globular cluster

noun

: any of various approximately spherical clusters of gravitationally associated stars that typically populate galactic halos

called also globular

Examples of globular cluster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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This dwarf galaxy merged with the Milky Way around 10 billion years ago, added at least eight globular clusters and some 50 billion solar masses' worth of stars, gas and dark matter. Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025 This is significant because globular clusters are associated with other powerful events associated with older stars, including the collisions and mergers of two neutron stars or a white dwarf collapsing under its own gravity. Robert Lea, Space.com, 25 Feb. 2025 Described in February 2022, the fast radio burst was found within a cluster of stars, called a globular cluster, on the outskirts of galaxy Messier 81, located 12 million light-years from Earth. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 24 Jan. 2025 This stability contributes to their longevity—globular clusters can be billions of years old, and as such, many of them comprise very old stars. Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for globular cluster

Word History

First Known Use

1785, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of globular cluster was in 1785

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Cite this Entry

“Globular cluster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/globular%20cluster. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.

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