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The Jodrell Bank Observatory (originally the Jodrell Bank Experimental Station, then the Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories from 1966 to 1999; ) is a British observatory that hosts a number of radio telescopes, and is part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Sir Bernard Lovell, a radio astronomer at the University of Manchester who wanted to investigate cosmic rays after his work on radar during 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. The managing director of the observatory is Professor Simon Garrington. 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 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 site of the observatory, which includes the Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre and an arboretum, is located in the civil parish of Lower Withington (the rest being in Goostrey civil parish), near Goostrey and Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, North West England. It is reached from the A535. An excellent view of the telescope can be seen by travelling by train, as the main line between Manchester and Crewe passes right by the site, with Goostrey station being only a short distance away. == Early years == Jodrell Bank was first used for academic purposes in 1939 when the University of Manchester's Department of Botany purchased three fields at the site from the Leighs. The name of the site came from a nearby ground rise called Jodrell Bank, which was named after William Jauderell and whose descendants, the Leighs, lived at the mansion that is now (Terra Nova School ) nearby. The site was extended in 1952 by the purchase of a farm from a local farmer, George Massey. The new land included the site upon which the Lovell Telescope was sited.〔Lovell, ''The Story of Jodrell Bank''〕 The first use of the site for astrophysics was in 1945, when Bernard Lovell wished to use some equipment left over from World War II, including a gun laying radar, to investigate cosmic rays.〔Lovell, ''The Story of Jodrell Bank'', p. 2〕 The equipment he was using was a GL II radar system working at a wavelength of 4.2 m, provided by J. S. Hey.〔Astronomer by Chance, p. 110〕〔Gunn, 2005〕 He originally intended to use the equipment in Manchester; however, electrical interference from the trams that then ran down Oxford Road prevented him from doing so. Consequently, he moved the equipment to Jodrell Bank, south of the city, on 10 December 1945.〔〔Lovell, ''The Story of Jodrell Bank'', p. 3〕 Lovell's main topic of research at the time were transient radio echoes, which he confirmed were from ionized meteor trails by October 1946.〔Lovell, ''The Story of Jodrell Bank'', p. 9〕 The first staff were Alf Dean and Frank Foden and meteors were observed by the naked eye while Lovell observed the electromagnetic signal on the equipment. Coincidentally, the first time he turned the radar on at Jodrell Bank – 14 December 1945 – the Geminids meteor shower was at a maximum.〔 Over the next few years, he accumulated more ex-military radio hardware, including a portable cabin, commonly known as a "Park Royal" in the military (see Park Royal Vehicles). The first permanent building on the site was located near to this cabin, and was named after it.〔 Today, Jodrell Bank is primarily used for investigating radio waves from the planets and stars. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jodrell Bank Observatory」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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