What was the approximate estimated diameter of the Milky Way before Hubble's 1924 findings?
Answer
Roughly 30,000 light-years
Prior to Edwin Hubble's conclusive distance calculation for Andromeda, the accepted scientific view placed the size of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, at approximately 30,000 light-years across. Hubble's work revealed that Andromeda was hundreds of thousands of light-years away, which meant the Milky Way was not the boundary of all existence. This calculation forced a massive expansion of the known scale of the cosmos, relegating the Milky Way to being just one component among countless Island Universes.
Related Questions
What was the central conflict in the Great Debate regarding spiral nebulae?Which specific telescope did Edwin Hubble use atop Mount Wilson?What specific class of star was crucial for Edwin Hubble's distance proof for Andromeda?What relationship did Henrietta Swan Leavitt establish concerning Cepheid variables?Why are Cepheids considered reliable 'standard candles' in astronomy?What was the approximate estimated diameter of the Milky Way before Hubble's 1924 findings?Around what time did Hubble present his initial findings confirming Andromeda's distance?Which step immediately follows determining the Period of a Cepheid variable for distance measurement?What is the specific designation given to the object known as the Andromeda Nebula?Which hypothesis, championed by astronomers like Heber Curtis, was immediately validated by Andromeda being an island universe?What conceptual hurdle did the realization of Andromeda's distance force upon established scientists before the mid-1920s?