The Universe Is Expanding

I think my feelings regarding the past week's Astronomy classes can be summed up with this clip from Annie Hall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U1-OmAICpU

I would say that this certainly is an exciting time to be involved in astronomy, but that's only because I'm such a naturally enthusiastic individual. My peers tell me that my zest for education is exceeded only by that of life in general. Still, despite the wonderful times in which we live and the advances in modern telescopy which enable us to view galaxies and star-stuff many unfathomable fathoms distant, one can't help but wonder if astronomers weren't a bit more boss a few decades ago. To help prove the point of the bossness of these astronomers, I submit to you the following five photographs of Edwin Hubble, namesake of the Hubble telescope, proposer of a theory of universal expansion.

First, we see a humble Hubble sitting over his desk, surely after a long day's astronomizing, having a smoke while examining a photographic plate of the stars:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2012/08/30/hubble-at-work/

 

 Nothing so unusual about that. Until you realize that Hubble didn't put the pipe down for anyone. He couldn't be bothered.

Here's Hubble at the telescope, observing and chilling out. (Courtesy NASA)

Here's Hubble with his cat, Nicholas Copernicus:

http://content.answcdn.com/main/content/img/scitech/HSedwinp.jpg

 

Here's Einstein observing something astronomical, while Hubble hangs back to learn from the master. Astronomer Walter Sydney Adams appears on the right:

http://www.interactions.org/quantumuniverse/qu2006/images/discovering_image_05.jpg

And just so everybody knew he wasn't an egg-head, 6'2" Hubble also broke records on his high-school basketball team:

http://chicagomaroon.com/2009/04/10/before-revolutionizing-astronomy-hubble-helped-rewrite-record-books/

Here's an article about Hubble's cat (who apparently didn't like Aldous Huxley: http://huntingtonblogs.org/2012/11/hubble-and-copernicus/

Meanwhile, back in Astronomy class... Professor Les Blatt explained different astronomers' calculations for the age of the universe as being between 13.6 and 13.7 billion years, "but what's 100,000 years between friends?"

Also, check out CMT's production of "Spring Awakening" in Atwood Hall tonight at 2PM and 7PM. It will rock your world like no other musical has ever before.