Open questions in the globular cluster - Galaxy connection

Abstract

I present a short (and subjective) view of the open problems in the globular cluster - galaxy connection. I start by looking back onto the questions that mostly Canadians asked to each other in the 80's and how they (the questions, not the Canadians) evolved to the major questions that we ask ourselves today. In turn, I then look at todays pending problems on individual star clusters (e.g. measuring their integrated properties), on globular cluster systems, and finally on the link to galaxy formation and evolution. I end up being not very conclusive. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.