Hubble's constant

Astron.

the ratio of the recessional velocity of galaxies to their distance from the sun, with current measurements of its value ranging from 50 to 100 km/sec per megaparsec.

[1950-55; after E. P. HUBBLE]

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Constant used to relate the velocities of remote galaxies to their distances from Earth.

Denoted H and named in honour of Edwin Hubble, it expresses the rate of expansion of the universe. Its actual value has been debated for decades; improved measurements have narrowed the range in which it falls to about 10.5–14 mi/second (17–23 km/second) per million light-years. The reciprocal of H gives the time, in seconds, since the galaxies began to separate from each other

i.e., the approximate age of the universe. Hubble used the redshifts of distant galaxies measured by Vesto Slipher (1875–1969) and his own distance estimates of those galaxies to establish the cosmological velocity-distance law (Hubble law): velocity = H × distance, according to which the greater a galaxy's distance, the faster it is receding. Derived from theoretical considerations and confirmed by observations, the Hubble law has made secure the concept of an expanding universe.

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▪ astronomy

      in cosmology, constant of proportionality in the relation between the velocities of remote galaxies and their distances. It expresses the rate at which the universe is expanding. It is denoted by the symbol H₀, where the subscript denotes that the value is measured at the present time, and named in honour of Edwin Hubble, the American astronomer who attempted in 1929 to measure its value. With redshifts of distant galaxies measured by Vesto Slipher, also of the United States, and with his own distance estimates of these galaxies, Hubble established the cosmological velocity-distance law:

velocity = H₀ × distance.

According to this law, known as the Hubble law, the greater the distance of a galaxy, the faster it recedes. Derived from theoretical considerations and confirmed by observations, the velocity-distance law has made secure the concept of an expanding universe. Hubble's original value for H₀ was 150 km (93 miles) per second per 1,000,000 light-years. Modern estimates, using measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation left over from the big bang, place the value of H₀ at between 21.5 and 23.4 km (13.3 and 14.5 miles) per second per 1,000,000 light-years. The reciprocal of Hubble's constant lies between 13 billion and 14 billion years, and this cosmic time scale serves as an approximate measure of the age of the universe.

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