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 During the 1920s, astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) made some of the most important discoveries ever made in the field.
Hubble was an independent thinker, always eager to challenge existing theories
and willing to carry out the research required to find out how things truly are.
Never one to avoid controversy, Hubble was truly a man of conviction and
perseverance.
Here are just a few of Edwin Hubble's most significant discoveries and
contributions to the field of astronomy:
- He was the first astronomer to realize that the Milky Way didn't make up the
entire universe, but was instead just a single galaxy among untold billions.
- Hubble also came to realize that the universe was ever expanding, an idea contrary
to conventional wisdom among his peers, including Albert Einstein. This
realization led to the development of the "Big Bang Theory".
- He developed Hubble's Law: The farther away a galaxy is from Earth, the faster
it is moving away from it.
Indeed, Edwin Hubble was a very complex man. In addition to his status as one of
the most influential astronomers of all time, at various times in his life he
was also:
- a world class college athlete
- a Rhodes scholar
- a high school Spanish teacher
- a friend and confidant of the Hollywood elite
Edwin Hubble's enormous contributions to the science of Astronomy were
recognized and honored when the new Hubble Space Telescope (launched in 1990)
was named after him. The Hubble Telescope continues to provide us with amazing images of
galaxies that are millions of light years away from earth.
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