Edwin+Hubble

The Hubble Space Telescope was named after the astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble (1889-1953), who made some of the most important discoveries in modern astronomy. As an astronomer, Dr. Hubble was a late bloomer. Before discovering his passion for the stars, Dr. Hubble earned a law degree and served in World War 1. However, after practicing law for one year, he decided to leave law for astronomy. In the 1920s Dr. Hubble showed some numerous and distant clouds of light in the universe. But, they were actually entire galaxies. Once word got out that the Milky Way is only one of many galaxies it changed the way astronomers viewed our place in the universe. His greatest discovery came in 1929. Dr Hubble determined that the further a galaxy is from Earth, the faster it appears to move away. This is the “expanding” of the universe. This is what formed the big bang theory.

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