100 years ago, Edwin Hubble proved our Milky Way galaxy isn't alone

Edwin Hubble's discovery of the universe beyond the Milky Way was a revelation centuries in the making.

It was at the 33rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society , a century ago on January 1, 1925 in Washington , D.C. , that Hubble 's work was officially presented for the first time.

Henrietta Swan Leavitt and Harlow Shapley were the two people whose shoulders Hubble stood on the most.

Edwin Hubble's breakthrough was made possible by the 100-inch Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory in California in 1919 .

Hubble and Milton Humason became inseparable at the telescope, while Humason made many astronomical discoveries in his own right despite not having a Ph.D. , and deserves to share in much of the credit that Hubble receives.

Hubble 'leaked' the news of his discovery to the New York Times in November of 1924 , which is why the presentation at the AAS was only the official reveal.

In the space of five years , we'd gone from thinking the Milky Way was everything, to unraveling an infinite, expanding universe.

Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity , released in 1915 , was a keystone of a transformative era in science that has shaped our current understanding of the cosmos.

Now would be a great time for another transformation in science akin to that of a century ago .