Edwin Hubble, The Discoverer of the Big Bang Universe

The first complete account of the scientific life and work of the great American astronomer Edwin Hubble.

Alexander S. Sharov (Author), Igor D. Novikov (Author), Vitaly Kiskin (Translated by)

9780521017619, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 21 July 2005

220 pages, 21 b/w illus.
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.5 cm, 0.452 kg

'Sharov and Novikov have produced an admirable and essential narration of Hubble's great exploration … we have here an excellent descriptive sweep of the main objects of Hubble's achievement brought between two (stiff) covers.' Webb Society Quarterly Journal

This book is the first complete account of the scientific life and work of Edwin Hubble, whose discoveries firmly established the United States as the leading nation in observational astronomy. One of the outstanding astronomers of the twentieth century, Hubble discovered the expansion of the Universe. He opened the world of galaxies for science when he showed that spiral nebulae beyond the Milky Way are galaxies extending to the limits of the Universe, and participating in a general expansion of the cosmos. The exploding Universe of Hubble, now termed the Big Bang, determined the origin of the elements, of galaxies and of the stars. The second part of the book describes the fundamental discoveries on the nature of the Universe made subsequently, and thus sets his achievements in context. Written by two prominent astronomers who have built on Hubble's work, this book is a classic of science, setting out the thrilling story of the exploding Universe.

Preface to the English edition
Preface to the Russian edition
Part I. Life and Work: 1. Choosing the way
2. On the threshold of great achievements
3. The island universe
4. The red-shift predecessors
5. The law bearing his name
6. Recognition
7. Civil duty
8. Hopes crushed
Part II. Hubble's Work Continued: 9. Distances to galaxies and the Hubble constant
10. Current and future research projects
11. The discovery of the hot universe
12. Explosion
Chronology of Edwin Hubble's life and work
Bibliography of Hubble's publications
References
Indexes.

Subject Areas: Astronomy, space & time [PG], Biography: general [BG]