Jodrell Bank?

[KevG]

Got the week off & was intending heading to Galloway for a few nights, but given the weather forecast for this week thought better of it. At a bit of a loose end now, Anybody been to Jodrell Bank, and if so, is it worth a visit?

Cheers, Kev.

[ollypenrice]

Yes, it is. I also did their one year course for numpties and found that I was a sub-numpty since it nearly killed me. (Mind you, for a course that was supposed to be for O level maths persons there were PhD physicists who said they found it hard.)

But back to the visit...

Radio astronomy is not inherently very visual but they do their best. Firstly, being in the presence of that great and historical dish of discovery is soul food. I just liked being near it. There are interesting displays and, without giving too much away, there is a sort of two way Newtonian walkie-talkie that you will absolutely never forget.

I might not drive five hundred miles to see it but a couple of hundred, yes. And my old stomping ground of the Peak District is as good as it gets in the UK and just next door.

The observatory supremo Ian Morrison is, as is well known, an incredibly generous professional when it comes to participating in amateur astronomy and maybe the visitor centre owes something to him. It wouldn't surprise me.

Olly

[Supay]

Jodrell Bank is a nice day out. Plenty more in the area as well if you are staying for a few days.

[Mouse on the Moon]

It's just up the road from me (so to speak) and it's brilliant.

The arboretum is also nice and contains a (large) scale model of the solar system.

And the dish is awesome, simply awesome.

[KevG]

Thanks for the recommendations, will give it a go (it's got to be better than escorting the wife around the Trafford Centre!)

[John]

I dragged my family there a couple of years back and, much to their surprise, we all really enjoyed the visit.

The grounds and dish are, as has been said, amazing and you can get right up close, which is great.

The attached visitor center tried hard but really deserves some major investment (IMHO) so that it can match the importance of the facility that it's associated with. No criticism intended of the staff / volunteers there who were very helpful and professional.

A good place to visit for most and almost mandatory if you are into astronomy.

[BlueAstra]

There are also two astronomy shops in S Manchester. OpticStar is well worth a visit if you are near the Trafford centre, and apparently now opens Sat. SBTC is also close. I visited Jodrell Bank a couple of years ago just to gape at the structure.

[NickH]

The site is great, the visitor centre is a joke..and sadly they know it...it does need major investment, but worth it to see the dish...when I first went in the early 80s you got to tour the whole facility, now sadly not the case..

However if you're lucky enough to be there when someone like Ian Morrison is on site, then it's a joy...

[LeoLion]

There is something afoot re the new visitor centre at Jodrell Bank as you can see here Funding announced for new Jodrell Bank 'live science' visitor centre | Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics . The cafe closes this month (September ) whilst work goes on . I am searching for the Planning Application for the Centre on the net but have not located it yet (worth getting in to if you want to know what is happening in your area ) . I am searching here Viewing Planning Applications

My worry is that a Regional Development Agency is involved as part of the funding (but I will not get in to politics and the current goverment ). It has seen better days but still went down well with the international astronomy group I visited JB with last month.

[KevG]

Well we went today…. am still non the wiser with regards Radio Astronomy, the opportunity for a tour of the operations centre would have been good, but we enjoyed it non the less, it is an awe inspiring structure, & the "Newtonian walkie talkie" was brilliant, I couldn’t get the other half off it!