In 2369, the USS Enterprise-D charted a globular cluster, the Amargosa Diaspora. (TNG: "Schisms"). It is said that starship navigation within a globular cluster can be difficult because of gravimetric interference.

In actuakl fact, a globular cluster is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galactic core as a satellite. As opposed to open clusters, globular clusters are very tightly bound by gravity, which gives them their spherical shapes and relatively high stellar densities toward their centers. A globular cluster is sometimes known more simply as a globular.

Globular clusters, which are found in the halo of a galaxy, contain considerably more stars and are much older than the less dense galactic, or open clusters, which are found in the disk. Globular clusters are fairly common; there are about 158[2] currently known globular clusters in the Milky Way, with perhaps 10–20 more undiscovered. Large galaxies can have more: Andromeda, for instance, may have as many as 500. Some giant elliptical galaxies, such as M87, may have as many as 10,000 globular clusters.