"Astronomers Uncover 'Old Smokers': Giant Ancient Stars Revealed in Milky Way"

Astronomers have discovered a new type of star, dubbed "old smokers," near the center of the Milky Way galaxy. These aging, giant stars remain inactive for decades before emitting clouds of smoke and dust, potentially playing a role in distributing elements across the universe. The discovery was made during a decade-long survey involving the monitoring of nearly a billion stars in infrared light, revealing not only the old smokers but also newborn stars undergoing outbursts. The old smokers, found in the innermost nuclear disc of the Milky Way, are shedding light on the process of element release from aging stars and its impact on the formation of new stars and planets.