Life and Work.
Edwin Hubble was born on November 20, 1889,in Marsh field,Missouri.Excelling at school and interested in many subjects,he received a scholarship to the University of Chicago.Upon graduating in 1910 with a degree in mathematics and astronomy,he decided to study law at Oxford University and then worked briefly as a lawyer in Kentucky.Quickly bored with the law he returned to astronomy in 1914 when he joined the staff of Yerkes Observatory at the University of Chicago.
In 1917 Hubble received a PhD. in astronomy from the University of Chicago for research on nebula for then used to describe distant celestial objects not recognizable as stars(most nebula's were thought to be clouds of gas or clumps of stars).After serving in World War 1 Hubble joined the Mount Wilson Observatory in Pasadena,California in 1919.The observatory housed a 100inch telescope then the largest in the world.
In 1923 Hubble identified a Cepheid star(a pulsating star with a characteristics luminosity) in the Andromeda nebula.Using equations formulated by American astronomer Henrietta Levitt,Hubble calculated the distance from Earth to the Andromeda Cepheid to be about 900,000 light years.It was known that our galaxy,which was thought to be the whole universe,was only about 100,000 light years across.When Hubble's discovery was announced in 1924 it showed that the is much larger then had been thought.
Hubble's extensive observations of the nebula also established that these mysterious objects were actually entire galaxies.In 1925 he introduced a classification plan for galaxies based on their shapes.
Hubble then began to consider the work of American astronomers Vesto Slipher and Milton Humason who had calculated the radial velocities of numerous galaxies.Analyzing their data Hubble noted a correlation between a galaxies distance from Earth and its radial velocity.In 1929 he proposed a mathematical relationship now known as Hubble's Law stating that galaxies radial velocities increase the further away they get.This supported the theory that the universe is expanding.It also allowed a calculation of the age of the universe which Hubble estimated to be about two billion years.
In his later years Hubble wrote lectured served in World War ll and supported the development of the Mount Palomar Observatory in California.He died in San Marino,California on September 28,1953.
In 1917 Hubble received a PhD. in astronomy from the University of Chicago for research on nebula for then used to describe distant celestial objects not recognizable as stars(most nebula's were thought to be clouds of gas or clumps of stars).After serving in World War 1 Hubble joined the Mount Wilson Observatory in Pasadena,California in 1919.The observatory housed a 100inch telescope then the largest in the world.
In 1923 Hubble identified a Cepheid star(a pulsating star with a characteristics luminosity) in the Andromeda nebula.Using equations formulated by American astronomer Henrietta Levitt,Hubble calculated the distance from Earth to the Andromeda Cepheid to be about 900,000 light years.It was known that our galaxy,which was thought to be the whole universe,was only about 100,000 light years across.When Hubble's discovery was announced in 1924 it showed that the is much larger then had been thought.
Hubble's extensive observations of the nebula also established that these mysterious objects were actually entire galaxies.In 1925 he introduced a classification plan for galaxies based on their shapes.
Hubble then began to consider the work of American astronomers Vesto Slipher and Milton Humason who had calculated the radial velocities of numerous galaxies.Analyzing their data Hubble noted a correlation between a galaxies distance from Earth and its radial velocity.In 1929 he proposed a mathematical relationship now known as Hubble's Law stating that galaxies radial velocities increase the further away they get.This supported the theory that the universe is expanding.It also allowed a calculation of the age of the universe which Hubble estimated to be about two billion years.
In his later years Hubble wrote lectured served in World War ll and supported the development of the Mount Palomar Observatory in California.He died in San Marino,California on September 28,1953.