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Concept
Globular cluster
Summary
A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member stars. Their name is derived from Latin globulus (small sphere). Globular clusters are occasionally known simply as "globulars".
Although one globular cluster, Omega Centauri, was observed in antiquity and long thought to be a star, recognition of the clusters' true nature came with the advent of telescopes in the 17th century. In early telescopic observations globular clusters appeared as fuzzy blobs, leading French astronomer Charles Messier to include many of them in his catalog of astronomical objects that he thought could be mistaken for comets. Using larger telescopes, 18th-century astronomers recognized that globular clusters are groups of many individual stars. Early in the 20th century the distribution of globular clusters in the sky was some of the first evidence that the Sun is far from the center of the Milky Way.
Globular clusters are found in nearly all galaxies. In spiral galaxies like the Milky Way they are mostly found in the outer spheroidal part of the galaxy - the galactic halo. They are the largest and most massive type of star cluster, tending to be older, denser, and composed of lower abundances of heavy elements than open clusters, which are generally found in the disks of spiral galaxies. The Milky Way has more than 150 known globulars, and there may be many more.
The origin of globular clusters and their role in galactic evolution are unclear. Some are among the oldest objects in their galaxies and even the universe, constraining estimates of the universe's age. Star clusters were formerly thought to consist of stars that all formed at the same time from one star-forming nebula, but nearly all globular clusters contain stars that formed at different times, or that have differing compositions.
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