What feature maintains the nearly spherical structure of Globular Clusters over cosmic time?
Answer
Immense stellar density and strong gravitational binding
Globular Clusters (GCs) possess an extremely high stellar density, packing hundreds of thousands to millions of stars into a very small volume of space, often just tens of light-years across. This immense density results in exceptionally strong gravitational binding among the stars. This powerful self-gravity allows the structure to resist the tidal forces exerted by the host galaxy over billions of years, preserving its nearly spherical and highly symmetrical shape. Open Clusters, being loosely bound, are easily disrupted by these same tidal forces.
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