Name: Humanity's search for cosmic truth and poetic beauty
Uploaded: 2022-05-23T19:56:34Z
Duration: 7 min 18 s
Description: Linking together the histories of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Edwin Hubble and Tracy K. Smith, poet and thinker Maria Popova crafts an astonishing story of how humanity came to see the edge of the observable universe. (Followed by an animated excerpt of "My God, It's Full of Stars," by Tracy K. Smith)

Maria Popova: Humanity's search for cosmic truth and poetic beauty

Humanity's search for cosmic truth and poetic beauty

Linking together the histories of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Edwin Hubble and Tracy K. Smith, poet and thinker Maria Popova crafts an astonishing story of how humanity came to see the edge of the observable universe. (Followed by an animated excerpt of "My God, It's Full of Stars," by Tracy K. Smith)

Humanity’s understanding of the cosmos has been shaped by curiosity, persistence, and unlikely connections across generations. Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s discovery of the link between star brightness and blinking set the first yardstick for measuring cosmic distances. Edwin Hubble revealed that our galaxy is just one among billions, forever expanding what we know. The launch and repair of the Hubble Space Telescope opened our eyes to a universe with 100 billion galaxies, each holding countless stars, inspiring both awe and poetry.