1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 492 Prove the Universe Island Theory! Shock the audience! This is not my limit!
Hubble is only 33 years old this year, which can barely be considered a young person in the astronomical community that values ​​experience.

Astronomy is not like physics, which requires a high level of talent, abstract thinking and other abilities.

A person's age has little impact on academic achievement.

But the field of astronomy is different.

An experiment can take several years.

It is very difficult for young people to surpass their predecessors.

The old astronomer is fully qualified to say:
"I have seen more stars than you have eaten."

Even a genius like Hubble was not immune to this.

He also has to observe the starry sky and collect data honestly.

To this end, he lay dormant for ten years.

And today, he can finally share his amazing achievements at this supreme conference in astronomy.

Under the gaze of everyone, Hubble spoke calmly and eloquently.

"Today, the title of my report is: The Scale of the Universe."

"In the Great Astronomy Debate of 1920, Mr. Shapley and Mr. Curtis debated whether the Milky Way was the entire universe."

“I think this extremely wonderful debate must have left a deep impression on you all.”

There was a sudden buzz of discussion in the meeting hall.

The debate at that time was very grand and attracted the attention of countless people around the world.

Although in the end neither side convinced the other.

However, the debate process was full of twists and turns.

Thinking back on it now, I still can't help but applaud.

"Especially Professor Bruce's final summary."

"He believes that existing standard candles, whether novae or blue giants, or globular clusters, are not the best distance measurement tools."

"The true ruler of the universe should be Cepheid variables."

"If we can find a Cepheid variable in the M31 nebula, we can measure its distance from the Earth using the candle method."

"But unfortunately, there are too few stable Cepheid variables in the universe."

"And now we have to look for it in a specific nebula."

"This undoubtedly increases the difficulty of verifying Professor Bruce's theory."

Shapley and Curtis nodded at the same time.

As the protagonists of the debate, the two of them attached great importance to the issue of Cepheid variables after the debate.

Because whoever can discover Cepheid variables first will have a great chance of winning the final debate.

Even though it was a victory off the field.

Shapley was very conflicted.

After the debate, he was spotted by Harvard University and successfully became the director of the Harvard University Observatory.

It can be said that I have reached the peak of my life.

But at the same time, he also lost something precious.

That is the super telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory: the Hooker Telescope.

The 2.5-meter aperture makes this telescope stand out from the crowd.

Harvard University's facilities are far inferior.

Now, Shapley had lost the right to use the telescope, and it now belonged exclusively to Hubble.

If you want to find the rare Cepheid variables, using a Hooker telescope can greatly increase the probability.

Suddenly, Shapley's mind moved and he guessed:
"Damn, could it be that Hubble has found a Cepheid variable star?"

"My goodness!"

Curtis and Shapley looked at each other and instantly thought of this.

The two of them were immediately worried.

Could it be that Shakespeare and Hubbard were the winners?

Haier's face was filled with a proud smile, leaving Dyson beside him confused.

For Haier.

It doesn't matter whether Shapley or Hubble succeeds.

Anyway, they all came out of Mount Wilson.

At this time, Hubble continued his speech, and his next words directly detonated the entire audience.

"Luckily, I finally found two Cepheid variables in the M31 nebula."

“Here’s a picture of them, as shown.”

"Using these two Cepheid variables as standard candles, I recalculated the distance of the M31 nebula from the Earth."

"It's a full 120 million light-years away."

"This staggering size far exceeds the confines of the Milky Way."

"This shows that the M31 nebula must be outside the Milky Way."

"By analyzing the motion trajectory of the M31 nebula, we can roughly determine its mass."

"It is on the same level as the Milky Way."

"So, the great astronomy debate can finally come to an end."

"The island universe theory is correct."

"The Milky Way is just a small village in the vast universe of the nebula kingdom."

"The universe is vast beyond our imagination."

boom!
Hubble's calm tone formed a sharp contrast with the sensation at the scene.

Everyone stared at Hubble's data with eyes wide open.

This result is really shocking!

The problem that had troubled astronomers for hundreds of years was solved in this way.

"Oh my God! Hubble came prepared this time."

“This is simply the best representation of soaring into the sky.”

"His success is inseparable from hard work, luck and patience."

At this moment, everyone was shocked by Hubble's achievements.

Everyone seemed to be able to imagine Hubble's struggle.

A handsome young man has been waiting by the telescope for his dream.

Just to find the extremely rare Cepheid variables.

Genius is not scary.

What is scary is the genius who is both hardworking and able to endure loneliness!
Shapley had a complicated expression. He clenched his fists tightly and tried his best to control his emotions.

But in the end I couldn't help it.

He asked directly:
"Dr. Hubble, is it possible that the Cepheid variable star you discovered in the M31 nebula is a pseudo-star?"

Wow!
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the conference hall.

Everyone was curious about Shapley's reaction.

Only Hai Er shook his head slightly, looking helpless.

Although Hubble and Shapley were colleagues at the observatory, their relationship was only average and they were not close friends.

Now that Hubble has confirmed the island universe theory, it naturally means that Shapley was wrong.

I'm afraid he's not resigned to this.

So-called pseudo-stars are those whose brightness also changes, but they are not true Cepheid variables.

In this era, astronomers' understanding of celestial bodies is not comprehensive enough.

Concepts such as supernovas and white dwarfs had not yet been proposed.

However, the above-mentioned celestial bodies were discovered by humans very early on.

It’s just that due to the lack of theoretical support, astronomers are unable to study the nature of these celestial bodies.

People usually just call it a rising star.

A nova is a bright and unusual star.

So Shapley was not being unreasonable when he suspected that the Cepheid variables Hubble discovered in the M31 nebula might be wrong.

It was a normal academic question.

What surprised everyone was that Shapley was so excited that he couldn't wait until the end of his speech to ask questions.

But this also reflects the shocking nature of the results.

Soon, everyone's eyes were focused on Hubble.

Just two Cepheid variables are indeed not enough to convince everyone.

The distance of over 100 million light years shocked everyone.

The universe is too big.

Hubble was not surprised when he heard this, but smiled and said:

"Mr. Shapley's question is a good one."

"At first I also suspected that what I found might not be a true Cepheid variable star."

"But very, very fortunately, I also found Cepheid variables in several nebulae, including the M33 nebula."

"According to calculations, their distances from the Earth far exceed the diameter of the Milky Way."

“As shown in the picture.” “So, I have every reason to believe that the island universe theory is correct.”

(Note: The M31 nebula is the Andromeda Galaxy, and the M33 nebula is the Triangulum Galaxy. These are the two galaxies closest to the Milky Way.)
Wow!
There was shock in the venue again!
Many astronomers can only find a few Cepheid variables in a year, but Hubble discovered so many in a row.

Apart from being lucky, no one knows what to say.

"Oh my god! How can a person's luck be so bad?"

"Envy the chicken purple!"

"This is the power of the 2.5-meter Hooker telescope."

"The caliber is justice! You are not lying to me!"

Among the crowd, Gao Lu and Yu Qingsong sat together.

Hubble's achievements made them envious.

Gao Lu sighed:
“You saw it.”

"That's what telescopes do for astronomy."

"If it weren't for the 2.5-meter telescope, the young man named Ha would never have been able to find so many Cepheid variables."

"Because if a Cepheid variable star happens to be in a phase of shrinking brightness, it may not be observed by ordinary telescopes and may be ignored."

"If a worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools."

Yu Qingsong and others nodded.

They deeply felt the gap between China and Western countries in the field of astronomy.

Fortunately, this gap can be closed.

Professor Bruce is already working on this.

Today they have 80-centimeter telescopes, and in the future they will have 2.5-meter telescopes.

As for the 20-meter one, it’s just something we can think about for now.

But there was one thing that Yu Qingsong could never figure out.

There are so many branches of natural sciences. Why is Professor Bruce so concerned about the development of domestic astronomy?

Is there anything special about it?

At this moment, Shapley seemed to have aged instantly.

All the reluctance just now turned into helplessness.

The ironclad facts were before his eyes: his galactic cosmology was wrong.

He lamented:

"I felt like my world was destroyed."

But on this occasion, he quickly cheered up and said sincerely:

"Dr. Hubble, your results have convinced me."

Wow!
Shapley's words put the final nail in the coffin of the great debate of the century.

From now on, astronomy will reach a consensus:
There are countless galaxies in the universe, and the Milky Way is just a tiny one among them.

Curtis's face was filled with joy.

Not because he beat Shapley.

Rather, he felt honored to be able to witness major astronomical events with his own eyes.

Even Shapley responded with an excited smile to celebrate the moment together.

From the ancient geocentric theory, to Copernicus' heliocentric theory, and then to the galactic center theory.

To this day, the galaxy in which humans live is not the center, but a drop in the ocean.

The mysteries of the universe are being revealed bit by bit by astronomers.

Now, its full picture has finally been revealed.

Vast, endless, and terrifying.

The M31 nebula alone is over a million light-years away from Earth.

So how big is the real universe?

1000 million light years?
1 billion light years?
A lot of imagination.

At this moment, everyone applauded at the same time.

They are not only for Hubble, but for the entire astronomy community.

This is a major event that will go down in the history of astronomy!

Eddington was very happy when he saw his friend in high spirits.

There is no doubt that the limelight just now was stolen by Hubble.

The other party fulfilled the domineering declaration at the beginning.

Eddington firmly believed that this result was comparable to Professor Bruce's subsequent theory.

On the stage.

Hubble still maintained a resolute look.

His eyes turned to the man off the court.

Without each other, there would be no him today.

He said in his heart:

"Thank you, Professor Bruce."

"Next, it's my thanks to you."

After everyone recovered from their shock and joy, host Augusto also calmed down.

He was already numb from the excitement of today's meeting.

The achievements of Eddington and Hubble, if taken individually, are enough to shock the academic world.

Not to mention, the last speaker was Professor Bruce.

That’s the real highlight.

Augusto was afraid that his mistake would leave a flaw in today's meeting.

So he was very restrained. When Shapley asked the question just now, he did not interrupt directly.

Otherwise, it would not have caused such a sensational effect.

Now that the speech was over, he was finally going to perform his duties as host.

"Let us once again thank Dr. Hubble for his speech."

"Now, you may ask your questions."

Just when everyone was about to raise their hands.

Suddenly, Hubble spoke first.

He said slightly embarrassedly:

"Um, sorry, Professor Augusto."

"My speech isn't over yet."

"I have one more research result that I haven't shared yet."

Wow!
As soon as the words fell, everyone was shocked!
what's the situation?
Hubble has more results?

And it was put after verifying the cosmic island theory.

Doesn’t that mean that this achievement is even more important than the previous one?

After all, normal people always say the most important things last.

"Oh my God! Is Hubble going against the will of heaven?"

"He proved the island universe theory. He can go down in history."

"Now, does he have more important achievements?"

"is it possible?"

At this moment, Eddington, Shapley, Curtis and others were all in disbelief.

With his current achievements, Hubble is already qualified to enter the realm of top astronomers.

At least he will be able to get the title of professor soon.

And now, he actually has a big trick up his sleeve.

This is too exaggerated.

Augusto was choked and didn't know what to say.

Hubble saw this, smiled, and then his demeanor changed.

He entered a state of extreme frenzy.

It was as if all the blood in my body was boiling.

"In 1912, Professor Bruce published the theory of general relativity and gave five major predictions at the end of his paper."

"These five predictions are recognized as treasures in the astronomical community."

"Verifying any one of them would be enough to shock the whole world."

"In 1914, Professor Eddington verified the first prediction: the bending of starlight."

"To some extent, this verifies the correctness of Guang Xiang."

"But the academic community thinks this is not enough. At least the Nobel Prize Committee holds a conservative attitude."

"And now, I will prove the correctness of general relativity once again!"

"Because I found the fifth prophecy: evidence of the expansion of the universe!"

boom!
The whole audience was shocked!

(End of this chapter)