Discover the Cosmos: Top 14 Fun Facts About Edwin Hubble, the Astronomer Who Transformed Our View of the Universe

1. Cosmic Michael Jordan

Before he was stargazing and uncovering the Universe's deeply-held secrets, Edwin Hubble was busy tackling opponents on the football field and slam-dunking baskets on the court like a cosmic Michael Jordan: As a brilliant athlete, Hubble played on the University of Chicago's 1908 mythical National Championship-winning football team, and later coached the New Albany high school basketball team to a flawless season in 1913-14 – all of which happened before he shot for the stars with an illustrious astronomy career that culminated in having the Hubble Telescope named in his honor.
Source => hoopshall.com

2. Astrophysical Sports Star

Before he was spotting galaxies and expanding our universe, Edwin Hubble was the life of the astrophysical sporting gala, roughhousing with celestial bodies and slam dunking black holes: Prior to his astronomical career, Hubble dabbled in law, taught the Spanish language, and displayed an impressive athleticism - excelling in basketball, track, and boxing.
Source => aps.org

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=> Fun Facts about Mars

3. Red Flags and Expanding Universe

When Edwin Hubble wasn't busy putting his telescope in the stars' personal space, he was proving the one red flag you want to see in a good relationship: the universe's red shift was directly proportional to a galaxy's distance from Earth, indicating that the universe was expanding – thanks to the help of previous groundbreaking work by Henrietta Leavitt and Vesto Slipher.
Source => pbs.org

4. Galaxies in His Sights

You might say Edwin Hubble had stars in his eyes, but galaxies in his sights: He was the first astronomer to prove the existence of galaxies beyond our Milky Way and classified them by their visual appearances, leading to the groundbreaking Hubble's Law which connected a galaxy's distance to the redshift of its light, revolutionizing our understanding of the Universe's vast structure.
Source => fscj.pressbooks.pub

5. Emperor of the Universe

If Edwin Hubble had a dollar for every star he discovered, he'd be crowning himself the Emperor of the Universe, residing in a cosmic palace beyond the Milky Way: The renowned astronomer was instrumental in discovering the existence of galaxies beyond our own, and the Hubble Space Telescope – launched in 1990 and named in his honor – carried on his legacy, unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos. But hold your celestial horses, because contrary to popular belief, it wasn't Hubble who first detected dark matter; that groundbreaking discovery was made in 2020 via gravitational lensing effects observed by the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, as published in the journal Science.
Source => hubblesite.org

6. Cosmic Cauldron of Knowledge

Hubble, bubble, toil, and trouble: Forget witches brewing potions; we're talking about Edwin Hubble, who stirred up the cosmic cauldron of knowledge by discovering Cepheid variable stars, proving Andromeda is its own galaxy, and observing redshifts that expanded our minds faster than the universe itself – all providing vital support for the Big Bang theory.
Source => khanacademy.org

7. High-jumping Hubble

Before there were Slam Dunkin' Hubbles in basketball, there was one high-jumping Edwin Hubble, adored by stargazers and sports enthusiasts alike: This famed astronomer not only expanded our understanding of the universe, but also set hearts soaring as a talented high school athlete, sweeping seven first-place finishes and one third-place in a single 1906 track-and-field meet, and securing the Illinois high school record in the high jump.
Source => khanacademy.org

8. Shooting Stars and Hoops

Before shooting stars, Edwin Hubble was shooting hoops: Not only was he a pioneering astronomer, but Hubble also dazzled on the basketball court during college and while pursuing his PhD at the University of Chicago, even earning a tryout offer from the professional Chicago Cubs basketball team, which he ultimately declined to focus on his astronomical dreams.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. Google Maps of the Cosmos

Before there was Google Maps to tell you there are more than just your own neighborhood joints, there was Edwin Hubble, the cosmic voyager, making a similar revelation in the universe: Hubble discovered that beyond our Milky Way Galaxy, other galaxies like Andromeda exist, shattering the belief that we were the sole cosmic residents and unveiling the true expanse of the universe.
Source => study.com

10. Secret Sports and Space Star

They say Hubble had a secret - not an "I-see-dead-people" secret but more like an "I-stare-at-stars-while-being-a-sports-superstar" secret: Edwin Hubble was an astonishing athlete, dominating in basketball, football, and track, but he was a closeted astronomy enthusiast too, a fact he kept under half wraps as he shattered sports records and scooped up scholarships left and right, all while secretly cherishing a telescope gifted to his nine-year-old bespectacled self.
Source => smokingpipes.com

11. Cosmic Real Estate Agent

Edwin Hubble, the cosmic real estate agent who introduced us to our galactic neighbors: He was the first astronomer to provide evidence of galaxies beyond the Milky Way, proving the existence of an expanding universe and paving the way for a deeper understanding of the cosmos.
Source => hubblesite.org

12. Universe-expanding Bubble

If Hubble were a bubble, he'd be the one that pops and takes you on a whirlwind galactic tour, bursting through the cosmic frontiers to reveal the sprawling universe: Edwin Hubble not only discovered galaxies beyond our own Milky Way but also developed groundbreaking formulas like the Doppler shift and relativistic redshift, transforming our understanding of the cosmic landscape and its colossal scale.
Source => sites.uni.edu

13. Star Detective and Cepheid Sidekicks

Step aside, Sir Isaac Newton: there's a star detective in town with his trusty sidekick, Cepheid variable stars! Edwin Hubble, in a plot twist worthy of Sherlock Holmes, used these stellar sleuths in the 1920s to crack the case of the Andromeda "nebula": it wasn't just some celestial cloud, but an entire separate galaxy far, far away from our little Milky Way galaxy!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

14. Iconic Space Telescope Namesake

Edwin Hubble: not just a supernova in the sky, but also a cosmic icon on our telescopes! This interstellar maverick, whose fame could put any Hollywood star to shame, had the Hubble Space Telescope named after him – not for being a celestial superstar but as an eternal salute to his groundbreaking 1920s discovery of the universe's expansion.
Source => esahubble.org