The Jodrell Bank Observatory (originally the Jodrell Bank Experimental Station, then the Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories from 1966 to 1999; ˈdʒɒdrəl) is a British
observatoryAn observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
that hosts a number of
radio telescopeA radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
s, and is part of the
Jodrell Bank Centre for AstrophysicsThe Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, is among the largest astrophysics groups in the UK. It includes the world leading facilities of the Jodrell Bank Observatory, the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, the Development Office of the Square Kilometre Array, and the...
at the
University of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
. The observatory was established in 1945 by
Sir Bernard LovellSir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell OBE, FRS is an English physicist and radio astronomer. He was the first Director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, from 1945 to 1980.-Early Life:...
, who wanted to investigate
cosmic rayCosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
s after his work on
radarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
during the Second World War. It has since played an important role in the research of
meteorMETEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
s,
quasarA quasi-stellar radio source is a very energetic and distant active galactic nucleus. Quasars are extremely luminous and were first identified as being high redshift sources of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves and visible light, that were point-like, similar to stars, rather than...
s,
pulsarA pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing towards the Earth. This is called the lighthouse effect and gives rise to the pulsed nature that gives pulsars their name...
s,
masersAn astrophysical maser is a naturally occurring source of stimulated spectral line emission, typically in the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum...
and
gravitational lensA gravitational lens refers to a distribution of matter between a distant source and an observer, that is capable of bending the light from the source, as it travels towards the observer...
es, and was heavily involved with the tracking of
space probeA robotic spacecraft is a spacecraft with no humans on board, that is usually under telerobotic control. A robotic spacecraft designed to make scientific research measurements is often called a space probe. Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than crewed operation, due to...
s at the start of the
Space AgeThe Space Age is a time period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events. The Space Age is generally considered to have begun with Sputnik...
. The current director of the observatory is Professor Lucio Piccirillo.
The main telescope at the observatory is the
Lovell TelescopeThe Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When it was constructed in 1955, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m in diameter;it is now the third largest, after the...
, which is the third largest steerable radio telescope in the world. There are three other active telescopes located at the observatory; the
Mark IIThe Mark II is a radio telescope located at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire, in the north-west of England. It was built on the site of the 218 ft Transit Telescope. Construction was completed in 1964...
, as well as 42 ft (12.8 m) and 7 m diameter radio telescopes. Jodrell Bank Observatory is also the base of the
Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer NetworkThe Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of STFC as a National Facility.The array consists of up to seven radio...
(MERLIN), a National Facility run by the
University of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
on behalf of the
Science and Technology Facilities CouncilThe Science and Technology Facilities Council is a UK government body that carries out civil research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astronomy .-History:It was formed in April 2007 as a merger of the Particle...
.
The site of the observatory, which includes the Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre and an arboretum, is located in the civil parish of
Lower WithingtonLower Withington is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. At the 2001 census, it had a total population of 492...
(the rest being in Goostrey civil parish), near
GoostreyGoostrey is an old farming village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located off Junction 18 of the M6 motorway, near Jodrell Bank Observatory. According to the 2001 Census, the civil parish had a total population of...
and
Holmes ChapelHolmes Chapel is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Until 1974 the parish was known as Church Hulme.At the 2001 Census the population of the village was recorded as 5,669...
,
CheshireCheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...
,
North West EnglandNorth West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. It is reached from the
A535The A535 road is a non-primary route in England that runs from Holmes Chapel, Cheshire to Alderley Edge, Cheshire.It passes through the Dane River valley...
.
Early years
Jodrell Bank was first used for academic purposes in 1939 when the University of Manchester's Department of Botany purchased three fields at the site from the
LeighHigh Legh is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies six miles north west of Knutsford, seven miles east of Warrington and seventeen miles south west of Manchester City Centre....
s. The name of the site came from a nearby ground rise called Jodrell Bank, which was named after
William JauderellWilliam Jauderell was an archer in the English armies in Wales of Edward, the Black Prince in the 14th century.A descendant of Peter Jauderel, a soldier who had helped King Edward conquer Wales in the late 13th century, William Jauderell held estates in Cheshire and Macclesfield Forest registered...
and whose descendants, the
LeighsEdward Julian Egerton Leigh is a British Conservative politician. He has sat in the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire since 1997, and for its predecessor constituency of Gainsborough and Horncastle between 1983 and 1997...
, lived at the
mansionA mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
that is now
Terra Nova School. The site was extended in 1952 by the purchase of a farm from a local farmer, George Massey. The new land included the site upon which the
Lovell TelescopeThe Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When it was constructed in 1955, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m in diameter;it is now the third largest, after the...
was sited.
The first use of the site for
astrophysicsAstrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
was in 1945, when Bernard Lovell wished to use some equipment left over from
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, including a
gun layingGun laying is the process of aiming an artillery piece, such as a gun, howitzer or mortar on land or at sea against surface or air targets. It may be laying for direct fire, where the gun is aimed similarly to a rifle, or indirect fire, where firing data is calculated and applied to the sights...
radarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
to investigate
cosmic rayCosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
s. The equipment he was using was a GL II radar system working at a wavelength of 4.2 m, provided by J. S. Hey. He originally intended to use the equipment in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, however
electrical interferenceElectromagnetic interference is disturbance that affects an electrical circuit due to either electromagnetic induction or electromagnetic radiation emitted from an external source. The disturbance may interrupt, obstruct, or otherwise degrade or limit the effective performance of the circuit...
from the trams that then ran down Oxford Road prevented him from doing so. Consequently, he moved the equipment to Jodrell Bank, 25 miles (40.2 km) south of the city on 10 December 1945. Lovell's main topic of research at the time were transient radio echoes, which he confirmed were from ionized meteor trails by October 1946. Coincidentally, the first time he turned the radar on at Jodrell Bank — the 14 December 1945 — the
GeminidsThe Geminids are a meteor shower caused by the object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid. This would make the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet...
meteor showerA meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
was at a maximum.
Over the next few years, he accumulated more ex-military radio hardware, including a portable cabin, commonly known as a "Park Royal" in the military (see
Park Royal VehiclesDating its origins back to 1889, Park Royal Vehicles along with its Leeds-based subsidiary Charles H. Roe was one of Britain's leading coachbuilders and bus manufacturers based at Park Royal, west London, UK.-Associated Commercial Vehicles:...
). The first permanent building on the site was located near to this cabin, and was named after it.
Searchlight telescope
A
searchlightA searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
was loaned to Jodrell Bank in 1946 by the
ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
; a broadside array was constructed on the mount of this searchlight by J. Clegg, consisting of a number of
Yagi antennaA Yagi-Uda array, commonly known simply as a Yagi antenna, is a directional antenna consisting of a driven element and additional parasitic elements...
s. This was first used for astronomical observations in October 1946.
On 9 and 10 October 1946, the telescope was used to observe the ionisation in the atmosphere caused by meteors in the Giacobinids meteor shower. When the antenna was turned by 90 degrees at the maximum of the shower, the number of detections dropped to the background level, proving that the transient signals detected by radar were indeed from meteors. Shortly after this, the telescope was used to determine the radiant points for meteors. This was possible as the echo rate is at a minimum at the radiant point, and a maximum at 90 degrees to it. The telescope, as well as other receivers on the site, was also used to study
auroral streamerAn aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
s that were visible at the site in early August 1947.
Transit Telescope
The Transit Telescope was a 218 ft (66.4 m)
parabolicIn mathematics, the parabola is a conic section, the intersection of a right circular conical surface and a plane parallel to a generating straight line of that surface...
reflecting
aerialAn antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
built at Jodrell Bank in 1947. At the time, it was the largest
radio telescopeA radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
in the world. It consisted of a wire mesh suspended from a ring of 24 ft (7.3 m)
scaffold polesScaffolding is a temporary structure used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures. It is usually a modular system of metal pipes or tubes, although it can be from other materials...
, which focussed radio signals to a
focal pointIn geometrical optics, a focus, also called an image point, is the point where light rays originating from a point on the object converge. Although the focus is conceptually a point, physically the focus has a spatial extent, called the blur circle. This non-ideal focusing may be caused by...
126 ft (38.4 m) above the ground. The telescope mainly looked directly upwards, but the direction of the beam could be changed by small amounts by tilting the mast to change the position of the focal point. The focal mast was originally going to be wood, but this was changed to a steel mast before construction was complete. The telescope was replaced by the fully steerable, 250 ft (76.2 m)
Lovell TelescopeThe Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When it was constructed in 1955, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m in diameter;it is now the third largest, after the...
, and the
Mark IIThe Mark II is a radio telescope located at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire, in the north-west of England. It was built on the site of the 218 ft Transit Telescope. Construction was completed in 1964...
telescope was subsequently built on the same location.
The telescope was able to map a ± 15 degree strip around the zenith at 72 and 160 MHz, with a resolution at 160 MHz of 1 degree. It was used to discover radio noise from the
Great NebulaThe Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Andromeda. It is also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, and is often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts. Andromeda is the nearest spiral galaxy to the...
in
AndromedaAndromeda is a constellation in the northern sky. It is named after Andromeda, the princess in the Greek legend of Perseus who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea monster Cetus...
—the first definite detection of an extragalactic radio source—and the remains of Tycho's Supernova in the radio frequency; at the time it had not been discovered by optical astronomy.
Lovell Telescope
The "Mark I" telescope, now known as the
Lovell TelescopeThe Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When it was constructed in 1955, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m in diameter;it is now the third largest, after the...
, was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world, 76.2 metres (250 ft) in diameter, when it was completed in 1957; it is now the third largest, after the
Green BankThe Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope is the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope and the world's largest land-based movable structure. It is part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site at Green Bank, West Virginia, USA. The telescope honors the name of the late Senator...
and
EffelsbergThe Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope is a radio telescope in the Ahrgebirge in Bad Münstereifel, district of Euskirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :...
telescopes. Part of the gun turret mechanisms from the battleships
HMS RevengeHMS Revenge was the lead ship of the Revenge class of battleships of the Royal Navy, the ninth to bear the name. She was launched during World War I in 1915. Though the class is often referred to as the Royal Sovereign class, official documents of 1914–1918 refer to the class as the Revenge class...
and
Royal SovereignHMS Royal Sovereign was a Revenge-class battleship of the Royal Navy displacing and armed with eight guns in four twin turrets...
were reused in the motor system for the telescope. The telescope became operational in mid-1957, just in time for the launch of
Sputnik 1Sputnik 1 ) was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the Space...
, the world's first artificial satellite. The telescope was the only one in the world able to track Sputnik's
booster rocketA booster rocket is either the first stage of a multi-stage launch vehicle, or else a strap-on rocket used to augment the core launch vehicle's takeoff thrust and payload capability. Boosters are generally necessary to launch spacecraft into Earth orbit or beyond...
by radar; it first located it just before midnight on 12 October 1957.
In the following years, the telescope was used to track a variety of space probes. Between 11 March and 12 June 1960, it tracked the
Pioneer 5Pioneer 5 was a spin-stabilized space probe in the NASA Pioneer program used to investigate interplanetary space between the orbits of Earth and Venus. It was launched on March 11, 1960 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17a at 13:00:00 UTC with an on-orbit dry mass of 43 kg...
probe. The telescope was also used to send commands to the probe, including the one to separate the probe from its carrier rocket and the ones to turn on the more powerful transmitter when the probe was eight million miles away. It also received data from the probe, being the only telescope in the world capable of doing so at the time. In February 1966, Jodrell Bank tracked the
USSRThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
unmanned moon lander
Luna 9Luna 9 was an unmanned space mission of the Soviet Union's Luna program. On February 3, 1966 the Luna 9 spacecraft was the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on any planetary body other than Earth and to transmit photographic data to Earth.The automatic lunar station that achieved the...
and listened in on its
facsimileFax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
transmission of photographs from the moon's surface. The photos were sent to the British press and published before the Soviets themselves had made the photos public.
In 1969, the Soviet Union's
Luna 15
was also tracked. A recording of the moment when Jodrell Bank's scientists observed the mission was released on 3 July 2009.
With the personal support of Sir Bernard Lovell, the telescope also tracked Russian satellites. Satellite and space probe observations were shared with the US Department of Defense satellite tracking research and development activity at Project Space Track.
Despite the publicity surrounding the telescope's tracking of space probes, this only took up a fraction of its observing time, with the remainder used for scientific observations. These include using
radarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
to measure the distance to the
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
and to
VenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
; observations of
astrophysical maserAn astrophysical maser is a naturally occurring source of stimulated spectral line emission, typically in the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum...
s around
star-forming regionsStar formation is the process by which dense parts of molecular clouds collapse into a ball of plasma to form a star. As a branch of astronomy star formation includes the study of the interstellar medium and giant molecular clouds as precursors to the star formation process and the study of young...
and giant stars; observations of
pulsarA pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing towards the Earth. This is called the lighthouse effect and gives rise to the pulsed nature that gives pulsars their name...
s (including the discovery of millisecond pulsars and the first pulsar in a globular cluster); observations of
quasarA quasi-stellar radio source is a very energetic and distant active galactic nucleus. Quasars are extremely luminous and were first identified as being high redshift sources of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves and visible light, that were point-like, similar to stars, rather than...
s and
gravitational lensA gravitational lens refers to a distribution of matter between a distant source and an observer, that is capable of bending the light from the source, as it travels towards the observer...
es (including the detection of the first gravitational lens and the first
einstein ringIn observational astronomy an Einstein ring is the deformation of the light from a source into a ring through gravitational lensing of the source's light by an object with an extremely large mass . This occurs when the source, lens and observer are all aligned...
). The telescope has also been used for
SETIThe search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Some of the most well known projects are run by the SETI Institute. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for intelligent life...
observations.
Mark II and III telescopes
The Mark II is an elliptical radio telescope, with a major axis 38.1 metres (125 ft) and a minor axis of 25.4 metres (83.3 ft). It was constructed in 1964. Aside from operating as a standalone telescope, it has also been used as an interferometer with the
Lovell TelescopeThe Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When it was constructed in 1955, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m in diameter;it is now the third largest, after the...
, and is now primarily used as part of
MERLINThe Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of STFC as a National Facility.The array consists of up to seven radio...
(see below).
The
Mark IIIThe Mark III was a portable and fully steerable radio telescope located at Wardle, near Nantwich, Cheshire in the north-west of England . Constructed in 1966, it was remotely controlled from Jodrell Bank Observatory, and was mainly used as part of the MERLIN radio telescope network...
telescope was the same size as the Mark II, but was constructed to be transportable. However, it was never moved, and remained at its original site in
WardleWardle is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies 4 miles to the north west of Nantwich. Nearby villages include Barbridge, Calveley and Haughton. The Shropshire Union Canal and the A51 run side by side...
, near
NantwichNantwich is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The town gives its name to the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich...
, where it was used as part of
MERLINThe Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of STFC as a National Facility.The array consists of up to seven radio...
. It was built in 1966, and was decommissioned in 1996.
Mark IV, V and VA telescopes
The Mark IV, V and VA telescopes were three proposals that were put forward in the 1960s through to the 1980s to build an even larger radio telescope than the Lovell. The Mark IV would have been a 1000 feet (304.8 m) diameter standalone telescope, built as a national project. The Mark V would have been a 400 feet (121.9 m) moveable telescope. The original concept of this telescope had it located on a 3/4 mile long railway line adjoining Jodrell Bank, however concerns about the future levels of interference meant that a site in
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
would have been used (the preferred site was near
MeifodMeifod is a small village 7 miles north-west of Welshpool in Powys, mid Wales, on the A495 road and located in the valley of the River Vyrnwy. The River Banwy has a confluence with the Vyrnwy approximately two miles to the west of the village....
). Several design proposals were put forward, one by Husband and Co., the other by Freeman Fox, who had designed the
Parkes ObservatoryThe Parkes Observatory is a radio telescope observatory, 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It was one of several radio antennas used to receive live, televised images of the Apollo 11 moon landing on 20 July 1969....
telescope. The Mark VA followed on from the Mark V, but with a smaller dish of 375 feet (114.3 m) and a design using
prestressed concretePrestressed concrete is a method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness in tension. It can be used to produce beams, floors or bridges with a longer span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete...
, similar to the
Mark IIThe Mark II is a radio telescope located at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire, in the north-west of England. It was built on the site of the 218 ft Transit Telescope. Construction was completed in 1964...
(the previous two designs more closely resembled the Lovell telescope).
None of the three telescopes was constructed, although several design studies were carried out and some scale models were made. This was due partly due to the changing political climate over the time (the period was from a
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government under
Harold WilsonJames Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
to a
Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
one under
Margaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
) , and partly to the financial constraints of astronomical research in the UK at the time. Also, at a vital time, it became necessary to upgrade the
Lovell TelescopeThe Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When it was constructed in 1955, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m in diameter;it is now the third largest, after the...
to the Mark IA, which subsequently overran in terms of cost.
Other single dishes
A 50 ft (15 m) alt-azimuth dish was constructed at the observatory in 1964. In addition to astronomical research, it was used to track the
Zond 1Zond 1 was a member of the Soviet Zond program. It was the second Soviet research spacecraft to successfully reach Venus, although communications had failed by that time...
,
Zond 2Zond 2, a member of the Soviet Zond program, was the fifth Soviet spacecraft to attempt a flyby of Mars. Zond-2 carried a phototelevision camera of the same type later used to photograph the Moon on Zond 3. The camera system also included two ultraviolet spectrometers...
,
Ranger 6Ranger 6 was designed to achieve a lunar impact trajectory and to transmit high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface during the final minutes of flight up to impact. The spacecraft carried six television vidicon cameras, 2 wide angle and 4 narrow angle to accomplish these objectives...
and
Ranger 7Ranger 7 was the first US space probe to successfully transmit close images of the lunar surface back to Earth. It was also the first completely successful flight of the Ranger program. Launched on 28 July 1964, Ranger 7 was designed to achieve a lunar impact trajectory and to transmit...
space probes, and also
Apollo 11In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
. The 50 ft telescope was demolished in 1982, when it was replaced with a more accurate telescope named the "42 ft" following an accident that irreparably damaged the 50 ft telescope's surface. The 42 ft (12.8 m) dish is mainly used for observations of pulsars, and is normally continually monitoring the
Crab PulsarThe Crab Pulsar is a relatively young neutron star. The star is the central star in the Crab Nebula, a remnant of the supernova SN 1054, which was widely observed on Earth in the year 1054...
.
At the same time as the 42 ft was installed, a smaller dish called the "7 m" (actually 6.4 m, or 21 ft, in diameter) was installed and is now used for undergraduate teaching. Both the 42 ft and 7 m telescopes were originally used at the Woomera Rocket Testing Range in Australia. The 7 m was originally constructed in 1970 by
Marconi CompanyThe Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
.
A Polar Axis telescope was built at Jodrell Bank in 1962. This had a circular 50 ft (15.2 m) dish on a
polar mountA polar mount is a movable mount for satellite dishes that allows the dish to be pointed at many geostationary satellites by slewing around one axis...
, and was mostly used for moon radar experiments. It has since been decommissioned. There has also been an optical telescope at the observatory; an 18 inches (457.2 mm) reflecting optical telescope was donated to the observatory in 1951. However, this telescope was not used much, and was in turn donated to the Salford Astronomical Society around 1971.
MERLIN
The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an array of
radio telescopeA radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
s spread across England and the
Welsh bordersWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The array is run from Jodrell Bank on behalf of the
Science and Technology Facilities CouncilThe Science and Technology Facilities Council is a UK government body that carries out civil research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astronomy .-History:It was formed in April 2007 as a merger of the Particle...
as a National Facility. The array consists of up to seven
radio telescopeA radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
s and includes the
Lovell TelescopeThe Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When it was constructed in 1955, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m in diameter;it is now the third largest, after the...
,
Mark IIThe Mark II is a radio telescope located at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire, in the north-west of England. It was built on the site of the 218 ft Transit Telescope. Construction was completed in 1964...
,
CambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
,
DeffordDefford is a small village in the county of Worcestershire, England, located between the towns of Pershore and Upton-upon-Severn.Defford also has a primary school, Defford cum Besford First School,and three pubs....
,
Knockin-History:Knockin is a village and civil parish located on the B4396 in Shropshire, England. It comprises mainly historic detached buildings in a rural setting. Much of Knockin was owned by the Earl of Bradford until it was sold off in lots to meet other financial demands. The Earl still owns the...
,
Darnhallright|thumb|200px|Map of civil parish of Darnhall within the former Borough of Vale RoyalDarnhall is a civil parish and small village to the south west of Winsford in the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England...
, and
PickmerePickmere is a village and civil parish near Northwich in the Borough of Cheshire East. It has a population of 541. Landmarks in and around the village include a lake, Pick Mere, at ....
(previously known as
TableyTabley is a name that is a component of several place names around where the M6 motorway and A556 cross in Cheshire, England. Its name comes from Anglo-Saxon Tabban-lēah = "Tabba's clearing or meadow".See:...
). The longest baseline is therefore 217 kilometres (134.8 mi) and MERLIN can operate at
frequenciesFrequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
between 151 MHz and 24
GHzThe hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
. At a
wavelengthIn physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
of 6 cm (5 GHz frequency), MERLIN has a resolution of 50 milliarcseconds which is comparable to that of the
HSTThe Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
at optical wavelengths.
Very Long Baseline Interferometry
Jodrell Bank has been involved with
Very Long Baseline InterferometryVery Long Baseline Interferometry is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. It allows observations of an object that are made simultaneously by many telescopes to be combined, emulating a telescope with a size equal to the maximum separation between the telescopes.Data...
(VLBI) since the late 1960s; the Lovell telescope took part in the first transatlantic interferometer experiment in 1968, with other telescopes being those at
AlgonquinThe Algonquin Radio Observatory is a radio telescope research facility located in the Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. The site's primary instrument is a major 46 m parabolic-dish radio antenna. This instrument is historically famous for taking part in the first successful very...
and
PentictonThe Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory is a research facility founded in 1960 and located south-west of Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, Canada. The site houses three instruments – an interferometric radio telescope, a 26-m single-dish antenna, and a solar flux monitor – and...
in Canada. The Lovell Telescope and the Mark II telescopes are regularly used for VLBI with telescopes across Europe (the
European VLBI NetworkThe European VLBI Network was formed in 1980 by a consortium of five of the major radio astronomy institutes in Europe . Since 1980, the EVN and the Consortium has grown to include 9 institutes with 12 radio telescopes in 8 western European countries as well as associated institutes with...
), giving a resolution of around 0.001 arcseconds.
Research
The Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, of which the Observatory is a part, is one of the largest astrophysics research groups in the UK. About half of the research of the group is in the area of radio astronomy—including research into
pulsarA pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing towards the Earth. This is called the lighthouse effect and gives rise to the pulsed nature that gives pulsars their name...
s, the
Cosmic Microwave Background RadiationIn cosmology, cosmic microwave background radiation is thermal radiation filling the observable universe almost uniformly....
,
gravitational lensA gravitational lens refers to a distribution of matter between a distant source and an observer, that is capable of bending the light from the source, as it travels towards the observer...
es, active galaxies and
astrophysical maserAn astrophysical maser is a naturally occurring source of stimulated spectral line emission, typically in the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum...
s. The group also carries out research at different wavelengths, looking into
star formationStar formation is the process by which dense parts of molecular clouds collapse into a ball of plasma to form a star. As a branch of astronomy star formation includes the study of the interstellar medium and giant molecular clouds as precursors to the star formation process and the study of young...
and evolution, planetary nebulae and
astrochemistryAstrochemistry is the study of the abundance and reactions of chemical elements and molecules in the universe, and their interaction with radiation. The discipline is an overlap of astronomy and chemistry. The word "astrochemistry" may be applied to both the Solar System and the interstellar medium...
.
The first director of Jodrell Bank was
Bernard LovellSir Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell OBE, FRS is an English physicist and radio astronomer. He was the first Director of Jodrell Bank Observatory, from 1945 to 1980.-Early Life:...
, who established the observatory in 1945. He was succeeded in 1980 by
Sir Francis Graham-SmithSir Francis Graham-Smith is a British astronomer. He was the thirteenth Astronomer Royal from 1982 to 1990.He was educated at Rossall School, Lancashire, England...
, followed by
Professor Rod DaviesProf. Rod Davies CBE is a Professor of Radio Astronomy at Jodrell Bank Observatory. Although retired he still works there regularly. He is the former director of the observatory. His main research interests include the Cosmic Microwave Background and the galactic foreground...
around 1990 and
Professor Andrew LyneAndrew G. Lyne FRS is a British physicist. Lyne is Langworthy Professor of Physics in the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, as well as an ex-director of the Jodrell Bank Observatory. Despite retiring in 2007 he remains an active researcher within the Jodrell Bank Pulsar...
in 1999.
Professor Phil DiamondPhil Diamond is a Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester, and since 1 October 2006 he has been director of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics.His research focuses on Astrophysical masers.- External links :*...
took over the role on 1 October 2006, at the time when the
Jodrell Bank Centre for AstrophysicsThe Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, is among the largest astrophysics groups in the UK. It includes the world leading facilities of the Jodrell Bank Observatory, the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, the Development Office of the Square Kilometre Array, and the...
was formed. Prof Ralph Spencer was Acting Director during 2009 and 2010. Since October 2010, there are two Directors. Prof. Albert Zijlstra is Director of the
Jodrell Bank Centre for AstrophysicsThe Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, is among the largest astrophysics groups in the UK. It includes the world leading facilities of the Jodrell Bank Observatory, the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, the Development Office of the Square Kilometre Array, and the...
, whilst Professor Lucio Piccirillo is Director of the Observatory.
There is an active development programme researching and constructing telescope receivers and instrumentation. The observatory has been involved in the construction of several Cosmic Microwave Background experiments, including the
Tenerife ExperimentThe Tenerife Experiment was a Cosmic Microwave Background experiment built by Jodrell Bank of the University of Manchester and in collaboration with the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias . It was installed and run at the Observatorio del Teide in Tenerife in 1984 and ran with various upgrades...
, which ran from the 1980s to 2000, and the amplifiers and cryostats for the
Very Small ArrayThe Very Small Array is a 14-element interferometric radio telescope operating between 26 and 36 GHz that is used to study the cosmic microwave background radiation. It is a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, University of Manchester and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias...
. It has also constructed the front-end modules of the 30 and 44 GHz receivers for the Planck spacecraft. Receivers were also designed at Jodrell Bank for the
Parkes TelescopeThe Parkes Observatory is a radio telescope observatory, 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It was one of several radio antennas used to receive live, televised images of the Apollo 11 moon landing on 20 July 1969....
in Australia.
Visitor facilities, and events
The 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) Jodrell Bank
ArboretumAn arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, created in 1972, houses the UK's national collections of crab apple Malus and
mountain ashSorbus is a genus of about 100–200 species of trees and shrubs in the subfamily Maloideae of the Rose family Rosaceae. Species of Sorbus are commonly known as whitebeam, rowan, service tree, and mountain ash...
Sorbus species, and the Heather Society's
CallunaCalluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
collection. The arboretum also features a small
scale modelA scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
of the
solar systemThe Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, the scale being approximately 1:5,000,000,000. As part of the SpacedOut project, at Jodrell Bank is also the Sun in a 1:15,000,000 scale model of the solar system covering Britain.
Up to October 2010 there was at the site an educational visitors' centre, which covered the history of Jodrell Bank and had a 3D theatre hosting simulated trips to
MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. The visitor's centre also organized a series of public outreach events, including public lectures, star parties, and "ask an astronomer" sessions.
There is a path (not a whole circle) around the Lovell telescope, approximately 20 m from the telescope's outer railway. Along the path are some information boards explaining how the telescope works and the research that is done with it.
There is an astronomy
podcastA podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
from the observatory, named The
JodcastThe Jodcast is a podcasting project set up by volunteer astronomers based at Jodrell Bank Observatory. It delivers various shared audio and video media materials about up-to-date astronomical activities carried out from UK to all over the world. Currently the Jodcast releases every half month. Its...
.
The original visitors' centre, opened on 19 April 1971 by the
Duke of DevonshireDuke of Devonshire is a title in the peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and have been rivalled in political influence perhaps only...
, attracted around 120,000 visitors per year.
Due to an
asbestosAsbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
-related concern for the safety of the buildings, that visitor's centre (including the
planetariumA planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
) was mostly demolished in 2003 leaving a remnant of its far end; a large
marqueeMarquee may refer to:* A large tent, open-sided and installed outdoors for temporary functions* "Marquee", a song by Superchunk from their 1997 album Indoor Living* Marquee Cinemas, a movie theater chain in the United States...
was set up in its grounds. A new science centre was being planned at the time. Those rebuilding plans were shelved when Manchester University and
UMISTThe University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research...
merged to become the
University of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
in 2004. leaving the interim centre, which received around 70,000 visitors a year.
On 7 July 2010, it was announced that the observatory was being considered as an applicant for the 2011 United Kingdom Tentative List for
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
status. It was announced on 22 March 2011 that it was on the shortlist to be put forward by the UK government.
Approval for the new Centre was obtained. In October 2010, the visitor centre closed and has since been demolished. The new Visitor Centre has been built, and opened on Monday 11 April 2011; the work started in October 2010. The Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre includes a new entrance building, the Planet Pavilion, a new Space Pavilion for exhibitions and events, and a glass-walled cafe with a view of the Lovell Telescope and an outdoor dining area, an education space, and landscaping of the gardens including a new Galaxy Maze. The Discovery Centre is set to launch summer 2011.
In July 2011 the visitor centre and observatory hosted "Jodrell Bank Live" - a rock concert with bands including
The Flaming LipsThe Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
,
British Sea PowerBritish Sea Power are an indie rock band based in Brighton, England, although three of the band members originally come from Kendal in Cumbria. Critics have likened their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure and Joy Division to the Pixies and Arcade Fire. The band are famed for their live...
,
Wave MachinesWave Machines is an alternative rock band formed in Liverpool in 2007. The band released singles The Greatest Escape We Ever Made and I Go I Go I Go on Chess Club Records before signing with Neapolitan Music Limited in 2008...
,
OK GOOK Go is a rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, USA, now residing in Los Angeles, California, USA. The band is composed of Damian Kulash , Tim Nordwind , Dan Konopka and Andy Ross , who joined them in 2005, replacing Andy Duncan...
and
Alice GoldAlice Gold is an English singer-songwriter based in London, formerly signed to Sunday Best and currently signed to Fiction Records....
.
Threat of closure
On 3 March 2008, it was reported that Britain's
Science and Technology Facilities CouncilThe Science and Technology Facilities Council is a UK government body that carries out civil research in science and engineering, and funds UK research in areas including particle physics, nuclear physics, space science and astronomy .-History:It was formed in April 2007 as a merger of the Particle...
(STFC), faced with an £80 million shortfall in its budget, was considering withdrawing its planned £2.7 million annual funding of Jodrell Bank's e-MERLIN project. The project, which aims to replace the
microwaveMicrowaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
links between Jodrell Bank and a number of other radio telescopes with high-bandwidth
fibre-opticAn optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
cables, greatly increasing the sensitivity of observations, is seen as critical to the survival of the establishment in its present form. Sir Bernard Lovell was quoted as saying "It will be a disaster … The fate of the Jodrell Bank telescope is bound up with the fate of e-MERLIN. I don't think the establishment can survive if the e-MERLIN funding is cut".
On Monday 14 April 2008, Cheshire's
106.9 Silk FMSilk 106.9 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the town of Macclesfield as well as parts of Cheshire East. It is an FM station broadcasting at 106.9 FM. Towns in the Silk region includes Congleton, Knutsford, Sandbach and Wilmslow...
unveiled to its listeners their own campaign song to save Jodrell Bank, entitled "The Jodrell Bank Song" and sung by a group dubbed "The Astronomers". Along with the song, the Silk FM team also produced a music video filmed in front of the iconic Lovell telescope. Silk FM released the song for download from Monday 21 April 2008. All proceeds went towards saving Jodrell Bank.
On 9 July 2008, it was reported that, following an independent review, the STFC had reversed its initial position and would after all guarantee funding of £2.5 million annually for three years.
Fictional references
Jodrell Bank has been mentioned in several popular works of fiction, including
Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
(
Remembrance of the DaleksRemembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
,
The Poison Sky"The Poison Sky" is the fifth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 3 May 2008. The episode features both former companion Martha Jones and the alien Sontarans...
,
The Eleventh Hour"The Eleventh Hour" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 3 April 2010....
and most notably
LogopolisLogopolis is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 February to 21 March 1981. It was Tom Baker's last story as the Doctor and marks the first appearance of Peter Davison in the role...
),
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
(as well as
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy filmThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a 2005 comic science fiction film based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. Shooting was completed in August 2004 and the movie was released on April 28, 2005 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and on the following day in Canada and the United...
),
The Creeping TerrorThe Creeping Terror is a 1964 horror/science fiction film, in which a slug-like monster terrorizes an American town after escaping from a crashed spaceship...
and
MeteorMETEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
. Jodrell Bank also featured heavily in the music video to
Electric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
s 1983 single
Secret MessagesSecret Messages is an album by Electric Light Orchestra, released in 1983 through Jet Records. It would be the last ELO album to feature bassist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and real stringed instruments...
.
Books
- Gunn, A. G. (2005). "Jodrell Bank and the Meteor Velocity Controversy". In The New Astronomy: Opening the Electromagnetic Window and Expanding Our View of Planet Earth, Volume 334 of the Astrophysics and Space Science Library. Part 3, pages 107–118. Springer Netherlands.
External links