Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

June 21, 1998

Edwin Hubble Discovers the Universe
Credit: Mt. Wilson Archive, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Explanation: 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.

在確定我們宇宙大小的工作,哈伯的成就與影響無法超越。 從證明其他星系的存在,到證明星系相互遠離,哈伯的工作確定了我們在宇宙裡的位階。 哈伯生卒分別為1889年和1953年的哈伯,在上圖裡與帕洛瑪山上的48英寸望遠鏡及他著名的煙斗合影。 為了紀念他的偉大成就,軌道上的太空望遠鏡是以他為名。 宇宙膨脹的速率,現在以哈伯常數作為參數。 1996年更舉辦一場關於哈伯常數數值的辯論。

Tomorrow's picture: A Doomed Dust Disk


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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
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