Birthday: November 20, 1889
Biography: An American astronomer who played a crucial role in establishing extragalactic astronomy and is known for Hubble's Law.
Accomplishments:
Hubble's Law (1929): Demonstrated the expansion of the universe by showing galaxies are moving away from us.
Classification of Galaxies (1926): Developed a system to classify galaxies by their shapes.
Discovery of Andromeda (1924): Proved that Andromeda is a galaxy outside the Milky Way.
Hubble Sequence (1926): Developed a method to classify galaxy morphology.
Hubble Space Telescope (1990): Named in his honor, this telescope has provided deep space images and data.
Hubble discovered that galaxies are moving away from us at speeds proportional to their distance, indicating that the universe is expanding. This observation was a cornerstone in the development of the Big Bang theory.
Hubble developed a classification system for galaxies, known as the Hubble Sequence or Hubble Tuning Fork, categorizing them into spirals, ellipticals, and lenticulars based on their appearance.
By observing Cepheid variable stars in the Andromeda Galaxy, Hubble determined that it was not a part of the Milky Way but a separate galaxy, thereby expanding the known universe.
This systematized the classification of galaxies, providing a framework for understanding galaxy formation and evolution.
Named in his honor, the Hubble Space Telescope has provided unprecedented deep-space images and data, greatly enhancing our understanding of the cosmos.