Most globular clusters were formed early in the universe and so are 12 billion years old or older. For this reason, the early history of globular clusters and the reasons for their formation are not well understood. Since they date from the same epoch as the formation of the galaxies themselves, it is hoped that an understanding of the formation of globulars may tell us something about the formation and early history of galaxies.
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We do see relatively young globular clusters that form when galaxies collide. The preceding
image illustrates such a collision (which we shall discuss in more detail in Chapter 24).
The bright blue regions are clusters of hot young stars that have formed as a result
of great bursts of star formation triggered by the collision. Some of these clusters may be
globular clusters.