Evolution of globular clusters - new article in Astronomy magazine

There is an interesting article in the May issue of Astronomy magazine
that appeared on my local newstand yesterday:

Reddy, Francis. May 2005. Stellar archaeology. Astronomy 33(5):34-39.


Informal abstract: Reddy reviews current journal thinking about the
formation and disintegration of globulars. As globulars pass through a
galactic disk, stars are stripped off their outsides. After repeated
orbits, this process eventually dissolves the globular. As a globular
passes through a galactic disk, it propagates shock waves in gas in a
galactic disk that can initiate creation of new open clusters.
Globular clusters are created within galaxies by the same processes
that makes open clusters, but are larger. The population of globular
clusters in a galaxy also can be increased by galaxies merging and
passing. One galaxy strips the globulars out of the spherical halo of
the other galaxy. These process es of death, creation and accretion are
one explanation for the bell shaped age distribution of old globulars
in the Milky Way galaxy. Globulars in our Milky Way are older than 6
billion years and may represent an older age and size continuum of
younger and smaller open clusters.

This issue and well-written article are worth checking out.

- Canopus56