Hubble has imaged NGC 1841, a densely packed globular cluster inside the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy about 162,000 light-years away. The Large Magellanic Cloud is visible to the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere and is home to many globular clusters. Globular clusters sit between open clusters and small compact galaxies, and their stars are often very old because the clusters are stable and long-lasting. Their origins are still not well understood. Because they hold many ancient stars, astronomers treat them as celestial fossils. Studying clusters like NGC 1841 therefore offers clues about how stars formed in the early history of galaxies.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.