“With increasing distance, our knowledge fades, and fades rapidly. Eventually, we reach the dim boundary—the utmost limits of our telescopes. There, we measure shadows, and we search among ghostly errors of measurement for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial. The search will continue. Not until the empirical resources are exhausted, need we pass on to the dreamy realms of speculation.” ― American astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble, from his book "The Realm of the Nebulae", 1936. Hubble was one of the most respected astronomers of his time, identifying galaxies beyond our Milky Way previously thought to be dust and gas clouds. He also provided evidence that the universe is expanding through his "Hubble's Law" in 1929. In recognition of his achievements in astrophysics, the Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, was named in his honor, and continues to provide awe-inspiring photographs of distant galaxies, as we often show in our Sunday "Across The Universe" postings.
(photo: Hubble at the Mt. Wilson Observatory, Carnegie Institution of Washington)
