Hubble, Edwin
Hubble, Edwin Powell (1889–1953), American astronomer, who made important contributions to the study of galaxies , the expansion of the universe, and the size of the universe. Hubble was the first to discover that fuzzy patches of light in the sky called spiral nebula were actually galaxies like Earth’s galaxy, the Milky Way . Hubble also found the first evidence for the expansion of the universe, and his work led to a much better understanding of the universe’s size. Hubble was born in Marshfield, Missouri. He attended high school in Chicago, Illinois, and received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and astronomy in 1910. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in England, where he earned a law degree in 1912. In 1919 Hubble finally accepted the offer from Mount Wilson Observatory, where the 100-in (2.5-m) Hooker telescope was located. The Hooker telescope was the largest telescope in the world until 1948. While Hubble was working at the Yerkes Obse...