2003/12/30 by Michael J. West, Patrick Cote, Patrick Côté +3 · 3 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Elliptical galaxy #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy cluster #Globular cluster #Milky Way #Physics #Star cluster #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/nature02235
published as Nature 427 (2004) 31-35 · Review Article published in Nature, 1 January 2004. 18 pages, 4 figures, pdf format only
openalex publication_date 2003/12/30 · arxiv created 2004/01/19 · arxiv updated 2015/06/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Nearly a century after the true nature of galaxies as distant "island universes" was established, their origin and evolution remain great unsolved problems of modern astrophysics. One of the most promising ways to investigate galaxy formation is to study the ubiquitous globular star clusters that surround most galaxies. Recent advances in our understanding of the globular cluster systems of the Milky Way and other galaxies point to a complex picture of galaxy genesis driven by cannibalism, collisions, bursts of star formation and other tumultuous events.