At our next meeting on Monday, 8th June, the invited speaker will be Jeremy Main who will be giving a talk about Jodrell Bank and the SKAO.
Jodrell Bank radio telescope, or more precisely the Lovell telescope, is a familiar landmark on the horizon from many locations in and around Congleton. It will have been visited by most of us at some time to learn about its use in tracking both Soviet and American lunar and space missions, detection of possible long range missile attacks during the Cold War, and to enjoy its interactive displays of its use in radio astronomy.
Today, Jodrell Bank remains at the cutting-edge of modern astrophysics. It is home to the e-MERLIN array, a network of seven radio telescopes around the UK, which provides exceptionally detailed radio pictures of space. In 2012 the site also became the global headquarters for the SKAO (Square Kilometre Array Observatory), a major intergovernmental organization building the world’s largest radio telescope arrays. It is constructing two complementary networks, “SKA-Low” in Western Australia and “SKA-Mid” in South Africa, for exploration of the universe’s evolution and fundamental physics.
Anyone, retired or semi-retired, wishing to come along to the meeting as a guest can contact the club through the Contact Page of this web site, or if preferred they can ring 07717 375505 to speak to a current member.