<p>'Hidden' stars including a new type of elderly giant nicknamed an 'old smoker' have been spotted for the first time by astronomers. The mystery objects exist at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy and can sit quietly for decades – fading almost to invisibility – before suddenly puffing out clouds of smoke, according to a new study published today in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. An international team of scientists led by Professor Philip Lucas, of the University of Hertfordshire, made their ground-breaking discovery after monitoring almost a billion stars in infrared light during a 10-year survey of the night sky.</p>
<p><strong>A research team, including astronomers of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), detected a three-ringed structure in the nursery of planets in the inner planet-forming disk of a young star. This configuration suggests two Jupiter-mass planets are forming in the gaps between the rings. The detailed analysis is consistent with abundant solid iron grains complementing the dust composition. As a result, the disk likely harbours metals and minerals akin to those in the Solar System’s terrestrial planets. It offers a glimpse into conditions resembling the early Solar System over four billion years ago during the formation of rocky planets such as Mercury, Venus, and Earth.</strong></p>
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