Edwin Hubble: The Discovery of the Expanding Universe
- Shreyas Murchite
- Feb 28
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 3
For most children, looking up at the night sky is more of a magical experience than an intellectual one. However, Edwin Powell Hubble, from a young age, realized that there was more to the cosmos than just a pretty light show. This early fascination set the stage for a remarkable journey in the field of astronomy.
Although Hubble’s interest in the universe as a child was undeniable, his early years revolved far more around athletics than they did around astronomy. Edwin played baseball, football, and was a track runner for his high school. Most notably, he led Chicago University to their first Big Ten Conference win in basketball. Another factor that prevented him from taking up astronomy early in his life was his father’s insistence on him pursuing a more traditional and likely more stable field.
Despite his other talents, Hubble's passion for astronomy eventually took center stage. Along with being a talented basketball player at the University of Chicago, he decided to pursue astronomy formally for the first time there. After gaining hands-on experience at the lab of future Nobel Prize winner Robert Millikan, and studying philosophy and mathematics, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree.
After earning his bachelor’s, Edwin’s interest in studying the universe only grew. However, he decided to respect his father's wishes, especially since his father became unwell after his son graduated, and he enrolled in law school at Queen’s College, Oxford. There, due to a heavy course load and his focus on studying Roman and English law, he was unable to keep in touch with cosmology, let alone continue conducting research in the field.
Tragedy struck after Hubble finished his studies of law in Oxford; his father succumbed to a heart attack. Feeling severely demotivated by this loss, Edwin took a break from studying law and decided that it would be permanent. This decision marked a turning point in his life.
Regaining the motivation to continue his research, Hubble briefly taught physics and mathematics at the high school level in Indiana before embarking on a significant research career. During this time, he developed a system for classifying galaxies, which categorized them into four major types: elliptical, spiral, barred spiral, and irregular. Each type had subtypes determined by their shape, such as EO for nearly spherical elliptical galaxies and Sa for galaxies with tightly wound arms and a large central bulge.
In addition to his classification system, Hubble made groundbreaking discoveries that changed our understanding of the universe. He discovered that the universe was expanding by measuring the redshift of interstellar objects, which indicated how fast an object was moving away from Earth. Furthermore, he revealed that the universe was not limited to just the Milky Way Galaxy, effectively ending long-winded debates about whether the Cepheid Variable Stars, visible to the naked eye, were part of the same galaxy as Earth.
In my opinion, what makes Hubble uniquely inspiring is that his brilliance didn’t stem from being a child prodigy or from exceptional privilege. Instead, it arose from a combination of unwavering determination, persistence, and perseverance. Hubble didn’t just look at the stars; he quite literally expanded the horizons of what we could imagine. The telescope that would further broaden the scope of our universe, the Hubble Space Telescope, was aptly named after him.
Ultimately, Hubble became a leading researcher in the field of cosmology, despite external pressure to study something more conventional and likely more financially secure. The sacrifices and staggering commitment that Hubble demonstrated are lessons we can all learn from: challenges are inevitable, but the way you react to them defines your legacy.
Sources
APA Citations
Kragh, H. (1996). Cosmology and controversy: The historical development of two theories of the universe. Princeton University Press.
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