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Timeline of Jodrell Bank Observatory

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This is a timeline of Jodrell Bank Observatory.

1930s

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1940s

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Observations at Jodrell Bank in 1945.

1950s

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The Mark 1 under construction.
  • 1950, August — The transit telescope is used to make the first detection of radio waves from the nearby Andromeda Galaxy.[5][6]
  • 1950 — Charles Husband presents first drawings of the proposed giant, fully steerable radio telescope.[7]
  • 1952, September — Construction of the Mark I telescope begins.[8]
  • 1957, October — The Mark I telescope becomes operational. It tracks the carrier rocket of Sputnik 1; the only telescope in the West able to do so.[9][10]

1960s

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  • 1960, May — Lord Nuffield pays the remaining debt on the Mark I and the observatory is renamed the Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories.[11]
  • 1962 — As part of a radio-linked interferometer, the Mark I identifies a new class of compact radio sources, later recognised as quasars.[12]
  • 1962 — Jodrell Bank radio telescope is mentioned in the science fiction novel A for Andromeda by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot.
  • 1964 — The Mark II telescope is completed.[13]
  • 1966 — The Mark I receives pictures from Luna 9, the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon.[14]
  • 1966 — The Mark III telescope is completed.[15]
  • 1968 — The Mark I confirms the existence of pulsars.[16]
  • 1968 — The Mark I took part in the first transatlantic VLBI experiment in 1968, with other telescopes being those at Algonquin and Penticton in Canada.[17]
  • 1969 — The Mark I is used for the first time in a VLBI observation, with the Arecibo radio telescope in 1969.[12]

1970s

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  • 1970–1971 — The Mark I is repaired and upgraded; it is renamed to the Mark IA.[15]
  • 1972–1973 — The Mark I carries out a survey of radio sources; amongst these sources was the first gravitational lens, which was confirmed optically in 1979.[18]
  • 1976, January — storms bring winds of around 90 mph which almost destroy the telescope. Bracing girders are added.[19]

1980s

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1990s

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2000s

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The Lovell telescope mid-resurfacing.
  • 2000, February — The Lovell Telescope searches for NASA's Mars Polar Lander.[24]
  • 2000 — Placebo recorded the video for The Bitter End at Jodrell Bank.[citation needed]
  • 2000–2002 — The Lovell Telescope is resurfaced, increasing its sensitivity at 5 GHz by a factor of five.[citation needed]
  • 2003, December — The Lovell Telescope searches for the Beagle 2 lander on Mars.[citation needed]
  • 2004, January — Astronomers from Jodrell Bank, Australia, Italy and the U.S. discover the first known double pulsar.[citation needed]
  • 2004 — Minor scenes for the film of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are filmed at Jodrell Bank.[citation needed]
  • 2005, February — Astronomers using the Lovell Telescope discovered a galaxy that appears to be made almost entirely of dark matter.[25]
  • 2005, March — Jodrell Bank becomes the centre of the World's largest scale model of the Solar System as part of the Spaced Out project.[26]
  • 2006, September — Jodrell Bank wins the BBC's online competition to find the UK's greatest "Unsung Landmark".[21]

2010s

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References

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  1. ^ History on U of manchester web site, accessed 24/10/2007
  2. ^ Story of Jodrell Bank, p. 3
  3. ^ "Jodrell Bank Observatory - The Early History". Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  4. ^ Story of Jodrell Bank, p. 17
  5. ^ Out of the Zenith, p. 7
  6. ^ Astronomer by Chance, p. 175
  7. ^ Lovell, Story of Jodrell Bank, p. 35
  8. ^ Lovell, Story of Jodrell Bank, p. 44
  9. ^ Lovell, Story of Jodrell Bank, p. 196
  10. ^ Lovell, Astronomer by Chance, p. 262
  11. ^ Story of Jodrell Bank, p. 244
  12. ^ a b c d e f "JBO - Milestones". Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  13. ^ a b "The MKII Radio Telescope". Jodrell Bank Observatory. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  14. ^ Lovell, Story of Jodrell Bank, p. 250
    "On This Day - 3 February 1966: Soviets land probe on Moon". BBC News. 3 February 1966. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
    "The Lunar Landscape". Time Magazine. 11 February 1966. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
  15. ^ a b Lovell, The Jodrell Bank Telescopes
  16. ^ Lovell, Out of the Zenith, pp. 130-135
  17. ^ Lovell, Out of the Zenith, pp. 67-68
  18. ^ Lovell, Astronomer by Chance, pp. 297-301
  19. ^ "The MKIA Radio Telescope". Jodrell Bank Observatory. Retrieved 21 November 2006.
  20. ^ "Lovell Radio Telescope refurbished". BBC News. 28 April 2003. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  21. ^ a b Rohrer, Finlo (5 September 2006). "Aye to the telescope". BBC News.
  22. ^ "Scientists listen intently for ET". BBC News. 1 February 1998. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
  23. ^ "Alien hunters back on track". BBC News. 23 March 1999. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
  24. ^ "Earth turns its ears to Mars". BBC News. 2 October 2000. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
    "Quiet please, we're listening to Mars". BBC News. 3 February 2000. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
    "Mars lander search goes on". BBC News. 8 February 2000. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  25. ^ "Seeing the invisible — first dark galaxy discovered?". Jodrell Bank Observatory press release. 23 February 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  26. ^ "SpacedOut Location: The Sun at Jodrell Bank". Archived from the original on 13 December 2005. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
  27. ^ "Jodrell Bank bids for world heritage status". Inside the M60. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011. {{cite news}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ "Six cultural sites added to UNESCO's World Heritage List". UNESCO. 7 July 2019.
  29. ^ "Jodrell Bank gains Unesco World Heritage status". BBC News. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.

Books

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