Joe Bauman: The beautiful and ancient globular clusters are the galaxy's diamond brooches

Editor's note: A version of this was previously published on the author's website.An unforgettable experience at the eyepiece, almost akin to seeing Saturn, is one's first look at a globular cluster. Hanging in the black of space is a spherical mass of stars whose center is so tightly packed that individual orbs cannot be picked out, while around the ball are stellar streamers and loops, the whole conglomeration glowing like gems. They are a galaxy's brilliant diamond brooches.As far as we know,