Jodrell Bank Observatory

Jodrell Bank Observatory, radio astronomy observatory operated by the University of Manchester at Cheshire, England. Once called the Jodrell Bank Experimental Station and also the Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories, the observatory was founded in 1945 and placed under the direction of Sir Bernard Lovell. In 1947-1948, a fixed radio telescope 218 ft (66 m) in diameter was installed. It was replaced in 1957 by a steerable radio telescope 250 ft (76 m) in diameter, the largest steerable parabolic dish in the world until 1971. The giant radio telescope was renamed the Lovell Telescope in 1987 and given a major upgrade in 2001 and 2002. Another steerable radio telescope, 125 ft (38 m) in diameter and controlled by computer, was placed in operation in 1964. The observatory is concerned primarily with investigating the universe by studying radio emissions received from the distant radio galaxies, quasars, the Milky Way, and nearby extragalactic nebulas. Radar studies of the Moon and planets are also undertaken at the observatory.