Key Facts

• The Jodrell Bank Observatory has been in operation since 1945 and has played a significant role in pioneering radio astronomy and the study of galaxies beyond our own, earning it Unesco World Heritage status in 2019.
• The Lovell telescope, located at Jodrell Bank, is the third largest steerable radio telescope in the world and, when connected to six other telescopes across central England as part of the e-MERLIN network, can zoom into objects in deep space with similar resolution to the Hubble space telescope.
• The e-MERLIN network, which includes the Lovell telescope, is being used for research into planet and star formation, galaxy evolution, and the role of supermassive black holes, as well as the study of dark matter and dark energy that make up more than 95% of the Universe.
• The UKRI's decision to cut funding for Jodrell Bank is part of a broader effort to prioritize research that has more potential to create new industries and jobs, with the agency citing escalated planned research costs for physics and the running of its labs.
• The closure of Jodrell Bank and the e-MERLIN network could have significant implications for the UK's radio astronomy capabilities, with scientists warning that it will leave Britain falling behind in a field that was pioneered at Jodrell Bank, particularly with the construction of the new Square Kilometre Array (SKA) super radio telescope in South Africa and Australia.