Today in History - December 30, 1924 - Edwin Powell Hubble announces his discovery of a galaxy outside the Milky Way. Edwin Hubble was one of the leading astronomers of the twentieth century. His discovery that not only one, but countless galaxies, exist beyond our own Milky Way galaxy forever changed our understanding of the universe. Prior to his discovery, most astronomers believed that the universe was limited to our galaxy. Hubble also discovered enough galaxies that he was able to create a system for classifying them into ellilptical, sprials and barred spirals. The Hubble Space Telescope was named in his honor.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on Hubble, space telescopes, astronomy and aerospace engineering. For curricular resources, visit the Aerospace Engineering Education community site.