Preface

Summary

The study of globular clusters has been and still is essential for furthering our knowledge of such astrophysical phenomena as stellar and galactic evolution, variable and X-ray emission stars, chemical abundances (primordial nucleosynthesis), etc. Globular clusters are ideal laboratories for testing theories of stellar evolution, the chemical evolution of the Universe and the dynamics of N-body systems. They are the oldest known objects whose ages can be independently determined, the closest in proximity to the origin of the Universe and the sole surviving structures of the first stages in the formation of the Galaxy. They provide us with important evidence concerning on the age and formation processes of the Galaxy. Globular Clusters are a fundamental unit of the known Universe, they are also found in all other galaxies within our observational grasp. They are possibly a necessary stage in the formation of galaxies.

Research on Globular Clusters covers a vast amount of territory that was reviewed and collected in the present book. From the photographic plate to the HST most recent results, the field of Globular Clusters was actualised and presented by Ivan R. King, with an interesting Observational Approach to Populations in Globular Clusters, where discusses the observations on which our understanding of globular clusters lies. Steven Majewski, reviews the Stellar Populations and Formation of the Milky Way, with particular emphasis on the role of globular clusters in tracing stellar populations and unravelling the Galactic history.