Edwin P. Hubble
More than just a guy associated with a telescope.
November 20, 1889-September 28, 1953
Background
Edwin Powell Hubble was born to John Powell Hubble and Virginia Lee James on November 20, 1889 in Marshfield, Missouri. After growing up in Wheaton, Illinois, he studied at The University of Chicago, and taught Spanish, physics, and math at New Albany High School in Indiana. Majoring in law, Hubble went on to Oxford, and but eventually decided to pursue a career in astronomy instead of law. At the age of 25, Edwin Hubble decided that he would go back to The University of Chicago to become a professional astronomer.
Fact: Edwin Hubble served in the first World War!
Contributions
Edwin Hubble, who is most commonly associated with the Hubble Space Telescope, made several contributions to the astronomy and science community that helped us better understand the universe. Hubble discovered that galaxies other than the Milky Way are out there. He also found that the universe is expanding and that galaxies, including our own and others beyond us, are expanding at velocities proportional to their distance from us, giving birth to the Big Bang Theory and other ideas. Most of his famous discoveries came while he was working at Mount Wilson Observatory in Los Angeles.
Challenges and Controversies
In Hubble's time, many people refused to believe that there were more galaxies beyond our own or that the universe is expanding.
Sagittarius Star Cloud
This star cluster is found in the constellation of Sagittarius, approximately 600 light years wide. Discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, this picture was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Supernova 1987A
Supernova discovered in the Tarantula Nebula in 1987. Taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Starburst Cluster
Captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Fact: A very talented athlete, Hubble played baseball, football, basketball, ran track, and was an amateur boxer in high school!
Honors and Medals
Bruce Medal, Franklin Medal, Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Legion of Merit, Honorary Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford, Asteroid 2069 Hubble, Hubble Crater on the Moon, and the Hubble Space Telescope all named after Edwin Hubble.