Jodrell Bank NOT set to close! – British Astronomical Association https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close/feed Sat, 05 Sep 2026 13:55:57 +0000 https://bbpress.org/?v=2.6.14 en-GB https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642159 <![CDATA[Reply To: Jodrell Bank NOT set to close!]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642159 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:02:06 +0000 Steve Knight Ridiculous. A cost saving of 2.8 millipercent of what we spend on debt interest a year. I’d contact the science minister but we don’t have one any more.

]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642160 <![CDATA[Reply To: Jodrell Bank NOT set to close!]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642160 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:28:51 +0000 Jeremy Shears Scant detail in the UKRI announcement: https://www.ukri.org/news/stfc-details-outcomes-for-future-physics-projects/

Never mind the lack of a science minister Steve, where’s the King of the North?

]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642161 <![CDATA[Reply To: Jodrell Bank NOT set to close!]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642161 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:08:03 +0000 Neil Morrison Someone should be reminded that it was Jodrell Bank that tracked Sputnik one when no one else was able to. We need at this time to be training new engineers to keep abreast of every aspect of similar technology. One expensive missile that is being used so readily in the Middle east today would cover the cost of keeping Jodrell Bank open for a long time. We had perhaps think of contacting wealthy individual who has a connection to innovation for help. Historicaly Jodrell bank was saved from banksruptcy while still incomplete by a donation from such an individual. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642162 <![CDATA[Reply To: Jodrell Bank NOT set to close!]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642162 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:16:51 +0000 Jeremy Shears The announcement also mentions that e-MERLIN – the network of radiotelescopes across England, which includes the Lovell telescope – will also stop.

More in the Grauniad.

]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642163 <![CDATA[Reply To: Jodrell Bank NOT set to close!]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642163 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:37:21 +0000 Alex Pratt That’s a cruel April First.

The BBC article says:

Scotland’s Astronomer Royal, Prof Catherine Heymans,…, described the decision by UKRI as “a real act of national self-harm”.

but it fails to mention that Prof Michelle Dougherty is the corresponding Astronomer Royal.

Will she be envisioned wielding a chainsaw in the manner of Elon Musk FRS?

Jodrell Bank needs a modern-day Lord Nuffield.

Alex.

]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642164 <![CDATA[Reply To: Jodrell Bank NOT set to close!]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642164 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 20:08:09 +0000 Bart Fried One solution might be for UK universities to join forces and form a consortium to fund and operate these closures. Spread the risk and cost. That’s how many of the largest telescopes and facilities operate these days. One good example is the Hobby-Eberly telescope. Its Project Partners are The University of Texas at Austin, Pennsylvania State University, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. Operating Jodrell Bank would be spit in a bucket compared to the cost of Hobby-Eberly.

The astronomers in China must be laughing their 臀部 off. They didn’t have a problem building the world’s largest radio dish. Think of that cost compared to simply continuing to operate a relatively small radio dish. The UK government is clearly shortsighted.

Bart Fried
President and Founder, Antique Telescope Society
American Astronomical Society – Historical Astronomy Division
British Astronomical Association
Amateur Astronomers Association, Inc.
oldscope@gmail.com
1-646-267-4620

]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642165 <![CDATA[Reply To: Jodrell Bank NOT set to close!]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642165 Mon, 27 Jul 2026 20:19:07 +0000 Robin Leadbeater and Jodrell Bank is just the exposed tip of a large iceberg

from the BBC

“The UK will no longer participate in research at the James Clark Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii, which scientists are using to image supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies.

UKRI has also cut funding for the UK’s involvement in two instruments on the Extremely Large Telescope which is being built in Chile to search for signs of life on other Earth-like worlds.”

An earlier piece also mentioned cutting Vera Rubin involvement

]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642170 <![CDATA[Reply To: Jodrell Bank NOT set to close!]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642170 Tue, 28 Jul 2026 07:31:56 +0000 Jeremy Shears I have sent the following letter to The Times:

Sir,

The announcement that Jodrell Bank Observatory faces closure because of the withdrawal of scientific funding is deeply concerning for the future of UK science.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of Bernard Lovell’s pioneering radar meteor experiments at Jodrell Bank, work that laid the foundations of a world-leading centre for radio astronomy. Today, Jodrell Bank remains at the heart of the e-MERLIN network of radio telescopes. Its loss would seriously undermine the UK’s ability to undertake world-class astronomical research and diminish our international scientific standing.

As a volunteer at Jodrell Bank, I also see its wider value. Around 186,000 people visit the Discovery Centre each year, including thousands of schoolchildren. By engaging young people with science in the unique setting of a working observatory, Jodrell Bank inspires many to consider careers in science, engineering and technology.

I urge the Government and funding agencies to reconsider this decision. Protecting Jodrell Bank is an investment not only in scientific discovery, but in the skills, innovation and scientific workforce on which Britain’s future prosperity depends.

Yours faithfully,

…….

Trustee, The British Astronomical Association

]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642172 <![CDATA[Reply To: Jodrell Bank NOT set to close!]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642172 Tue, 28 Jul 2026 08:55:29 +0000 David Swan These decisions are bizarre – and disturbing. What on earth are we doing?

]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642173 <![CDATA[Reply To: Jodrell Bank NOT set to close!]]> https://britastro.org/forums/topic/jodrell-bank-set-to-close#post-642173 Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:23:34 +0000 Jeremy Shears I have also written to my MP, the MP for the neighbouring constituency and the PM.

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