'Old smokers' and 'squalling newborns' among hidden stars spotted for first time

'Hidden' stars including a new type of elderly giant nicknamed '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 new research published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.