Parts of the Galaxy

The central bulge is densely populated with stars. Most of them are older, smaller, cooler (and redder) than the Sun. There is little dust and gas in the central bulge. Long ago, the original clouds condensed to form stars or were stripped away by gravitational interaction by clusters orbiting through the bulge. Nevertheless, some star formation is still occurring - one of the brightest stars known, the "Pistol Star", is a massive young giant in a stellar nursery near the galactic centre.