Tracking back to the big bang

The Hubble value proposed by ven den Bergh, which puts the age of the universe at the upper (older) end of the range of current estimates, takes into account the influence of a nearby cluster of galaxies on the movement of the Milky Way. It is explained that as the universe expands and our Galaxy proceeds outward, we are also 'falling' toward the Virgo cluster of galaxies and this velocity parameter is crucial to a realistic Hubble constant value. Hubble's contributions to astronomy are summarized. The way in which the Hubble constant and the red shift are related to the currently accepted theory describing the origins of the universe is discussed.