The MOST Important Picture of Space

This is the most important image in the history of astronomy, as it led to the discovery of the vastness of the universe. Before 1925, it was believed that the Milky Way was the only galaxy in existence. While photographs of other galaxies were available, they were considered to be star systems within our own galaxy. However, when Edwin Hubble captured this image of Andromeda, he saw something different. Rather than a mere gas smudge, he noticed that Andromeda looked like a vast hive of stars. By studying variable stars in Andromeda's spiral arms, Hubble calculated that the galaxy was 930,000 light years away, which was about one-third of the currently accepted distance. Nonetheless, this measurement showed that Andromeda existed far beyond the boundaries of the Milky Way, leading us to realize that our galaxy was not the only one in the universe.

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