A century ago, astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered a mysterious star named V1, located 2.2 million light-years away in the Andromeda galaxy. This discovery changed humanity’s understanding of the universe forever. With the help of his groundbreaking research on Cepheid variables, Hubble revealed that our Milky Way galaxy is just one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the vast expanse of space.
Hubble’s observations led to a radical new view of the universe, where galaxies are not fixed entities but rather moving away from each other due to an expanding cosmos. This expansion rate has been measured precisely by the Hubble Space Telescope, giving us an age of 13.8 billion years for the universe.
However, recent discoveries have added complexity to our understanding. The universe appears to be accelerating its expansion, driven by a mysterious force known as dark energy. Researchers are still grappling with this phenomenon, trying to determine if it’s changing over time.
Hubble’s legacy extends far beyond his initial discovery. His work on the redshift of light and the expansion rate of galaxies laid the foundation for our modern understanding of cosmology. The Hubble Space Telescope continues to make groundbreaking discoveries, further refining our knowledge of the universe.
As we continue to explore the cosmos, we are reminded of Edwin Hubble’s profound impact on our understanding of the universe. His work serves as a testament to human curiosity and the power of scientific inquiry to transform our understanding of the world around us.
Source: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasa-celebrates-edwin-hubbles-discovery-of-a-new-universe