Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope, c 1957

Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope, c 1957. Model (scale 1:200) of the Lowell Radio Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. United Steel Companies Companies, who constructed the radio telescope for Manchester University, also built this model, which was designed to detect and map cosmic radio noise. Known as the Mark-1 Telescope, it has a 250 foot (76m) parabolic dish that was directed using early electronic computers. The project to build the telescope was the brainchild of Professor Bernard Lowell, a pioneer of radio astronomy. The telescope sprung to prominence in 1957, shortly after being commissioned, for its role in tracking the Russian Spunik probe and later interplanetary spacecraft. It has been continually updated and, despite being 35 years old, is still at the forefront of astronomical research. ©SSPL/Science Museum