Edwin Hubble | |
---|---|
Born | Edwin Powell Hubble November 20, 1889 Marshfield, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | September 28, 1953 San Marino, California, U.S. |
(aged 63)
Residence | United States |
Nationality | American |
Fields | Astronomy |
Institutions |
University of Chicago Mount Wilson Observatory |
Alma mater | University of Chicago The Queen's College, Oxford |
Known for | Hubble sequence |
Influenced | Allan Sandage |
Notable awards |
Newcomb Cleveland Prize 1924 Bruce Medal 1938 Franklin Medal 1939 Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society 1940 Legion of Merit 1946 |
Signature |
Edwin Powell Hubble (November 20, 1889 – September 28, 1953) was an American astronomer. He played a crucial role in establishing the fields of extragalactic astronomy and observational cosmology and is regarded as one of the most important astronomers of all time.
Hubble provided evidence that the recessional velocity of a galaxy increases with its distance from the earth, a property known as "Hubble's law", a preliminary version of which was proposed earlier by Georges Lemaître. Hubble's Law implies that the universe is expanding.
Hubble also discovered that many objects previously thought to be clouds of dust and gas and classified as "nebulae" were actually galaxies beyond the Milky Way. A decade before, the American astronomer Vesto Slipher had provided the first evidence that the light from many of these nebulae was strongly red-shifted, indicative of high recession velocities. Hubble's name is most widely recognized for the Hubble Space Telescope which was named in his honor, with a model prominently displayed in his hometown of Marshfield, Missouri.
Edwin Hubble was born to Virginia Lee Hubble (née James) (1864–1934) and John Powell Hubble, an insurance executive, in Marshfield, Missouri, and moved to Wheaton, Illinois, in 1900. In his younger days, he was noted more for his athletic prowess than his intellectual abilities, although he did earn good grades in every subject except for spelling. Edwin was a gifted athlete playing baseball, football, basketball, and he ran track in both high school and college. He played a variety of positions on the basketball court from center to shooting guard. In fact Hubble even led the University of Chicago's basketball team to their first conference title in 1907. He won seven first places and a third place in a single high school track and field meet in 1906.