Saturday, August 8, 2026

Question: In the 1920s, using what was then the world’s largest telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory near Los Angeles, one astronomer proved that other galaxies exist and provided the first widely accepted observational evidence that the universe is expanding. Who was he?

Answer: Edwin Hubble. Peering through the 100-inch telescope at Mount Wilson, Hubble showed that fuzzy “nebulae” like Andromeda were actually separate galaxies far beyond the Milky Way, then found that the farther away galaxies are, the faster they appear to be moving away. His observations provided the first widely accepted observational evidence that the universe is expanding. The Hubble Space Telescope is named for him.