6 June 2022 – The story of Jodrell Bank by Prof Ian Morison, G0DMU

Ian’s presentation

Professor Ian Morison, G0DMU will give a review of the history of Jodrell Bank, one of the world’s premier radio astronomy observatories; from its founding in 1945, the completion of the Mk I (now Lovell) radio telescope in 1957 – still the third largest fully steerable telescope in the world – and the building of the MERLIN array in the 1980s and 90s.

The MERLIN array has the same resolution as the Hubble Space Telescope and many collaborative observations have been made over the past 30 years. Its seven telescopes also link up with others across Europe to provide an instrument whose resolution far exceeds that of optical telescopes.

Some of its most exciting discoveries will be discussed in the context of how radio observations are made – many of which can complement those made by optical telescopes.

About Ian

Professor Ian Morison, G0DMU,  is an astronomer who served as the 35th Gresham Professor of Astronomy, a post dating from 1597 and once held by Christopher Wren. Though a radio astronomer by profession, now in his 57th year at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, he has been a keen amateur optical astronomer since making his first simple telescope with lenses given to him by his optician when aged 11.

He is a past president of the UK’s Society for Popular Astronomy and in 1990 helped found the Macclesfield Astronomy Society of which he is now patron.   In 2003 the International Astronomical Union named a minor planet after him citing his work at the Observatory.

He enjoyed taking part in the Practical Wireless QRP contests  and  in ‘DF’ hunts across the UK.

An interesting amateur radio event was when, as GB50EME, he organised a ‘Moon Bounce’ experiment to celebrate the Lovell Telescope’s 50th anniversary, using CW from his own station but with voice signals sent from across the world.

Category: Tonight @ 8 - archive main list by year