"Astronomers Uncover Surprising 'Old Smoker' Stars in Milky Way"

Astronomers have discovered a new type of aging, giant stars near the heart of the Milky Way galaxy, dubbed "old smoker" stars, which remain inactive for decades before emitting clouds of smoke and dust. These stars were identified during a decade-long survey involving the monitoring of nearly a billion stars in infrared light, revealing their unexpected behavior and potential role in distributing elements across the universe. The discovery could have wider implications for understanding the spread of heavy elements in the Milky Way's Nuclear Disc and metal-rich regions of other galaxies.