Jodrell Bank

The Jodrell Bank Observatory (originally the Jodrell Bank Experimental Station, then the Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories from 1966-1999) is located near Holmes Chapel, Cheshire in the north west of England. The observatory is part of the University of Manchester and has played an important role in the research of quasars and pulsars. In 1979, scientists of Jodrell Bank announced the first detection of a gravitational lens; which confirmed one of Einstein's theories.

Visitor facilities

The much-visited site was planted as an arboretum by Sir Bernard. Jodrell Bank Arboretum houses the UK's national collections of Malus and Sorbus species and the Heather Society's Calluna collection, on 35 acres (140,000 m²). The arboretum also features a small scale model of the solar system, the scale being approximately 1:5,000,000,000. In 2005, as part of the SpacedOut project, Jodrell Bank became the location of the Sun in a 1:15,000,000 scale model of the solar system covering the UK.

Related Topics:
Arboretum - Malus - Sorbus - Calluna - Scale model - Solar system

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There is an educational visitors' centre at the site. In 2003 the old science centre was demolished to make way for a new one, expected to open in approximately 2007. In the interim, visitor facilities are very limited. However, visitors have access to a new path wrapping around the telescope, approximately 20 m from the telescope's outer railway.

Related Topics:
2003 - 2007

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~