Edwin Hubble announces the discovery of other galaxies, revealing that the universe is much larger than we thought.
Until the 1920s, it was widely assumed that the galaxy of stars of which our sun is one was the only galaxy in existence. Astronomers, however, had already begun to suspect that there might be other structures farther out in space. One such Astronomer was a young American from Missouri, Edwin Powell Hubble. He focused on nebulae - clouds of interstellar dust and gas-- and from 1919 studied them at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California. He discovered that some object thought to be nebulae were actually large-scale aggregates of stars, or galaxies like our own. In 1923, for example, he found thirty-six stars inside the Andromeda nebulae, which he subsequently calculated to be 900,000 light years away from us and an enormous distance beyond our own galaxy's edge. The astronomers published hi research result on the first day of 1925.
Hubble classified the galaxies into three main types- spiral, elliptical, and irregular. He not only demonstrated that the universe is immensely bigger than previously thought, but went want to show that it is expanding, meaning that the other galaxies are moving away from us. In 1929, he found that the speed at which the galaxies recede increases with their distance from us (Huble's Law) and established a ratio (Hubbles Constant) between the speed and the distance. Subsequent investigations suggest that ratio has not always remained the same, but over time has decelerated and accelerated.
Hubble continued working at Mount Wilson virtually until his death in 1953. The Hubble space Telescope was named in his honor.
Until the 1920s, it was widely assumed that the galaxy of stars of which our sun is one was the only galaxy in existence. Astronomers, however, had already begun to suspect that there might be other structures farther out in space. One such Astronomer was a young American from Missouri, Edwin Powell Hubble. He focused on nebulae - clouds of interstellar dust and gas-- and from 1919 studied them at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California. He discovered that some object thought to be nebulae were actually large-scale aggregates of stars, or galaxies like our own. In 1923, for example, he found thirty-six stars inside the Andromeda nebulae, which he subsequently calculated to be 900,000 light years away from us and an enormous distance beyond our own galaxy's edge. The astronomers published hi research result on the first day of 1925.
Hubble classified the galaxies into three main types- spiral, elliptical, and irregular. He not only demonstrated that the universe is immensely bigger than previously thought, but went want to show that it is expanding, meaning that the other galaxies are moving away from us. In 1929, he found that the speed at which the galaxies recede increases with their distance from us (Huble's Law) and established a ratio (Hubbles Constant) between the speed and the distance. Subsequent investigations suggest that ratio has not always remained the same, but over time has decelerated and accelerated.
Hubble continued working at Mount Wilson virtually until his death in 1953. The Hubble space Telescope was named in his honor.
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