Astronomers have discovered an unusual type of stars in the central regions of the Milky Way, which belong to the “old smoker” type – these are red giants emitting huge clouds of gas and dust. The discovery is reported in a paper published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).
Astronomers from the UK, Chile, South Korea, Brazil, Germany and Italy conducted their research with the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope (VISTA) and the VLT (Very Large Telescope) of the European Southern Observatory in Chile. The 222 stars that showed the largest changes in brightness were analysed.
Scientists found 32 erupting protostars that had increased in brightness by at least a factor of 40, and in some cases by more than 300. Most of the eruptions are still ongoing, allowing astronomers to analyse the series of these events throughout their evolution, from their initial quiescent state, through their brightness peak and into their decline stage.
