this period), Tello’s Unlimited plan is one of the most budget-friendly deals available in the market right now and can save you hundreds over the year. This deal is available until Monday, and now is an excellent time to take advantage of it.