Globular clusters in M31, Local Group, and external galaxies

Throughout most of the Local Group, globular clusters (GCs) remain recognisable as extended objects in ground-based images taken in good seeing conditions. However, studying the full extent of the GC systems is challenging because of the large sky area that needs to be surveyed and recent years have seen dramatic progress in our knowledge of GC populations in nearby galaxies, thanks to large imaging surveys. At the same time, techniques for deriving detailed abundances from integrated-light spectra of GCs are maturing so that detailed comparisons of the chemical composition for GCs in different galaxies can now be made. Such comparisons may shed important light on the properties of proto-galactic fragments that were accreted onto galaxy halos. Nevertheless, our census of Local Group GCs probably remains far from complete, in particular at low luminosities and for very extended clusters.