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6th October 2007Jodrell Bank Telescope (Cheshire)by Mike Campbell In October 2007, a small group of us boldly went where no XKEC member had gone before, as we embarked on an intergalactic journey through space and time at the Jodrell Bank space observatory. The event was billed as Space50, being held to mark the 50th anniversary of the famous Lovell telescope that dominates the site. Jodrell Bank observatory is part of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester. It has played an important role throughout the space age and has marked many famous space events through the years. Indeed, in 1966 it was the Lovell telescope that received the pictures of Luna 9, the first ever spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. The Space50 event comprised of the screening of two feature films charting both space exploration as well as the development of the Jodrell Bank site. Each film was accompanied by a musical soundtrack and the display also featured a unique laser & light show. The films were screened on to the huge dish of the telescope, making it the worlds largest ever cinema screen. The dish itself weighs 3,200 tonnes, equivalent to ten Boeing 747 jumbo jets, and a 747 could sit comfortably inside the actual dish, such is its gargantuan size measuring some 250 ft (76 meters) in diameter. There was something of a party atmosphere, as the large crowd braved the chilly October night, well wrapped up with blankets and travelling rugs. The more enterprising had brought along small barbeques and our group too enjoyed a mini feast as we set out our deck chairs and picnic tables and tucked into our picnic baskets. Our thanks go to Nick Crosbie for arranging the visit and booking tickets on behalf of members. The Jodrell Bank site is well worth a visit at any time of the year and as well as the radio telescope, features a large planetarium, constantly changing exhibitions and a huge arboretum and parkland.
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