This photo might look like a jumbled mess, but it could one day answer the question of whether humans are alone in the universe.
Scientists have claimed that alien civilisations could be lurking within massive structures called "globular star clusters".
Dr Di Stefano told the BBC that one of these massive balls of stars could contain the "sweet spot" needed to sustain life.
The massive systems contain up to 100 million stars which are close enough that aliens could travel between them.
But the stars are also distant enough from each other that Earth-like planets can orbit them without being dragged off into space by the gravitational pull of other space objects.
"In this large region... planetary systems can survive, and yet it's dense enough that it may facilitate interstellar travel," she said.
"When the search for extraterrestrial life first started in 50s and 60s, we didn't even know if there were exoplanets.
"Now we can use the information that we've gleaned from other planet discoveries - and there are over 2,000 planets known today - to ask, is it likely that they'd be in globular clusters."
Alan Penny, an astronomer from the University of St Andrews, said globular clusters were definitely interesting places, but could be difficult to properly investigate.
"I think it does lift globular clusters up, in the wish list of targets to search," she told the BBC.
"They are still a very long way away.
"The nearest globular cluster is 400,000 light years away, whereas there are plenty of other, low-mass stars closer than that."