A stellar close encounter at the core of globular cluster M15 (artist's impression)

The sky is ablaze with several hundred thousand stars in the imaginary view from the surface of a hypothetical planet at the center if the globular star cluster called M15 (located 30,000 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus). The average distance between stars is a fraction of a light-year.

A new population of extremely hot and blue stars - recently discovered by NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope - stand out like diamonds on black velvet. At the center of the image, a bypassing star gravitationally pulls the outer envelop of gas from a red giant star. This process will expose the giant's core - the nuclear fusion "engine" that powers the star.