The Jodrell Bank Observatory (originally the Jodrell Bank Experimental Station, then the Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories from 1966 to 1999) is an observatory that hosts a number of radio telescopes, and is part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. It is located near Goostrey and Holmes Chapel in Macclesfield, Cheshire in the north–west of England.
The main telescope at the observatory is the Lovell Telescope, which is the third largest steerable radio telescope in the world. There are three other active telescopes located at the observatory; the Mark II, as well as 42 ft and 7 m diameter radio telescopes. Jodrell Bank Observatory is also the base of the Multi–Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN), a National Facility run by the University of Manchester on behalf of the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
The observatory was established in 1945 by Sir Bernard Lovell, who wanted to investigate cosmic rays after his work on radar in the Second World War. It has since played an important role in the research of meteors, quasars, pulsars, masers and gravitational lenses, and was heavily involved with the tracking of space probes at the start of the Space Age.
As of March 2008, the future of the facility is uncertain due to the possible withdrawal of Government funding (see threat of closure).
