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Golden Rule

The Golden Rule is the principle of treating others as one would want to be treated by them. It is sometimes called an ethics of reciprocity, meaning that you should reciprocate to others how you would like them to treat you (not necessarily how they actually treat you). Various expressions of this rule can be found in the tenets of most religions and creeds through the ages.

The maxim may appear as a positive or negative injunction governing conduct:
 * Treat others as you would like others to treat you (positive or directive form)
 * Do not treat others in ways that you would not like to be treated (negative or prohibitive form)
 * What you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself (empathetic or responsive form)

Etymology
The term "Golden Rule", or "Golden law", began to be used widely in the early 17th century in Britain by Anglican theologians and preachers; the earliest known usage is that of Anglicans Charles Gibbon and Thomas Jackson in 1604.

Ancient Egypt
Possibly the earliest affirmation of the maxim of reciprocity, reflecting the ancient Egyptian goddess Ma'at, appears in the story of "The Eloquent Peasant", which dates to the Middle Kingdom (c. 2040–1650 BCE): "Now this is the command: Do to the doer to make him do." This proverb embodies the do ut des principle. A Late Period (c. 664–323 BCE) papyrus contains an early negative affirmation of the Golden Rule: "That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another."

Sanskrit tradition
In Mahābhārata, the ancient epic of India, there is a discourse in which sage Brihaspati tells the king Yudhishthira the following about dharma, a philosophical understanding of values and actions that lend good order to life: "One should never do something to others that one would regard as an injury to one's own self. In brief, this is dharma. Anything else is succumbing to desire."

The Mahābhārata is usually dated to the period between 400 BCE and 400 CE.

Tamil tradition
In Chapter 32 in the Book of Virtue of the Tirukkuṛaḷ (c. 1st century BCE to 5th century CE), Valluvar says:

"Do not do to others what you know has hurt yourself." "Why does one hurt others knowing what it is to be hurt?"

Furthermore, in verse 312, Valluvar says that it is the determination or code of the spotless (virtuous) not to do evil, even in return, to those who have cherished enmity and done them evil. According to him, the proper punishment to those who have done evil is to put them to shame by showing them kindness, in return and to forget both the evil and the good done on both sides (verse 314).

Ancient Greece
The Golden Rule in its prohibitive (negative) form was a common principle in ancient Greek philosophy. Examples of the general concept include:
 * "Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing." – Thales (c. 624 – c. 546 BCE)
 * "What you do not want to happen to you, do not do it yourself either." – Sextus the Pythagorean. The oldest extant reference to Sextus is by Origen in the third century of the common era.
 * "Ideally, no one should touch my property or tamper with it, unless I have given him some sort of permission, and, if I am sensible I shall treat the property of others with the same respect." – Plato (c. 420 – c. 347 BCE)
 * "Do not do to others that which angers you when they do it to you." – Isocrates (436–338 BCE)
 * "It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living pleasantly." – Epicurus (341–270 BC) where "justly" refers to "an agreement made in reciprocal association ... against the infliction or suffering of harm."

Ancient Persia
The Pahlavi Texts of Zoroastrianism (c. 300 BCE – 1000 CE) were an early source for the Golden Rule: "That nature alone is good which refrains from doing to another whatsoever is not good for itself." Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5, and "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others." Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29

Ancient Rome
Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BCE – 65 CE), a practitioner of Stoicism (c. 300 BCE – 200 CE) expressed a hierarchical variation of the Golden Rule in his Letter 47, an essay regarding the treatment of slaves: "Treat your inferior as you would wish your superior to treat you."

Religious context
According to Simon Blackburn, the Golden Rule "can be found in some form in almost every ethical tradition". A multi-faith poster showing the Golden Rule in sacred writings from 13 faith traditions (designed by Paul McKenna of Scarboro Missions, 2000) has been on permanent display at the Headquarters of the United Nations since 4 January 2002. Creating the poster "took five years of research that included consultations with experts in each of the 13 faith groups." (See also the section on Global Ethic.)

Judaism
A rule of reciprocal altruism was stated positively in a well-known Torah verse (Hebrew: ):

"You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinsfolk. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the."

Rashi commented what constitutes revenge and grudge, using the example of two men. One man would not lend the other his ax, then the next day, the same man asks the other for his ax. If the second man should say, "“I will not lend it to you, just as you did not lend to me," it constitutes revenge; if "Here it is for you; I am not like you, who did not lend me," it constitutes a grudge. Rashi concludes his commentary by quoting Rabbi Akiva on love of neighbor: "This is a fundamental [all-inclusive] principle of the Torah."

Hillel the Elder (c. 110 BCE – 10 CE), used this verse as a most important message of the Torah for his teachings. Once, he was challenged by a gentile who asked to be converted under the condition that the Torah be explained to him while he stood on one foot. Hillel accepted him as a candidate for conversion to Judaism but, drawing on Leviticus 19:18, briefed the man: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."

Hillel recognized brotherly love as the fundamental principle of Jewish ethics. Rabbi Akiva agreed, while Simeon ben Azzai suggested that the principle of love must have its foundation in Genesis chapter 1, which teaches that all men are the offspring of Adam, who was made in the image of God. According to Jewish rabbinic literature, the first man Adam represents the unity of mankind. This is echoed in the modern preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And it is also taught, that Adam is last in order according to the evolutionary character of God's creation: "Why was only a single specimen of man created first? To teach us that he who destroys a single soul destroys a whole world and that he who saves a single soul saves a whole world; furthermore, so no race or class may claim a nobler ancestry, saying, 'Our father was born first'; and, finally, to give testimony to the greatness of the Lord, who caused the wonderful diversity of mankind to emanate from one type. And why was Adam created last of all beings? To teach him humility; for if he be overbearing, let him remember that the little fly preceded him in the order of creation."

The Jewish Publication Society's edition of Leviticus states:"Thou shalt not hate thy brother, in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. 18 Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the."This Torah verse represents one of several versions of the Golden Rule, which itself appears in various forms, positive and negative. It is the earliest written version of that concept in a positive form.

At the turn of the era, the Jewish rabbis were discussing the scope of the meaning of Leviticus 19:18 and 19:34 extensively:

"The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the am your God."

Commentators interpret that this applies to foreigners (= Samaritans), proselytes (= 'strangers who reside with you') and Jews.

On the verse, "Love your fellow as yourself", the classic commentator Rashi quotes from Torat Kohanim, an early Midrashic text regarding the famous dictum of Rabbi Akiva: "Love your fellow as yourself – Rabbi Akiva says this is a great principle of the Torah."

Israel's postal service quoted from the previous Leviticus verse when it commemorated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on a 1958 postage stamp.

Christianity
The "Golden Rule" was proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth during his Sermon on the Mount and described by him as the second great commandment. The common English phrasing is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". A similar form of the phrase appeared in a Catholic catechism around 1567 (certainly in the reprint of 1583). Various applications of the Golden Rule are stated positively numerous times in the Old Testament: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Or, in Leviticus 19:34: "But treat them just as you treat your own citizens. Love foreigners as you love yourselves, because you were foreigners one time in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.".

The Old Testament Deuterocanonical books of Tobit and Sirach, accepted as part of the Scriptural canon by Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Non-Chalcedonian Churches, express a negative form of the golden rule:

"'Do to no one what you yourself dislike.'" "Recognize that your neighbor feels as you do, and keep in mind your own dislikes."

Two passages in the New Testament quote Jesus of Nazareth espousing the positive form of the Golden rule:

"Do to others what you want them to do to you. This is the meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets." "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise."

A similar passage, a parallel to the Great Commandment, is Luke 10:25.

"Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'

He said to him, 'What is written in the law? How do you read it?'

He answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.'

He said to him, 'You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.'"

The passage in the book of Luke then continues with Jesus answering the question, "Who is my neighbor?", by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan, which John Wesley interprets as meaning that "your neighbor" is anyone in need.

Jesus' teaching goes beyond the negative formulation of not doing what one would not like done to themselves, to the positive formulation of actively doing good to another that, if the situations were reversed, one would desire that the other would do for them. This formulation, as indicated in the parable of the Good Samaritan, emphasizes the needs for positive action that brings benefit to another, not simply restraining oneself from negative activities that hurt another.

In one passage of the New Testament, Paul the Apostle refers to the golden rule, restating Jesus' second commandment:

"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

St. Paul also comments on the golden rule in the book of Romans:

"The commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery', 'You shall not murder', 'You shall not steal', 'You shall not covet', and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Islam
The Arabian peninsula was known to not practice the golden rule prior to the advent of Islam. According to Th. Emil Homerin: "Pre-Islamic Arabs regarded the survival of the tribe, as most essential and to be ensured by the ancient rite of blood vengeance." Homerin goes on to say:

"Similar examples of the golden rule are found in the hadith of the prophet Muhammad. The hadith recount what the prophet is believed to have said and done, and traditionally Muslims regard the hadith as second to only the Qur'an as a guide to correct belief and action."

From the hadith, the collected oral and written accounts of Muhammad and his teachings during his lifetime: "A Bedouin came to the prophet, grabbed the stirrup of his camel and said: O the messenger of God! Teach me something to go to heaven with it. Prophet said: 'As you would have people do to you, do to them; and what you dislike to be done to you, don't do to them. Now let the stirrup go! [This maxim is enough for you; go and act in accordance with it!]'"

"None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself."

"Seek for mankind that of which you are desirous for yourself, that you may be a believer."

"That which you want for yourself, seek for mankind."

"The most righteous person is the one who consents for other people what he consents for himself, and who dislikes for them what he dislikes for himself."

Ali ibn Abi Talib (4th Caliph in Sunni Islam, and first Imam in Shia Islam) says: "O my child, make yourself the measure (for dealings) between you and others. Thus, you should desire for others what you desire for yourself and hate for others what you hate for yourself. Do not oppress as you do not like to be oppressed. Do good to others as you would like good to be done to you. Regard bad for yourself whatever you regard bad for others. Accept that (treatment) from others which you would like others to accept from you ... Do not say to others what you do not like to be said to you."Hussein bin Ali bin Awn al-Hashemi (102nd Caliph in Sunni Islam), repeated the Golden rule in the context of the Armenian genocide, thus, in 1917, he states: "Winter is ahead of us. Refugees from the Armenian Jacobite Community will probably need warmth. Help them how you would help your brothers. Pray for these people who have been expelled from their homes and left homeless and devoid of livestock and all their property."

Baháʼí Faith
The writings of the Baháʼí Faith encourage everyone to treat others as they would treat themselves and even prefer others over oneself:

"O SON OF MAN! Deny not My servant should he ask anything from thee, for his face is My face; be then abashed before Me."

"Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself."

"And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself."

"Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not."

Hinduism
"One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one's own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Other behavior is due to selfish desires."

"By making dharma your main focus, treat others as you treat yourself"

Also, "श्रूयतां धर्मसर्वस्वं श्रुत्वा चाप्यवधार्यताम्। आत्मनः प्रतिकूलानि परेषां न समाचरेत्।। If the entire Dharma can be said in a few words, then it is—that which is unfavorable to us, do not do that to others."

Buddhism
Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, c. 623–543 BCE) made the negative formulation of the golden rule one of the cornerstones of his ethics in the 6th century BCE. It occurs in many places and in many forms throughout the Tripitaka.

"Comparing oneself to others in such terms as 'Just as I am so are they, just as they are so am I,' he should neither kill nor cause others to kill."

"One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter."

"Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful."

"Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill."

Jainism
The Golden Rule is paramount in the Jainist philosophy and can be seen in the doctrines of ahimsa and karma. As part of the prohibition of causing any living beings to suffer, Jainism forbids inflicting upon others what is harmful to oneself.

The following line from the Acaranga Sutra sums up the philosophy of Jainism: "Nothing which breathes, which exists, which lives, or which has essence or potential of life, should be destroyed or ruled over, or subjugated, or harmed, or denied of its essence or potential.

In support of this Truth, I ask you a question – 'Is sorrow or pain desirable to you?' If you say 'yes it is', it would be a lie. If you say, 'No, It is not' you will be expressing the truth. Just as sorrow or pain is not desirable to you, so it is to all which breathe, exist, live or have any essence of life. To you and all, it is undesirable, and painful, and repugnant."

"A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated."

"In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self."

Sikhism
"Precious like jewels are the minds of all. To hurt them is not at all good. If thou desirest thy Beloved, then hurt thou not anyone's heart."

Confucianism
The same idea is also presented in V.12 and VI.30 of the Analects (c. 500 BCE), which can be found in the online Chinese Text Project. The phraseology differs from the Christian version of the Golden Rule. It does not presume to do anything unto others, but merely to avoid doing what would be harmful. It does not preclude doing good deeds and taking moral positions.

Taoism
"The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful." "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss."

Mohism
"If people regarded other people's states in the same way that they regard their own, who then would incite their own state to attack that of another? For one would do for others as one would do for oneself. If people regarded other people's cities in the same way that they regard their own, who then would incite their own city to attack that of another? For one would do for others as one would do for oneself. If people regarded other people's families in the same way that they regard their own, who then would incite their own family to attack that of another? For one would do for others as one would do for oneself. And so if states and cities do not attack one another and families do not wreak havoc upon and steal from one another, would this be a harm to the world or a benefit? Of course one must say it is a benefit to the world."

Mozi regarded the golden rule as a corollary to the cardinal virtue of impartiality, and encouraged egalitarianism and selflessness in relationships.

Zoroastrianism
"Do not do unto others whatever is injurious to yourself."

Wicca
"Hear ye these words and heed them well, the words of Dea, thy Mother Goddess, 'I command thee thus, O children of the Earth, that that which ye deem harmful unto thyself, the very same shall ye be forbidden from doing unto another, for violence and hatred give rise to the same. My command is thus, that ye shall return all violence and hatred with peacefulness and love, for my Law is love unto all things. Only through love shall ye have peace; yea and verily, only peace and love will cure the world, and subdue all evil.'"

Scientology
"Try not to do things to others that you would not like them to do to you. Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you."

Yoruba
"One who is going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts."

Global ethic
The "Declaration Toward a Global Ethic" from the Parliament of the World's Religions (1993) proclaimed the Golden Rule ("We must treat others as we wish others to treat us") as the common principle for many religions. The Initial Declaration was signed by 143 leaders from all of the world's major faiths, including Baháʼí Faith, Brahmanism, Brahma Kumaris, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Indigenous, Interfaith, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Native American, Neo-Pagan, Sikhism, Taoism, Theosophist, Unitarian Universalist and Zoroastrian. In the folklore of several cultures the Golden Rule is depicted by the allegory of the long spoons.

Humanism
In the view of Greg M. Epstein, a Humanist chaplain at Harvard University, " 'do unto others' ... is a concept that essentially no religion misses entirely. But not a single one of these versions of the golden rule requires a God". Various sources identify the Golden Rule as a humanist principle: "Trying to live according to the Golden Rule means trying to empathise with other people, including those who may be very different from us. Empathy is at the root of kindness, compassion, understanding and respect – qualities that we all appreciate being shown, whoever we are, whatever we think and wherever we come from. And although it isn't possible to know what it really feels like to be a different person or live in different circumstances and have different life experiences, it isn't difficult for most of us to imagine what would cause us suffering and to try to avoid causing suffering to others. For this reason many people find the Golden Rule's corollary – 'do not treat people in a way you would not wish to be treated yourself' – more pragmatic."

"Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you. [is] (…) the single greatest, simplest, and most important moral axiom humanity has ever invented, one which reappears in the writings of almost every culture and religion throughout history, the one we know as the Golden Rule.

Moral directives do not need to be complex or obscure to be worthwhile, and in fact, it is precisely this rule's simplicity which makes it great. It is easy to come up with, easy to understand, and easy to apply, and these three things are the hallmarks of a strong and healthy moral system. The idea behind it is readily graspable: before performing an action which might harm another person, try to imagine yourself in their position, and consider whether you would want to be the recipient of that action. If you would not want to be in such a position, the other person probably would not either, and so you should not do it. It is the basic and fundamental human trait of empathy, the ability to vicariously experience how another is feeling, that makes this possible, and it is the principle of empathy by which we should live our lives."

Existentialism
"When we say that man chooses for himself, we do mean that every one of us must choose himself; but by that we also mean that in choosing for himself he chooses for all men. For in effect, of all the actions a man may take in order to create himself as he wills to be, there is not one which is not creative, at the same time, of an image of man such as he believes he ought to be. To choose between this or that is at the same time to affirm the value of that which is chosen; for we are unable ever to choose the worse. What we choose is always the better; and nothing can be better for us unless it is better for all."

Classical Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill in his book, Utilitarianism (originally published in 1861), wrote, "In the golden rule of Jesus of Nazareth, we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility. 'To do as you would be done by,' and 'to love your neighbour as yourself,' constitute the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality."

Human rights
According to Marc H. Bornstein, and William E. Paden, the Golden Rule is arguably the most essential basis for the modern concept of human rights, in which each individual has a right to just treatment, and a reciprocal responsibility to ensure justice for others.

However, Leo Damrosch argued that the notion that the Golden Rule pertains to "rights" per se is a contemporary interpretation and has nothing to do with its origin. The development of human "rights" is a modern political ideal that began as a philosophical concept promulgated through the philosophy of Jean Jacques Rousseau in 18th century France, among others. His writings influenced Thomas Jefferson, who then incorporated Rousseau's reference to "inalienable rights" into the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. Damrosch argued that to confuse the Golden Rule with human rights is to apply contemporary thinking to ancient concepts.

Science and economics
There has been research published arguing that some 'sense' of fair play and the Golden Rule may be stated and rooted in terms of neuroscientific and neuroethical principles.

The Golden Rule can also be explained from the perspectives of psychology, philosophy, sociology, human evolution, and economics. Psychologically, it involves a person empathizing with others. Philosophically, it involves a person perceiving their neighbor also as "I" or "self". Sociologically, "love your neighbor as yourself" is applicable between individuals, between groups, and also between individuals and groups. In evolution, "reciprocal altruism" is seen as a distinctive advance in the capacity of human groups to survive and reproduce, as their exceptional brains demanded exceptionally long childhoods and ongoing provision and protection even beyond that of the immediate family. In economics, Richard Swift, referring to ideas from David Graeber, suggests that "without some kind of reciprocity society would no longer be able to exist."

Study of other primates provides evidence that the Golden Rule exists in other non-human species.

Criticism
Philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Nietzsche have objected to the rule on a variety of grounds. One is the epistemic question of determining how others want to be treated. The obvious way is to ask them, but they might give duplicitous answers if they find this strategically useful, and they might also fail to understand the details of the choice situation as you understand it. We might also be biased to perceiving harms and benefits to ourselves more than to others, which could lead to escalating conflict if we are suspicious of others. Hence Linus Pauling suggested that we introduce a bias towards others into the golden rule: "Do unto others 20 percent better than you would have them to unto you-to correct for subjective bias."

One religion that officially rejects the Golden Rule is the Neo-Nazi religion of the "Creativity Movement" founded by Ben Klassen. Followers of the religion believe that the Golden Rule doesn't make sense and is a "completely unworkable principle."

Differences in values or interests
George Bernard Shaw wrote, "Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same." This suggests that if your values are not shared with others, the way you want to be treated will not be the way they want to be treated. Hence, the Golden Rule of "do unto others" is "dangerous in the wrong hands", according to philosopher Iain King, because "some fanatics have no aversion to death: the Golden Rule might inspire them to kill others in suicide missions."

Walter Terence Stace, in The Concept of Morals (1937) argued that Shaw's remark

"...seems to overlook the fact that 'doing as you would be done by' includes taking into account your neighbour's tastes as you would that he should take yours into account. Thus the 'golden rule' might still express the essence of a universal morality even if no two men in the world had any needs or tastes in common."

Differences in situations
Immanuel Kant famously criticized the golden rule for not being sensitive to differences of situation, noting that a prisoner duly convicted of a crime could appeal to the golden rule while asking the judge to release him, pointing out that the judge would not want anyone else to send him to prison, so he should not do so to others. On the other hand, in a critique of the consistency of Kant's writings, several authors have noted the "similarity" between the Golden Rule and Kant's Categorical Imperative, introduced in Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals (See discussion at this link).

This was perhaps a well-known objection, as Leibniz actually responded to it long before Kant made it, suggesting that the judge should put himself in the place, not merely of the criminal, but of all affected persons and then judging each option (to inflict punishment, or release the criminal, etc.) by whether there was a “greater good in which this lesser evil was included.”

Other responses to criticisms
Marcus George Singer observed that there are two importantly different ways of looking at the golden rule: as requiring (1) that you perform specific actions that you want others to do to you or (2) that you guide your behavior in the same general ways that you want others to. Counter-examples to the golden rule typically are more forceful against the first than the second.

In his book on the golden rule, Jeffrey Wattles makes the similar observation that such objections typically arise while applying the golden rule in certain general ways (namely, ignoring differences in taste or situation, failing to compensate for subjective bias, etc.) But if we apply the golden rule to our own method of using it, asking in effect if we would want other people to apply the golden rule in such ways, the answer would typically be no, since others' ignoring of such factors will lead to behavior which we object to. It follows that we should not do so ourselves—according to the golden rule. In this way, the golden rule may be self-correcting. An article by Jouni Reinikainen develops this suggestion in greater detail.

It is possible, then, that the golden rule can itself guide us in identifying which differences of situation are morally relevant. We would often want other people to ignore any prejudice against our race or nationality when deciding how to act towards us, but would also want them to not ignore our differing preferences in food, desire for aggressiveness, and so on. This principle of "doing unto others, wherever possible, as they would be done by..." has sometimes been termed the platinum rule.

Popular references
Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies (1863) includes a character named Mrs Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By (and another, Mrs Be-Done-By-As-You-Did).

title: Golden Rule


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Talk:Golden Rule

That's theologically 100% wrong
No, no, no, the Golden rule is not a law of reciprocity in Christianity, please, remove that, because it's theologically wrong, or use another word to explain. A reciprocity law would mean that you do the good when you meet the good, and give back the evil when you meet the evil. That's 100% the opposite of the Jesus teaching. You have to give back the good when you meet the evil, it's in the Gospel. Wikipedia shouldn't use ambiguous expressions, and be precise, or theologically 100% right when doing an article about religions.

Golden ratio?
In the "Not to be confused with..." at the top of the article, is Golden Ratio really something likely to be confused? I guess any article starting with "Golden" should be added then.  Nik ol ai h ☎📖 08:20, 17 June 2021 (UTC)

Re: Removal of Scientology
May I kindly ask the entry for Scientology to be removed as they’re not a religion. Firstly, they pertain persistently being one to continue to operate as the criminal organisation that they are (targeting psychologically sensitive people, then exploiting them financially and emotionally towards a subsequent debt dependency, persistent tax evasion, harassment and bullying of dissidents and former members, please also read on here the section under ‘The Hole’) so their religious association is a mere smokescreen (and for tax relief purposes in the US).

Further, only the Scientologists on the entire entry of religions are unable to give straight answers to fairly standard questions, such as: - what are your praying rituals? - where are your places of worship?

Their inclusion here gives them a mere legitimacy they simply neither warrant nor deserve. Indeed, Wiki has banned them recently to edit their pages on here for repeatedly aggressively editing it online with their own policies, no?

Please consider, Hal Kebabpunk (talk) 02:28, 10 November 2021 (UTC)

Golden Rule
THANKS YOU 2400:1A00:B1C0:656D:7D8D:E3F5:1DFB:4CF (talk) 23:56, 25 November 2021 (UTC)

Abrahamic religions
Hello! I noticed that the section for Abrahamic religions says to look at the article relating to it. However 1, that article is very broad and covers Abrahamic religions in general and 2, it makes no mention of the golden rule from what I saw. ― Blaze WolfTalkBlaze Wolf#6545 01:37, 11 March 2022 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Golden Rule


text:
Governor of New York

The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the New York Legislature, to convene the legislature and grant pardons, except in cases of impeachment and treason. The governor is the highest paid governor in the country.

Powers and duties

The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the New York State Legislature, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment. Unlike the other government departments that compose the executive branch of government, the governor is the head of the state Executive Department. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy style of His/Her Excellency while in office.

Often considered a potential candidate to lead the executive branch of the federal government, 10 New York governors have been selected as presidential candidates by a major party, four of whom (Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt) were elected as president of the United States. Meanwhile, six New York governors have gone on to serve as vice president. Additionally, two New York governors, John Jay and Charles Evans Hughes, have served as chief justice.

Qualifications
Under the New York State Constitution, a person must be at least 30 years of age, a United States citizen, and a resident of the state of New York for at least five years prior to being elected to serve as governor.

List of governors of New York
There have been a total of 57 governors as of August 24, 2021.

Appointments
The governor is responsible for appointing their Executive Chamber. These appointments do not require the confirmation of the New York State Senate. Most political advisors report to the secretary to the governor, while most policy advisors report to the director of state operations, who also answers to the secretary to the governor, making that position, in practice, the true chief of staff and most powerful position in the Cabinet. The literal chief of staff is in charge of the Office of Scheduling and holds no authority over other cabinet officials.

The governor is also charged with naming the heads of the various departments, divisions, boards, and offices within the state government. These nominees require confirmation by the state Senate. While some appointees may share the title of commissioner, director, etc., only department level-heads are considered members of the actual state cabinet, although the heads of the various divisions, boards, and offices may attend cabinet-level meetings from time to time.

History
The position of governor in New York dates back to the British take over of New Amsterdam where the position replaced the former Dutch offices of director or director-general.

Line of succession
The Constitution of New York has provided since 1777 for the election of a lieutenant governor of New York, who also acts as president of the State Senate, to the same term (keeping the same term lengths as the governor throughout all the constitutional revisions). Originally, in the event of the death, resignation or impeachment of the governor, or absence from the state, the lieutenant governor would take on the governor's duties and powers. Since the 1938 constitution, the lieutenant governor explicitly becomes governor upon such vacancy in the office.

Should the office of lieutenant governor become vacant, the temporary president of the state senate performs the duties of a lieutenant governor until the governor can take back the duties of the office, or the next election; likewise, should both offices become vacant, the temporary president acts as governor, with the office of lieutenant governor remaining vacant. Although no provision exists in the constitution for it, precedent set in 2009 allows the governor to appoint a lieutenant governor should a vacancy occur. Should the temporary president be unable to fulfill the duties, the speaker of the assembly is next in the line of succession. The lieutenant governor is elected on the same ticket as the governor, but nominated separately.

Line of succession:
 * 1) Lieutenant Governor
 * 2) Temporary President of the Senate
 * 3) Speaker of the Assembly
 * 4) Attorney General
 * 5) Comptroller
 * 6) Commissioner of Transportation
 * 7) Commissioner of Health
 * 8) Commissioner of Commerce
 * 9) Industrial Commissioner
 * 10) Chairman of the Public Service Commission
 * 11) Secretary of State

title: Governor of New York


text:
Glasnevin

Glasnevin (, also known as Glas Naedhe, meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home to the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin Cemetery, the National Meteorological Office, and a range of other state bodies, and Dublin City University has its main campus and other facilities in and near the area. Glasnevin is also a civil parish in the ancient barony of Coolock.

Geography
A mainly residential neighbourhood, Glasnevin is located on the Northside of the city of Dublin (about 3 km north of Dublin city centre). It was established on the northern bank of the River Tolka where the stream for which it may be named joins, and now extends north and south of the river. Three watercourses flow into the Tolka in the area. Two streams can be seen near the Catholic "pyramid church", the Claremont Stream or Nevin Stream, flowing south from Poppintree and Jamestown Industrial Estate branches, and what is sometimes called the "Cemetery Drain" coming north from the southern edge of Glasnevin Cemetery. In addition, a major diversion from the Wad River comes from the Ballymun area, joining near the Claremont Stream.

The boundaries of Glasnevin stretch from the Royal Canal to Glasnevin Avenue and from the Finglas Road to the edges of Drumcondra. It spans the postal districts of Dublin 9 and 11, and is bordered to the northwest by Finglas, northeast by Ballymun and Santry, Whitehall to the east, Phibsborough and Drumcondra to the south and Cabra to the southwest.

Foundation
Glasnevin was reputedly founded by Saint Mobhi (sometimes known as St Berchan) in the sixth (or perhaps fifth) century as a monastery. His monastery continued to be used for many years afterwards - St. Colman is recorded as having paid homage to its founder when he returned from abroad to visit Ireland a century after St Mobhi's death in 544. St. Columba of Iona is thought to have studied under St. Mobhi, but left Glasnevin following an outbreak of plague and journeyed north to open the House at Derry; there is a long street (Iona Road) in Glasnevin named in his honour and the church on Iona Road is called Saint Columba's.

Middle Ages
A settlement grew up around the monastery, which survived until the Viking invasions in the eighth century. After raids on monasteries at Glendalough and Clondalkin, the monasteries at Glasnevin and Finglas were attacked and destroyed.

By 822 Glasnevin, along with Grangegorman and Clonken or Clonkene (now known as Deansgrange), had become parts of the grange (farm) of Christ Church Cathedral and it seems to have maintained this connection up to the time of the Reformation.

The Battle of Clontarf was fought on the banks of the River Tolka in 1014 (a field called the bloody acre is supposed to be part of the site). The Irish defeated the Danes in a battle, in which 7,000 Danes and 4,000 Irish died.

The 12th century saw the Normans (who had conquered England and Wales in the eleventh century) invade Ireland. As local rulers continued fighting amongst themselves the Norman King of England Henry II was invited to intervene. He arrived in 1171, took control of much land, and then parcelled it out amongst his supporters. Glasnevin ended up under the jurisdiction of Finglas Abbey. Later, Laurence O'Toole, Archbishop of Dublin, took responsibility for Glasnevin and it became the property of the Priory of the Most Holy Trinity (Christ Church Cathedral).

In 1240 a church and tower were reconstructed on the site of the Church of St. Mobhi in the monastery. The returns of the church for 1326 stated that 28 tenants resided in Glasnevin. The church was enlarged in 1346, along with a small hall known as the Manor Hall.

Late Middle Ages
When King Henry VIII broke from Rome an era of religious repression began. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Catholic Church property and land were appropriated to the new Church of Ireland, and monasteries (including the one at Glasnevin) were forcibly closed, later falling into ruin. Glasnevin had at this stage developed as a village, with its principal landmark and focal point being its "bull-ring" noted in 1542.

By 1667 Glasnevin had expanded - but not by very much; it is recorded as containing 24 houses. The development of the village was given a fresh impetus when Sir John Rogerson built his country residence - "The Glen" or "Glasnevin House" - outside the village.

The plantations of Ireland saw the settlement of Protestant English families on land previously held by Catholics. Lands at Glasnevin were leased to such families and a Protestant church was erected there in 1707. It was built on the site of the old Catholic Church and was named after St. Mobhi. The church was largely rebuilt in the mid-18th century. The attached churchyard became a graveyard for both Protestants and Catholics. It is said that Robert Emmet is buried there, this claim being made because once somebody working in the graveyard there dug up a headless body.

Early modern times
By now Glasnevin was an area for "families of distinction" - in spite of a comment attributed to the Protestant Archbishop of Dublin, William King that "when any couple had a mind to be wicked, they would retire to Glasnevin". In a letter, dated 1725 he described Glasnevin as "the receptacle for thieves and rogues [..] The first search when anything was stolen, was there, and when any couple had a mind to retire to be wicked there was their harbour. But since the church was built, and service regularly settled, all these evils are banished. Good houses are built in it, and the place civilised." Glasnevin National School was also built during this period.

19th and 20th centuries
In the 1830s, the civil parish population was recorded as 1,001, of whom 559 resided in the village. Glasnevin was described as a parish in the barony of Coolock, pleasantly situated and the residence of many families of distinction.

On 1 June 1832, Charles Lindsay, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, and William John released their holdings of Sir John Rogerson's lands at Glasnevin, (including Glasnevin House) to George Hayward Lindsay. This transfer included the sum of 1,500 Pounds Sterling. Although this does not specifically cite the marriage of George Hayward Lindsay to Lady Mary Catherine Gore, George Lindsay almost certainly came into possession of the lands at Glasnevin as a result of his marriage.

When Drumcondra began to rapidly expand in the 1870s, the residents of Glasnevin sought to protect their district and opposed being merged with the neighbouring suburb. One of the objectors was the property owner, Dr Henry Gogarty, the father of the Irish poet, Oliver St. John Gogarty. The combined areas of Drumcondra, Clonliffe and Glasnevin became a separate administrative unit, a township, in 1878. The township was merged into the City of Dublin in 1900, under the Dublin Corporation Act of that year.

George Hayward Lindsay's eldest son, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Gore Lindsay, was in possession of his father's lands at Glasnevin when the area began to be developed at the beginning of the twentieth century. Gradual development of his lands began in 1903/04 but Glasnevin remained relatively undeveloped until the opening up of the Carroll Estate in 1914, which saw the creation of the redbrick residential roads running down towards Drumcondra. The process was accelerated by Dublin Corporation in the 1920s and the present shape of the suburb was in place by 1930. Among the developers who built estates in the area were Alexander Strain and his son-in-law George Linzell. Linzell built the first individual house built in the international style in Ireland, Balnagowan House, on St. Mobhi Boithrin in the late 1920s.

The start of the 20th century also saw the opening of a short-lived railway station on the Drumcondra and North Dublin Link Railway line from Glasnevin Junction to Connolly Station (then Amiens Street). Glasnevin railway station opened on 1 April 1901 and closed on 1 December 1910.

Features
The village has changed a lot over the years, and is now fully part of Dublin city.

As well as the amenities of the National Botanic Gardens (Ireland) and local parks, the national meteorological office Met Éireann, the Central Fisheries Board, the National Standards Authority of Ireland, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, the Department of Defence and the national enterprise and trade board Enterprise Ireland are all located in the area.

National Botanic Gardens

The house and lands of the poet Thomas Tickell were sold in 1790 to the Irish Parliament and given to the Royal Dublin Society for them to establish Ireland's first Botanic Gardens. The gardens were the first location in Ireland where the infection responsible for the 1845–1847 Great Famine was identified. Throughout the famine, research to stop the infection was undertaken at the gardens.

The 48 acre which border the River Tolka also adjoin the Prospect Cemetery. In 2002 the Botanic Gardens gained a new two-storey complex which included a new cafe and a large lecture theatre. The Irish National Herbarium is also located at the botanic gardens.

Glasnevin (Prospect) Cemetery
Prospect Cemetery is located in Glasnevin, although better known as Glasnevin Cemetery, the most historically notable burial place in the country and the last resting place, among a host of historical figures, of Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, Charles Stewart Parnell and also Arthur Griffith. This graveyard led to Glasnevin being known as "the dead centre of Dublin". It opened in 1832 and is the final resting place for thousands of ordinary citizens, as well as many Irish patriots.

Hart's Corner
Approaching Glasnevin via Phibsboro is what is known as Hart's Corner but which about 200 years ago was called Glasmanogue, and was then a well-known stage on the way to Finglas. At an earlier date, the name possessed a wider signification and was applied to a considerable portion of the adjoining district.

Delville
At the start of the 18th century a large house, known variously as The Glen and later as Delville, was built on the site of the present Bon Secours Hospital, Dublin. Its name, Delville, was an amalgamation of the surnames of two tenants, Dr. Helsam and Dr. Patrick Delany (as Heldeville), both fellows of Trinity College.

When Delany married his first wife he acquired sole ownership, but it became more well-known as the home of Delany and his second wife, Mary Pendarves. She was a widow whom Delany married in 1743, and was an accomplished letter writer.

The couple were friends of Dean Jonathan Swift and, through him, of Alexander Pope. Pope encouraged the Delaneys to develop a garden in a style then becoming popular in England - moving away from the very formal, geometric layout that was common. He redesigned the house in the style of a villa and had the gardens laid out in the latest Dutch fashion creating what was almost certainly Ireland's first naturalistic garden.

The house was, under Mrs Delany, a centre of Dublin's intellectual life. Swift is said to have composed a number of his campaigning pamphlets while staying there. He and his lifelong companion Stella were both in the habit of visiting, and Swift satirised the grounds which he considered too small for the size of the house. Through her correspondence with her sister, Mrs Dewes, Mary wrote of Swift in 1733: "he calls himself my master and corrects me when I speak bad English or do not pronounce my words distinctly".

Patrick Delany died in 1768 at the age of 82, prompting his widow to sell Delville and return to her native England until her death twenty years later.

The Pyramid Church
Glasnevin is also a parish in the Fingal South West deanery of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. It is served by the Church of Lady of Dolours on the banks of the River Tolka.

A timber church, which originally stood on Berkeley Road, was moved to a riverside site on Botanic Avenue early in the twentieth century; the altar in this church was from Newgate prison in Dublin. It served as the parish church until it was replaced, in 1972, by a structure resembling a pyramid when viewed from Botanic Avenue. The previous church was known locally as "The Woodener" or "The Wooden" and the new building is still known to older residents as "The new Woodener" or "The Wigwam". The church underwent some refurbishment work inside and in its grounds and car park during the first half of 2011.

Met Éireann
In 1975 the new headquarters of Met Éireann, the Irish Meteorological Office, designed by Liam McCormick, opened on Glasnevin Hill, on the site of a former juvenile detention centre, Marlborough House. The Met Éireann building is a pyramidal shape and was originally to be covered in Welsh Slate, however, an indigenous material was deemed more appropriate, and the selected Irish stone curled and had to be replaced by metal sheeting. It is recognised as one of the most significant buildings to be erected in Dublin in the 1970s.

Griffith Avenue
The tree-lined Griffith Avenue runs through Glasnevin, Drumcondra and Marino, and spans three electoral constituencies. Like nearby Griffith Park, it was named after Arthur Griffith, who was the founder and third leader of Sinn Féin, served as President of Dáil Éireann and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

A double-row of mature lime trees runs along both sides of Griffith Avenue from its junction with St Mobhi Road (in the west) to its junction with Malahide Road (in the east), a distance of 2.81km. It is reputed to be the longest tree-lined purely residential avenue in the northern hemisphere.

Amenities
Scouting is represented in Glasnevin by the 1st Dublin (L.H.O) Scout Troop located on the corner of Griffith Avenue and Ballygall Road East.

Sport
The Gaelic games of Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and Gaelic handball are all organised locally by Na Fianna CLG, while soccer is played by local clubs Tolka Rovers, Glasnevin FC, and Glasnaion FC. Basketball is organised by Tolka Rovers. Tennis is played in Charleville Lawn Tennis Club which was founded in 1894 and took its name from the original location at the corner of the Charleville and Cabra Roads. The move to its present location on Whitworth Road took place in 1904. Hockey is also played in Botanic Hockey club on the Old Finglas Road. Glasnevin Boxing Club and football (soccer) club have a clubhouse on Mobhi road.

Billy Whelan, one of the eight Manchester United players who lost their lives in the Munich air disaster of 6 February 1958, was born locally and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Education
There are several primary schools in Glasnevin. These include Lindsay Road National School (Presbyterian patronage) and Glasnevin National School (Church of Ireland patronage), founded by Dean Swift and constructed in a round shape; known as 'The Ink Bottle' this building was replaced in 1911. Also present are Glasnevin Educate Together National school, North Dublin National School Project, Scoil Mobhi, St. Brigid's GNS, St. Columba's NS and St.Vincent's CBS.

There are several Roman Catholic secondary schools in the area St Vincent's (Christian Brothers) School, Scoil Chaitríona and St Mary's (Holy Faith) Secondary School.

The main campus of Dublin City University lies on the border between Glasnevin, Whitehall and Ballymun, and the DCU Alpha centre is in central Glasnevin. Teagasc also run horticultural education courses from the College of Amenity Horticulture in the Botanic Gardens.

Representation
Glasnevin is part of the Dáil Éireann constituency of Dublin Central and Dublin North-West.

Notable people

 * Margaret Buckley, former president of Sinn Féin (originally from Cork, lived on Marguerite Road, Glasnevin)
 * Saint Canice, early Christian abbot (studied under Mobhí of Glasnevin)
 * Saint Comgall, early Christian abbot and founder of a monastery at Bangor
 * Marian Finucane, architect, journalist and broadcaster
 * Colm Gallagher, Fianna Fail T.D.
 * Ian Gallahar, cyclist and commissaire
 * Alice Glenn, Fine Gael T.D.
 * Niamh Kavanagh, singer and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest
 * Robbie Kelleher, former All-Ireland winning Gaelic footballer
 * Anne Kernan (1933–2020), Irish physicist
 * Celia Lynch, Fianna Fáil TD and assistant government whip (originally from Galway, lived on Botanic Road)
 * Colm Meaney, actor
 * Damien McCaul, television presenter and radio DJ
 * Saint Mobhi, early Christian missionary and abbot of Glasnevin monastery
 * John O'Connell, Fianna Fáil TD and former Minister for Health, attended school in the area
 * Francis Martin O'Donnell, diplomat
 * Michael O'Hehir, sports commentator and journalist
 * James O'Higgins Norman, academic
 * John J. O'Kelly, politician, former President of Sinn Féin and government minister
 * Michael O'Riordan, founder of the Communist Party of Ireland
 * Róisín Owens, biochemist
 * Richard Brinsley Sheridan, satirist, playwright, and politician
 * Jonathan Swift, author and essayist who lived across the road from the Glasnevin Model School (now Glasnevin Educate Together)
 * Thomas Tickell, poet whose Glasnevin property was later developed as the National Botanic Gardens

title: Glasnevin


text:
George Abbot (author)

George Abbot or Abbott (1604 – 2 February 1649) was an English lay writer, known as "The Puritan", and a politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1640 and 1649. He is known also for his part in defending Caldecote House against royalist forces in the early days of the English Civil War.

Life
Abbott was the son of George Abbott of York (died 1607) and his wife Joan Penkeston. While Alumni Cantabrigienses states that he matriculated at King's College, Cambridge in 1622, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography discounts the identification, for lack of evidence. He owned property in Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, and was a good friend of Richard Vines, minister at Caldecote some way to the east. In April 1640, he was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamworth in the Short Parliament.

In the English Civil War, Abbot worked closely in Warwickshire with his stepfather William Purefoy, and made a notable defence, with his mother Joan, of the Purefoy house at Caldecote, Warwickshire, gaining the family coverage in the London press. On 15 August 1642, with eight men, his mother and maids, he held out for a time against Prince Rupert of the Rhine, with about 18 troops of horses and dragoons. In the aftermath of the Battle of Edgehill, in October of the same year, Richard Baxter moved to Coventry, and Abbot was one of those hearing him preach there. Baxter in writing on the Sabbath referred to "my dear friend Mr. George Abbot". In his memoirs Reliquiæ Baxterianæ, Baxter placed Abbot's defence of Caldecote House, where barns were burnt, in local context: royalists under Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton were attacking Warwick Castle, defended by John Bridges, and Coventry, defended by John Barker.

Abbot was re-elected MP for Tamworth in 1645 for the Long Parliament and held the seat until his death in 1649. He died unmarried in his 44th year, and was buried in Caldecote church where his monument describes his defence of Caldecote.

Legacy
By his will, Abbot endowed a free school at Caldecote. It was supported by land left to it at Baddesley Ensor.

Works
Abbot was a lay theologian and scholar. His Whole Booke of Job Paraphrased, or made easy for any to understand (1640), was written in a terse style, and his Vindiciae Sabbathi (1641) influenced the Sabbatarian controversy. His The Whole Book of Psalms Paraphrased (1650) was published posthumously by Richard Vines, and dedicated to Joan Purefoy, his mother.

Mistaken identifications
Abbot has been confused with others of the same name and has been described as a clergyman, which he never was. His writings have been incorrectly attributed in some bibliographical authorities to a relation of George Abbot the archbishop of Canterbury. One of the sons of Sir Morris Abbot called George was also an MP in the Long Parliament but for the constituency of Guildford.

title: George Abbot (author)


text:
Globular cluster

A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars that is bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member stars, all orbiting in a stable, compact formation. Globular clusters are similar in form to dwarf spheroidal galaxies, and the distinction between the two is not always clear. Their name is derived from Latin globulus (small sphere). Globular clusters are occasionally known simply as "globulars".

Although one globular cluster, Omega Centauri, was observed in antiquity and long thought to be a star, recognition of the clusters' true nature came with the advent of telescopes in the 17th century. In early telescopic observations, globular clusters appeared as fuzzy blobs, leading French astronomer Charles Messier to include many of them in his catalog of astronomical objects that he thought could be mistaken for comets. Using larger telescopes, 18th-century astronomers recognized that globular clusters are groups of many individual stars. Early in the 20th century the distribution of globular clusters in the sky was some of the first evidence that the Sun is far from the center of the Milky Way.

Globular clusters are found in nearly all galaxies. In spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, they are mostly found in the outer spheroidal part of the galaxy – the galactic halo. They are the largest and most massive type of star cluster, tending to be older, denser, and composed of lower abundances of heavy elements than open clusters, which are generally found in the disks of spiral galaxies. The Milky Way has more than 150 known globulars, and there may be many more.

Both the origin of globular clusters and their role in galactic evolution are unclear. Some are among the oldest objects in their galaxies and even the universe, constraining estimates of the universe's age. Star clusters were formerly thought to consist of stars that all formed at the same time from one star-forming nebula, but nearly all globular clusters contain stars that formed at different times, or that have differing compositions. Some clusters may have had multiple episodes of star formation, and some may be remnants of smaller galaxies captured by larger galaxies.

History of observations
The first known globular cluster, now called M 22, was discovered in 1665 by Abraham Ihle, a German amateur astronomer. The cluster Omega Centauri, easily visible in the southern sky with the naked eye, was known to ancient astronomers like Ptolemy as a star, but was reclassified as a nebula by Edmond Halley in 1677, then finally as a globular cluster in the early 19th century by John Herschel. The French astronomer Abbé Lacaille listed NGC 104, NGC 4833, M 55, M 69, and NGC 6397 in his 1751–1752 catalogue. The low resolution of early telescopes prevented individual stars in a cluster from being visually separated until Charles Messier observed M 4 in 1764.

When William Herschel began his comprehensive survey of the sky using large telescopes in 1782, there were 34 known globular clusters. Herschel discovered another 36 and was the first to resolve virtually all of them into stars. He coined the term globular cluster in his Catalogue of a Second Thousand New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (1789). In 1914, Harlow Shapley began a series of studies of globular clusters, published across about forty scientific papers. He examined the clusters' RR Lyrae variables (stars which he assumed were Cepheid variables) and used their luminosity and period of variability to estimate the distances to the clusters. RR Lyrae variables were later found to be fainter than Cepheid variables, causing Shapley to overestimate the distances.

A large majority of the Milky Way's globular clusters are found in the halo around the galactic core. In 1918, Shapley used this strongly asymmetrical distribution to determine the overall dimensions of the galaxy. Assuming a roughly spherical distribution of globular clusters around the galaxy's center, he used the positions of the clusters to estimate the position of the Sun relative to the Galactic Center. He correctly concluded that the Milky Way's center is in the Sagittarius constellation and not near the Earth. He overestimated the distance, finding typical globular cluster distances of 10-30 kpc; the modern distance to the Galactic Center is roughly 8.5 kpc. Shapley's measurements indicated the Sun is relatively far from the center of the galaxy, contrary to what had been inferred from the observed uniform distribution of ordinary stars. In reality most ordinary stars lie within the galaxy's disk and are thus obscured by gas and dust in the disk, whereas globular clusters lie outside the disk and can be seen at much greater distances.

The count of known globular clusters in the Milky Way has continued to increase, reaching 83 in 1915, 93 in 1930, 97 by 1947, and 157 in 2010. Additional, undiscovered globular clusters are believed to be in the galactic bulge or hidden by the gas and dust of the Milky Way. For example, most of the Palomar Globular Clusters have only been discovered in the 1950s, with some located relatively close-by yet obscured by dust, while others reside in the very far reaches of the Milky Way halo. The Andromeda Galaxy, which is comparable in size to the Milky Way, may have as many as five hundred globulars. Every galaxy of sufficient mass in the Local Group has an associated system of globular clusters, as does almost every large galaxy surveyed. Some giant elliptical galaxies (particularly those at the centers of galaxy clusters), such as M 87, have as many as 13,000 globular clusters.

Classification
Shapley was later assisted in his studies of clusters by Henrietta Swope and Helen Sawyer Hogg. In 1927–1929, Shapley and Sawyer categorized clusters by the degree of concentration of stars toward each core. Their system, known as the Shapley–Sawyer Concentration Class, identifies the most concentrated clusters as Class I and ranges to the most diffuse Class XII. Astronomers from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile proposed a new type of globular cluster on the basis of observational data in 2015: Dark globular clusters.

Formation

The formation of globular clusters is poorly understood. Globular clusters have traditionally been described as a simple star population formed from a single giant molecular cloud, and thus with roughly uniform age and metallicity (proportion of heavy elements in their composition). Modern observations show that nearly all globular clusters contain multiple populations; the globular clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) exhibit a bimodal population, for example. During their youth, these LMC clusters may have encountered giant molecular clouds that triggered a second round of star formation. This star-forming period is relatively brief, compared with the age of many globular clusters. It has been proposed that this multiplicity in stellar populations could have a dynamical origin. In the Antennae Galaxy, for example, the Hubble Space Telescope has observed clusters of clusters – regions in the galaxy that span hundreds of parsecs, in which many of the clusters will eventually collide and merge. Their overall range of ages and (possibly) metallicities could lead to clusters with a bimodal, or even multiple, distribution of populations.

Observations of globular clusters show that their stars primarily come from regions of more efficient star formation, and from where the interstellar medium is at a higher density, as compared to normal star-forming regions. Globular cluster formation is prevalent in starburst regions and in interacting galaxies. Some globular clusters likely formed in dwarf galaxies and were removed by tidal forces to join the Milky Way. In elliptical and lenticular galaxies there is a correlation between the mass of the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at their centers and the extent of their globular cluster systems. The mass of the SMBH in such a galaxy is often close to the combined mass of the galaxy's globular clusters.

No known globular clusters display active star formation, consistent with the hypothesis that globular clusters are typically the oldest objects in their galaxy and were among the first collections of stars to form. Very large regions of star formation known as super star clusters, such as Westerlund 1 in the Milky Way, may be the precursors of globular clusters.

Many of the Milky Way's globular clusters have a retrograde orbit (meaning that they revolve around the galaxy in the reverse of the direction the galaxy is rotating), including the most massive, Omega Centauri. Its retrograde orbit suggests it may be a remnant of a dwarf galaxy captured by the Milky Way.

Composition

Globular clusters are generally composed of hundreds of thousands of low-metal, old stars. The stars found in a globular cluster are similar to those in the bulge of a spiral galaxy but confined to a spheroid in which half the light is emitted within a radius of only a few to a few tens of parsecs. They are free of gas and dust, and it is presumed that all the gas and dust was long ago either turned into stars or blown out of the cluster by the massive first-generation stars.

Globular clusters can contain a high density of stars; on average about 0.4   stars per cubic parsec, increasing to 100 or 1000    stars/pc$3$ in the core of the cluster. In comparison, the stellar density around the Sun is roughly 0.1 stars/pc$3$. The typical distance between stars in a globular cluster is about one light year, but at its core the separation between stars averages about a third of a light year – thirteen times closer than the Sun is to its nearest neighbor, Proxima Centauri.

Globular clusters are thought to be unfavorable locations for planetary systems. Planetary orbits are dynamically unstable within the cores of dense clusters because of the gravitational perturbations of passing stars. A planet orbiting at one astronomical unit around a star that is within the core of a dense cluster, such as 47 Tucanae, would survive only on the order of a hundred million years. There is a planetary system orbiting a pulsar (PSR   B1620−26) that belongs to the globular cluster M4, but these planets likely formed after the event that created the pulsar.

Some globular clusters, like Omega Centauri in the Milky Way and Mayall II in the Andromeda Galaxy, are extraordinarily massive, measuring several million solar masses and having multiple stellar populations. Both are evidence that supermassive globular clusters formed from the cores of dwarf galaxies that have been consumed by larger galaxies. About a quarter of the globular cluster population in the Milky Way may have been accreted this way, as with more than 60% of the globular clusters in the outer halo of Andromeda.

Heavy element content
Globular clusters normally consist of Population II stars which, compared with Population I stars such as the Sun, have a higher proportion of hydrogen and helium and a lower proportion of heavier elements. Astronomers refer to these heavier elements as metals (distinct from the material concept) and to the proportions of these elements as the metallicity. Produced by stellar nucleosynthesis, the metals are recycled into the interstellar medium and enter a new generation of stars. The proportion of metals can thus be an indication of the age of a star in simple models, with older stars typically having a lower metallicity.

The Dutch astronomer Pieter Oosterhoff observed two special populations of globular clusters, which became known as Oosterhoff groups. The second group has a slightly longer period of RR Lyrae variable stars. While both groups have a low proportion of metallic elements as measured by spectroscopy, the metal spectral lines in the stars of Oosterhoff type   I (Oo    I) cluster are not quite as weak as those in type    II (Oo    II), and so type    I stars are referred to as metal-rich (e.g. Terzan 7 ), while type    II stars are metal-poor (e.g. ESO 280-SC06 ). These two distinct populations have been observed in many galaxies, especially massive elliptical galaxies. Both groups are nearly as old as the universe itself and are of similar ages. Suggested scenarios to explain these subpopulations include violent gas-rich galaxy mergers, the accretion of dwarf galaxies, and multiple phases of star formation in a single galaxy. In the Milky Way, the metal-poor clusters are associated with the halo and the metal-rich clusters with the bulge.

A large majority of the metal-poor clusters in the Milky Way are aligned on a plane in the outer part of the galaxy's halo. This observation supports the view that type   II clusters were captured from a satellite galaxy, rather than being the oldest members of the Milky Way's globular cluster system as was previously thought. The difference between the two cluster types would then be explained by a time delay between when the two galaxies formed their cluster systems.

Exotic components

Close interactions and near-collisions of stars occur relatively often in globular clusters because of their high star density. These chance encounters give rise to some exotic classes of stars – such as blue stragglers, millisecond pulsars, and low-mass X-ray binaries – which are much more common in globular clusters. How blue stragglers form remains unclear, but most models attribute them to interactions between stars, such as stellar mergers, the transfer of material from one star to another, or even an encounter between two binary systems. The resulting star has a higher temperature than other stars in the cluster with comparable luminosity and thus differs from the main-sequence stars formed early in the cluster's existence. Some clusters have two distinct sequences of blue stragglers, one bluer than the other.

Astronomers have searched for black holes within globular clusters since the 1970s. The required resolution for this task is exacting; it is only with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) that the first claimed discoveries were made, in 2002 and 2003. Based on HST observations, other researchers suggested the existence of a (solar masses) intermediate-mass black hole in the globular cluster M15 and a black hole in the Mayall II cluster of the Andromeda Galaxy. Both X-ray and radio emissions from Mayall   II appear consistent with an intermediate-mass black hole; however, these claimed detections are controversial.

The heaviest objects in globular clusters are expected to migrate to the cluster center due to mass segregation. One research group pointed out that the mass-to-light ratio should rise sharply towards the center of the cluster, even without a black hole, in both M15 and Mayall II. Observations from 2018 find no evidence for an intermediate-mass black hole in any globular cluster, including M15, but cannot definitively rule out one with a mass of. Finally, in 2023, an analysis of HST and the Gaia spacecraft data from the closest globular cluster, Messier 4, revealed an excess mass of roughly in the center of this cluster, which appears to not be extended. This could thus be the best kinematic evidence for an intermediate-mass black hole (even if an unusually compact cluster of compact objects like white dwarfs, neutron stars or stellar-mass black holes cannot be completely discounted).

The confirmation of intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters would have important ramifications for theories of galaxy development as being possible sources for the supermassive black holes at their centers. The mass of these supposed intermediate-mass black holes is proportional to the mass of their surrounding clusters, following a pattern previously discovered between supermassive black holes and their surrounding galaxies.

Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams

Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams (H–R diagrams) of globular clusters allow astronomers to determine many of the properties of their populations of stars. An H–R diagram is a graph of a large sample of stars plotting their absolute magnitude (their luminosity, or brightness measured from a standard distance), as a function of their color index. The color index, roughly speaking, measures the color of the star; positive color indices indicate a reddish star with a cool surface temperature, while negative values indicate a bluer star with a hotter surface. Stars on an H–R diagram mostly lie along a roughly diagonal line sloping from hot, luminous stars in the upper left to cool, faint stars in the lower right. This line is known as the main sequence and represents the primary stage of stellar evolution. The diagram also includes stars in later evolutionary stages such as the cool but luminous red giants.

Constructing an H–R diagram requires knowing the distance to the observed stars to convert apparent into absolute magnitude. Because all the stars in a globular cluster have about the same distance from Earth, a color–magnitude diagram using their observed magnitudes looks like a shifted H–R diagram (because of the roughly constant difference between their apparent and absolute magnitudes). This shift is called the distance modulus and can be used to calculate the distance to the cluster. The modulus is determined by comparing features (like the main sequence) of the cluster's color–magnitude diagram to corresponding features in an H–R diagram of another set of stars, a method known as spectroscopic parallax or main-sequence fitting.

Properties
Since globular clusters form at once from a single giant molecular cloud, a cluster's stars have roughly the same age and composition. A star's evolution is primarily determined by its initial mass, so the positions of stars in a cluster's H–R or color–magnitude diagram mostly reflect their initial masses. A cluster's H–R diagram, therefore, appears quite different from H–R diagrams containing stars of a wide variety of ages. Almost all stars fall on a well-defined curve in globular cluster H–R diagrams, and that curve's shape indicates the age of the cluster. A more detailed H–R diagram often reveals multiple stellar populations as indicated by the presence of closely separated curves, each corresponding to a distinct population of stars with a slightly different age or composition. Observations with the Wide Field Camera 3, installed in 2009 on the Hubble Space Telescope, made it possible to distinguish these slightly different curves.

The most massive main-sequence stars have the highest luminosity and will be the first to evolve into the giant star stage. As the cluster ages, stars of successively lower masses will do the same. Therefore, the age of a single-population cluster can be measured by looking for those stars just beginning to enter the giant star stage, which form a "knee" in the H–R diagram called the main-sequence turnoff, bending to the upper right from the main-sequence line. The absolute magnitude at this bend is directly a function of the cluster's age; an age scale can be plotted on an axis parallel to the magnitude.

The morphology and luminosity of globular cluster stars in H–R diagrams are influenced by numerous parameters, many of which are still actively researched. Recent observations have overturned the historical paradigm that all globular clusters consist of stars born at exactly the same time, or sharing exactly the same chemical abundance. Some clusters feature multiple populations, slightly differing in composition and age; for example, high-precision imagery of cluster NGC 2808 discerned three close, but distinct, main sequences. Further, the placements of the cluster stars in an H–R diagram (including the brightnesses of distance indicators) can be influenced by observational biases. One such effect, called blending, arises when the cores of globular clusters are so dense that observations see multiple stars as a single target. The brightness measured for that seemingly single star is thus incorrect – too bright, given that multiple stars contributed. In turn, the computed distance is incorrect, so the blending effect can introduce a systematic uncertainty into the cosmic distance ladder and may bias the estimated age of the universe and the Hubble constant.

Consequences
The blue stragglers appear on the H–R diagram as a series diverging from the main sequence in the direction of brighter, bluer stars. White dwarfs (the final remnants of some Sun-like stars), which are much fainter and somewhat hotter than the main-sequence stars, lie on the bottom-left of an H–R diagram. Globular clusters can be dated by looking at the temperatures of the coolest white dwarfs, often giving results as old as 12.7 billion years. In comparison, open clusters are rarely older than about half a billion years. The ages of globular clusters place a lower bound on the age of the entire universe, presenting a significant constraint in cosmology. Astronomers were historically faced with age estimates of clusters older than their cosmological models would allow, but better measurements of cosmological parameters, through deep sky surveys and satellites, appear to have resolved this issue.

Studying globular clusters sheds light on how the composition of the formational gas and dust affects stellar evolution; the stars' evolutionary tracks vary depending on the abundance of heavy elements. Data obtained from these studies are then used to study the evolution of the Milky Way as a whole.

Morphology
In contrast to open clusters, most globular clusters remain gravitationally bound together for time periods comparable to the lifespans of most of their stars. Strong tidal interactions with other large masses result in the dispersal of some stars, leaving behind "tidal tails" of stars removed from the cluster.

After formation, the stars in the globular cluster begin to interact gravitationally with each other. The velocities of the stars steadily change, and the stars lose any history of their original velocity. The characteristic interval for this to occur is the relaxation time, related to the characteristic length of time a star needs to cross the cluster and the number of stellar masses. The relaxation time varies by cluster, but a typical value is on the order of one billion years.

Although globular clusters are generally spherical in form, ellipticity can form via tidal interactions. Clusters within the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy are typically oblate spheroids in shape, while those in the Large Magellanic Cloud are more elliptical.

Radii

Astronomers characterize the morphology (shape) of a globular cluster by means of standard radii: the core radius (rc), the half-light radius (rh), and the tidal or Jacobi radius (rt). The radius can be expressed as a physical distance or as a subtended angle in the sky. Considering a radius around the core, the surface luminosity of the cluster steadily decreases with distance, and the core radius is the distance at which the apparent surface luminosity has dropped by half. A comparable quantity is the half-light radius, or the distance from the core containing half the total luminosity of the cluster; the half-light radius is typically larger than the core radius.

Most globular clusters have a half-light radius of less than ten parsecs (pc), although some globular clusters have very large radii, like NGC 2419 (rh = 18 pc) and Palomar 14 (rh = 25 pc). The half-light radius includes stars in the outer part of the cluster that happen to lie along the line of sight, so theorists also use the half-mass radius (rm) – the radius from the core that contains half the total mass of the cluster. A small half-mass radius, relative to the overall size, indicates a dense core. Messier 3 (M3), for example, has an overall visible dimension of about 18 arc minutes, but a half-mass radius of only 1.12 arc minutes.

The tidal radius, or Hill sphere, is the distance from the center of the globular cluster at which the external gravitation of the galaxy has more influence over the stars in the cluster than does the cluster itself. This is the distance at which the individual stars belonging to a cluster can be separated away by the galaxy. The tidal radius of M3, for example, is about forty arc minutes, or about 113 pc.

Mass segregation, luminosity and core collapse
In most Milky Way clusters, the surface brightness of a globular cluster as a function of decreasing distance to the core first increases, then levels off at a distance typically 1–2 parsecs from the core. About 20% of the globular clusters have undergone a process termed "core collapse". The luminosity in such a cluster increases steadily all the way to the core region.

Models of globular clusters predict that core collapse occurs when the more massive stars in a globular cluster encounter their less massive counterparts. Over time, dynamic processes cause individual stars to migrate from the center of the cluster to the outside, resulting in a net loss of kinetic energy from the core region and leading the region's remaining stars to occupy a more compact volume. When this gravothermal instability occurs, the central region of the cluster becomes densely crowded with stars, and the surface brightness of the cluster forms a power-law cusp. A massive black hole at the core could also result in a luminosity cusp. Over a long time, this leads to a concentration of massive stars near the core, a phenomenon called mass segregation.

The dynamical heating effect of binary star systems works to prevent an initial core collapse of the cluster. When a star passes near a binary system, the orbit of the latter pair tends to contract, releasing energy. Only after this primordial supply of energy is exhausted can a deeper core collapse proceed. In contrast, the effect of tidal shocks as a globular cluster repeatedly passes through the plane of a spiral galaxy tends to significantly accelerate core collapse.

Core collapse may be divided into three phases. During a cluster's adolescence, core collapse begins with stars nearest the core. Interactions between binary star systems prevents further collapse as the cluster approaches middle age. The central binaries are either disrupted or ejected, resulting in a tighter concentration at the core. The interaction of stars in the collapsed core region causes tight binary systems to form. As other stars interact with these tight binaries they increase the energy at the core, causing the cluster to re-expand. As the average time for a core collapse is typically less than the age of the galaxy, many of a galaxy's globular clusters may have passed through a core collapse stage, then re-expanded.

The HST has provided convincing observational evidence of this stellar mass-sorting process in globular clusters. Heavier stars slow down and crowd at the cluster's core, while lighter stars pick up speed and tend to spend more time at the cluster's periphery. The cluster 47 Tucanae, made up of about one million stars, is one of the densest globular clusters in the Southern Hemisphere. This cluster was subjected to an intensive photographic survey that obtained precise velocities for nearly fifteen thousand stars in this cluster.

The overall luminosities of the globular clusters within the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy each have a roughly Gaussian distribution, with an average magnitude Mv and a variance σ2. This distribution of globular cluster luminosities is called the Globular Cluster Luminosity Function (GCLF). For the Milky Way, Mv = −7.29 ± 0.13, σ = 1.1 ± 0.1. The GCLF has been used as a "standard candle" for measuring the distance to other galaxies, under the assumption that globular clusters in remote galaxies behave similarly to those in the Milky Way.

N-body simulations
Computing the gravitational interactions between stars within a globular cluster requires solving the N-body problem. The naive computational cost for a dynamic simulation increases in proportion to N2 (where N is the number of objects), so the computing requirements to accurately simulate a cluster of thousands of stars can be enormous. A more efficient method of simulating the N-body dynamics of a globular cluster is done by subdivision into small volumes and velocity ranges, and using probabilities to describe the locations of the stars. Their motions are described by means of the Fokker–Planck equation, often using a model describing the mass density as a function of radius, such as a Plummer model. The simulation becomes more difficult when the effects of binaries and the interaction with external gravitation forces (such as from the Milky Way galaxy) must also be included. In 2010 a low-density globular cluster's lifetime evolution was able to be directly computed, star-by-star.

Completed N-body simulations have shown that stars can follow unusual paths through the cluster, often forming loops and falling more directly toward the core than would a single star orbiting a central mass. Additionally, some stars gain sufficient energy to escape the cluster due to gravitational interactions that result in a sufficient increase in velocity. Over long periods of time this process leads to the dissipation of the cluster, a process termed evaporation. The typical time scale for the evaporation of a globular cluster is 1010 years. The ultimate fate of a globular cluster must be either to accrete stars at its core, causing its steady contraction, or gradual shedding of stars from its outer layers.

Binary stars form a significant portion of stellar systems, with up to half of all field stars and open cluster stars occurring in binary systems. The present-day binary fraction in globular clusters is difficult to measure, and any information about their initial binary fraction is lost by subsequent dynamical evolution. Numerical simulations of globular clusters have demonstrated that binaries can hinder and even reverse the process of core collapse in globular clusters. When a star in a cluster has a gravitational encounter with a binary system, a possible result is that the binary becomes more tightly bound and kinetic energy is added to the solitary star. When the massive stars in the cluster are sped up by this process, it reduces the contraction at the core and limits core collapse.

Intermediate forms

Cluster classification is not always definitive; objects have been found that can be classified in more than one categories. For example, BH 176 in the southern part of the Milky Way has properties of both an open and a globular cluster.

In 2005 astronomers discovered a new, "extended" type of star cluster in the Andromeda Galaxy's halo, similar to the globular cluster. The three new-found clusters have a similar star count as globular clusters and share other characteristics, such as stellar populations and metallicity, but are distinguished by their larger size – several hundred light years across – and some hundred times lower density. Their stars are separated by larger distances; parametrically, these clusters lie somewhere between a globular cluster and a dwarf spheroidal galaxy. The formation of these extended clusters is likely related to accretion. It is unclear why the Milky Way lacks such clusters; Andromeda is unlikely to be the sole galaxy with them, but their presence in other galaxies remains unknown.

Tidal encounters
When a globular cluster comes close to a large mass, such as the core region of a galaxy, it undergoes a tidal interaction. The difference in gravitational strength between the nearer and further parts of the cluster results in an asymmetric, tidal force. A "tidal shock" occurs whenever the orbit of a cluster takes it through the plane of a galaxy.

Tidal shocks can pull stars away from the cluster halo, leaving only the core part of the cluster; these trails of stars can extend several degrees away from the cluster. These tails typically both precede and follow the cluster along its orbit and can accumulate significant portions of the original mass of the cluster, forming clump-like features. The globular cluster Palomar 5, for example, is near the apogalactic point of its orbit after passing through the Milky Way. Streams of stars extend outward toward the front and rear of the orbital path of this cluster, stretching to distances of 13,000 light years. Tidal interactions have stripped away much of Palomar   5's mass; further interactions with the galactic core are expected to transform it into a long stream of stars orbiting the Milky Way in its halo.

The Milky Way is in the process of tidally stripping the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy of stars and globular clusters through the Sagittarius Stream. As many as 20% of the globular clusters in the Milky Way's outer halo may have originated in that galaxy. Palomar 12, for example, most likely originated in the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal but is now associated with the Milky Way. Tidal interactions like these add kinetic energy into a globular cluster, dramatically increasing the evaporation rate and shrinking the size of the cluster. The increased evaporation accelerates the process of core collapse.

Planets
Astronomers are searching for exoplanets of stars in globular star clusters. A search in 2000 for giant planets in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae came up negative, suggesting that the abundance of heavier elements – low in globular clusters – necessary to build these planets may need to be at least 40% of the Sun's abundance. Because terrestrial planets are built from heavier elements such as silicon, iron and magnesium, member stars have a far lower likelihood of hosting Earth-mass planets than stars in the solar neighborhood. Globular clusters are thus unlikely to host habitable terrestrial planets.

A giant planet was found in the globular cluster Messier 4, orbiting a pulsar in the binary star system PSR B1620-26. The planet's eccentric and highly inclined orbit suggests it may have been formed around another star in the cluster, then "exchanged" into its current arrangement. The likelihood of close encounters between stars in a globular cluster can disrupt planetary systems; some planets break free to become rogue planets, orbiting the galaxy. Planets orbiting close to their star can become disrupted, potentially leading to orbital decay and an increase in orbital eccentricity and tidal effects. In 2024, a gas giant or brown dwarf was found to closely orbit the pulsar "M62H", where the name indicates that the planetary system belongs to the globular cluster Messier 62.

title: Globular cluster