The shroud of gas around distant galaxies have been photographed and analysed pixel by pixel for the first time.

For the first time, astronomers have traced a fast radio burst (FRB) to the outskirts of an ancient, dead, elliptical galaxy — an unprecedented home for a phenomenon previously associated with much younger galaxies.

For years, astronomers have been working to piece together the story of our universe, but the critical early chapters remained largely incomplete. Our telescopes simply haven't been sensitive enough to pick up those faintest traces of light from the farthest…