Is the Universe Expanding Now?

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In the 1990s, Henry Edelovet invented a yardstick to measure the universe. Hubble used that yardstick to figure out that our galaxy is not the entire universe. And then Hubble again figured out that the universe was actually expanding. This showed us that the universe wasn't static, that it actually had a beginning.

In the early 1900s, Henrietta Leavitt made one of the most important discoveries in the history of astronomy: a yardstick to measure distances to faraway stars. Using this tool, scientists eventually transformed our understanding of the universe. They realized space was expanding, that this expansion was accelerating, and that ultimately, everything will end.

This episode originally ran on June 30, 2021.

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