Edwin Hubble

Edwin Powell Hubble was an American astronomer. The famous Hubble Space Telescope was named after Edwin Hubble. He was born in (November 20, 1889 and passed away in  September 28, 1953.

Edwin Hubble Biography (1889 - 1953)

Edwin Powell Hubble is renowned for determining that there are other galaxies in the Universe beyond the Milky Way, and for observing that the universe is expanding at a constant rate.
Hubble was a tall, elegant, athletic, man who at age 30 had an undergraduate degree in astronomy and mathematics, a legal degree as a Rhodes scholar, followed by a PhD in astronomy. He was an attorney in Kentucky (joined its bar in 1913), and had served in WWI, rising to the rank of major. He was bored with law and decided to go back to his studies in astronomy.

In 1919 he began to work at Mt. Wilson Observatory in California, where he would work for the rest of his life. He was researching nebulae, fuzzy patches of light in the sky. In 1924, he announced the discovery of a Cepheid, or variable star, in the Andromeda Nebulae. Since the work of Henrietta Leavitt had made it possible to calculate the distance to Cepheids, he calculated that this Cepheid was much further away than anyone had thought and that therefore the nebulae was not a gaseous cloud inside our galaxy, like so many nebulae, but in fact, a galaxy of stars just like the Milky Way. Only much further away. Until now, people believed that the only thing existing outside the Milky Way were the Magellanic Clouds. The Universe was much bigger than had been previously presumed.
Hubble wanted to classify the galaxies according to their content, distance, shape, and brightness patterns, and in his observations he made another momentous discovery: By observing redshifts in the light wavelengths emitted by the galaxies, he saw that galaxies were moving away from each other at a rate constant to the distance between them (Hubble's Law). The further away they were, the faster they receded. This led to the calculation of the point where the expansion began, and confirmation of the big bang theory. Hubble calculated it to be about 2 billion years ago, but more recent estimates have revised that to 20 billion years ago.
An active anti-fascist, Hubble wanted to joined the armed forces again during World War II, but was convinced he could contribute more as a scientist on the home front. When the 200-inch telescope was completed on Mt. Palomar, Hubble was given the honour of first use. He died in 1953.
"Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science."

Related Books and DVDs:

Books on Telescopes and Star Atlas

Astronomy DVd

Hubble Space Telescope Picture CD:
from Amazon.com
This CD brings you the best of the NASA Hubble Space Telescope - 220 images with Image browser, Captions & screen saver. This CD makes a handy educational reference. Please note all opened CD's are non-returnable.

Edwin Hubble Links:

• Biography of Edwin Powell Hubble (1889 - 1953) by NASA