NicerAPOD

Edwin Hubble Discovers the Universe

Edwin Hubble Discovers the Universe

No person in history has had greater impact in determining the extent of our universe than Edwin Hubble . From proving that other galaxies existed to proving that galaxies move apart from one another , Hubble's work defined our place in the cosmos. Hubble lived from 1889 to 1953 and is shown above posing with the 48-inch telescope on Palomar Mountain and his famous pipe. In memory of his great work, the Orbiting Space Telescope was named after him . The rate of the universe's expansion is now parameterized by a quantity known as Hubble's constant . A modern debate on the value of Hubble's constant took place in 1996.

Media Credits & Attribution

Credit: Mt. Wilson Archive, Carnegie Institution of Washington