Happy Birthday to Edwin Powell Hubble (1889-1953), father of galaxies, revealer of the expanding universe, star college basketball player and, more importantly, cat lover. Here he is with his own beloved galactic void, an imperious black part-Persian named after another astronomical revolutionary, Nicolas Copernicus. 

Hubble absolutely understood that he was sharing his home, astrolabes, orreries and armillary spheres with a demigod.  A cat door was provided  instantly as  “ All cats should have [a cat door], it is necessary for their self-respect.”   In her diary, Grace Hubble described their partnership: “When E worked in the study at his big desk, Nicolas solemnly sprawled over as many pages as he could cover. ‘He is helping me,’ E explained, correctly. Nicolas also saw off visitors he did not like, including writer Aldous Huxley, who was threatened with sharpened claws.  When Hubble died in 1953, Nicolas sat in his window seat every day for months, awaiting his return. All in all, a star of a cat. 

For more Scientific Cats go to https://bit.ly/creativescientificcats

Image  © Courtesy of the Huntington Art Museum, San Marino, California