Astronomers discover metal-poor globular cluster by chance

An international team of astronomers led by Soren Larsen (Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands) has accidentally discovered a globular cluster that contains extremely few metals, those elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. The astronomers had some spare observation time and decided to include the globular cluster in the Andromeda galaxy as a bonus. They will publish their findings in the journal Science on Friday.