... For billions of years, massive stars in our Milky Way Galaxy have lived spectacular lives. ... What could not be avoided, however, were a few stars in our own Galaxy, and many distant galaxies strewn across the universe. ... Young Star Clusters in an Old Galaxy . ... Elliptical galaxy NGC 4365 is old, probably about 12 billion years old. Like most elliptical galaxies, this galaxy was thought to be full of old stars too, its burst of star forming activity having long since ended. ...