Edwin Hubble and His Story of Becoming a Genius Astronomer

There is a simple quote that goes by, “Observations always involve theory. ” Hubble said that, and he was right. When Hubble looked through a telescope, he did not see the sky, he saw the universe. He thought there was more to our existence. He theorized when he looked up and saw the clouds. Maybe there is more out there?Hubble had no room for quitting as his curiosity, intelligence, and persistence led to a new world in astronomy. Hubble was born into a family of lawyers in Marshfield, Missouri, 1889. He was very well rounded and at a young age planned to be a lawyer his whole life. He became a tall man, standing 6’2. He loved basketball and boxing, and he became very good at both. Not many could have the athletic ability he had, along with his brains. He performed good in the ring and on the court, but he performed greatly in the classroom. His curiosity helped impact the world. Even at 12 years old, Hubble was always fascinated by space. In school, he even sent a letter to his grandfather. It was about the possibility of life on Mars. He was curious about everything space had. The letter was sent to a newspaper in Springfield, where it was then published (Softschools. com).

Growing up a little more was when he finally started to be recognized as a genius. His principal told him thathe has never seen him study for 10 minutes or longer, but yet he had on “A” on every test there was recorded. He graduated from high school and got a scholarship to the University of Chicago. He played basketball there for a little bit. But surprisingly, his major was not law. It was mathematics and astronomy. According to “Softschools”, Rhodes scholarships were offered to qualifying students at the university. Hubble dropped basketball for a little bit to study hard to hopefully get accepted. If he were accepted, he would be able to go to the University of Oxford, a very prestigious school in England. He passed his tests and exams, and qualified for the trip. He became one of the best mathematicians around, and wondered about the world. Why are we here? Are we real? Are there more civilizations out there that could be bigger, smarter, and more advanced than us? For all we know, other life could be watching us right now, and they might be top dog over us. That’s how curious and how far his imagination went.

Of course, Hubble was an intelligent man, and he changed the world with his discoveries. He was the best and brightest around. While in Oxford, tension grew around the world, and World War I came about. Hubble set his studies aside to defend his country during the war. After four harsh years, the war ended and everyone was free to go back to their studies. Hubble began to study law, which was what he thought he would study as a young child, but immediately went back to astronomy. He did not want to study law, it was not his destiny. The war made him realize what he is made for. He was meant to study the universe. Hubble graduated from college and studied at the Mount Wilson Observatory. Hubble made a telescope that is approximately 8 feet in length. With his telescope, he discovered a star. The technology back then was not as good as it is now, but this star is now known as a Cepheid star, a certain classification. Speaking of classification and discoveries, Hubble did not just find stars, he found nebulae. Nebulae are colossal clouds of gas and stardust that are located in galaxies (Biography. com-Edwin Hubble). But Hubble was thinking outside of the box. What if, instead of a nebula in our galaxy, this phenomenon was actually another galaxy located outside of our own? With research, the conclusion was made. This was not a nebula. This was a whole galaxy, containing billions of nebulae. After the existence of other galaxies was proven, Hubble studied them. He found that redshifts in galaxies determine how fast they move from Earth (Spangenburg 75). Using his brains, he was able to pinpoint the beginning of the expansion (when galaxies move away from each other) and it began approximately 20 billion years ago. This beginning is known as the big bang. He never stopped looking for answers. There was an answer to everything he thought, but realized, that may not be entirely true.

Hubble never accepted no. If he could not find an answer, he would keep looking. Even if there was no actual solution to a problem, he would still find something. If it were not for his persistence, he would not have changed minds the way he did. There would be no black holes, no new stars, no Andromeda. Although, another genius was here during Hubble’s discoveries. Albert Einstein. Sir Arthur Eddington and Einstein proposed the black hole theory, and “Karl Swarzchild used the theory to define the gravitational radius of black holes, now known as the Swarzchild radius” (Edwin Hubble - Biography. com). In 1936, Edwin later on published a book based on these theories and discoveries, “Realm of the Nebulae”, and it explained his approach to extragalactic astronomy and his view on the subject’s history (Britannica - Hubble Article). Reaching 60 in 1949, Hubble became a bit of an elder, and didn’t do much after that. He still had his mind set on the universe, but he slowed down, and slowed down even more, until he stopped. Forever.

In 1953, Hubble died of a stroke caused by cerebral thrombosis (Biography. com - Hubble). It was almost 40 years until the Hubble Telescope was invented. In 1990, NASA finally launched a new telescope that would annihilate the competition. Of course, named after Hubble himself, the telescope has captured black holes, nebulae, galaxies, etc. Every year, on November 20th, NASA remembers Hubble and his feats. He had so much more to accomplish, so much more to explore. Yet, we do all know that he changed Earth with his curiosity of the world, his intelligence in mathematics, and his persistence in astronomy. Hubble’s still up there in peace, probably looking at us with his telescope. Works CitedGarner, Rob. “Hubble Space Telescope.