The Pioneer of the Radio Telescope
Sir Bernard Lovell
From 1951 to 1980, Sir Bernard Lovell was the Director of the Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope and was also the Professor of Radio Astronomy at the University of Manchester.
Early Plans
In the late 1940??s Dr Lovell, as he was known at the time, had installed old Second World War military radar equipment in the Cheshire countryside, which was used by the university as its botanical research centre. By the late 1940??s, Lovell had already devised the plans for a steerable radio telescope.
During October 1952, building work began on the reflecting bowl, 250-foot in diameter, and by August 1957 construction had been completed and the telescope was operational.
Later that year, the telescope was used to track the artificial satellite, ??Sputnik?? of the Soviet Union, and this lead to Jodrell Bank becoming involved in many astronomical and space research projects.
Still regarded as one of the worlds largest steerable radio telescopes, the Mark 1A as it was originally known, was the first of eight telescopes on the Jodrell Bank site and was later named the Lovell Telescope after its inventor.
Lovell's Greatest Achievement
The telescope was to prove to be Lovell??s greatest achievement as it pioneered radio astronomy and made it a feasible method of space observation, as prior to the Lovell Telescope, astronomers had worked exclusively within the visible light spectrum.
Submitted by: Iain Patterson, 18 March 2003
