New Delhi: Google doodle honoures Belgian astronomer Georges Lemaitre on his 124th birth anniversary, depicting him in a “constantly expanding universe”. Lemaitre was the one to propose the Big Bang Theory, saying that universe originated from a single atom, which he called the Cosmic Egg. He was one of the first physicists to theorise the expansion of universe.
In a paper published in 1927, Lemaitre theorised the expansion of the universe, which was initially rejected by Albert Einstein. Edwin Hubble substantiated this theory and formulated the Hubble’s law.
Lemaitre served the Belgian army in the First World War, studied physics and mathematics and was also trained to become a priest. He is the alumnus of prestigious institutions like the University of Cambridge, Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In 1927, he published the paper which theorised – one that was derived from General Relativity – that the universe is expanding. This theory was substantiated by Edwin Hubble two years later, and it would soon be known as Hubble's Law.
Further study of Big Bang theory by Hubble led to the inception of’ “Relative Cosmology’— a new branch of science.
Lemaitre has been recipient of many awards and honours like Francqui Prize in 1934--the highest Belgian scientific distinction. In 1953, he was given the inaugural Eddington Medal awarded by the Royal Astronomical Society. He passed away in 1966, shortly after having learned of the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation.
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