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Edwin Hubble 
revolutionised 
our understanding 
of the universe.
His observation 
that galaxies are 
moving away 
from earth meant 
two things - that 
the universe was 
expanding and 
that, by working 
backwards, it was 
therefore possible 
to calculate when 
the universe began
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Remarkably for one 
of the century's
great scientists, 
Hubble trained as
a lawyer: he took a 
degree in law at 
Oxford University, 
and went back to 
the US to practise.
But he gave up law 
to do research 
into astronomy
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Viewed through 
conventional 
telescopes, the 
stars seem to be 
surrounded by 
shining clouds of 
gas, called nebulae. 
By using the big-
gest telescopes 
available, Hubble 
found that the 
nebulae were 
actually masses of 
faint stars, thus 
proving that other 
star systems - or 
galaxies - exist
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Using more and
more powerful 
telescopes, Hubble 
discovered further 
galaxies - and the 
astonishing fact 
that the further 
away a galaxy was 
from earth, the 
quicker it was 
travelling. This
meant that the 
universe must 
still be expanding
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During Hubble's
lifetime, space
travel was not
possible: the only
way to know about
the cosmos was
to look at it from
the earth. This is
still the most
efficient method,
despite advances
in space explor-
ation. The Hubble
Telescope, in earth
orbit, sees further
than any spacemen
will ever travel
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Hubble, and the
telescope named
after him, have
reminded us of
our place in the
universe: we are
a tiny speck on
the far rim of an
ordinary galaxy,
undistinguishable
from countless
others. The cosmos
is unaware of our
presence, and will
always be so
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