50 years of the Lovell telescope

Abstract

Radio astronomy developed out of wartime radar research and the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank has been part of that development. Over 50 years many of the technical advances and scientific discoveries in this young field have come from this powerful instrument. Here I describe the evolution of this instrument and of radio astronomy, highlighting the key discoveries as well as the technical challenges needed to keep the telescope at the cutting edge of research, from locating ancient radio sources to mapping the sky at the highest resolution of any telescope, thanks to very-long-baseline interferometry and European cooperation. © 2007 Royal Astronomical Society.