Lovell Telescope

Lovell Telescope

The Lovell Telescope
Alternative names	250 ft telescope
Named after	Bernard Lovell
Part of	European VLBI Network Jodrell Bank Observatory mERLIN
Location(s)	Goostrey, Cheshire East, Cheshire, North West England, England
Coordinates	53°14′11″N 2°18′30″W / 53.2365°N 2.3084°W / 53.2365; -2.3084
Organization	Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics
Wavelength	5 GHz (6.0 cm)
Built	3 September 1952–1957 (3 September 1952–1957)
First light	2 August 1957
Telescope style	radio telescope
Diameter	250 ft (76 m)
Collecting area	4,560 m2 (49,100 sq ft)
Focal length	22.9 m (75 ft 2 in)
Website	www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk
Location of Lovell Telescope
Related media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The Lovell Telescope (/ˈlʌvəl/ LUV-əl) is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire, in the north-west of England. When construction was finished in 1957, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m (250 ft) in diameter;^[1] it is now the third-largest, after the Green Bank telescope in West Virginia, United States, and the Effelsberg telescope in Germany.^[2] It was originally known as the "250 ft telescope" or the Radio Telescope at Jodrell Bank, before becoming the Mark I telescope around 1961 when future telescopes (the Mark II, III, and IV) were being discussed.^[3] It was renamed to the Lovell Telescope in 1987 after Sir Bernard Lovell,^[4] and became a Grade I listed building in 1988.^[5][6][7] The telescope forms part of the MERLIN and European VLBI Network arrays of radio telescopes.

Both Bernard Lovell and Charles Husband were knighted for their roles in creating the telescope.^[8] In September 2006, the telescope won the BBC's online competition to find the UK's greatest "Unsung Landmark".^[9] 2007 marked the 50th anniversary of the telescope.

If the air is clear enough, the Mark I telescope can be seen from high-rise buildings in Manchester such as the Beetham Tower, and from as far away as the Pennines, Winter Hill in Lancashire, Snowdonia, Beeston Castle in Cheshire, and the Peak District. It can also be seen from south-facing windows of the Terminal 1 restaurant area and departure lounges of Manchester Airport.