Jodrell Bank Observatory - Other Single Dishes

Other Single Dishes

A 50 ft (15 m) alt-azimuth dish was constructed at the observatory in 1964. In addition to astronomical research, it was used to track the Zond 1, Zond 2, Ranger 6 and Ranger 7 space probes, and also Apollo 11. The 50 ft telescope was demolished in 1982, when it was replaced with a more accurate telescope named the "42 ft" following an accident that irreparably damaged the 50 ft telescope's surface. The 42 ft (12.8 m) dish is mainly used for observations of pulsars, and is normally continually monitoring the Crab Pulsar.

At the same time as the 42 ft was installed, a smaller dish called the "7 m" (actually 6.4 m, or 21 ft, in diameter) was installed and is now used for undergraduate teaching. Both the 42 ft and 7 m telescopes were originally used at the Woomera Rocket Testing Range in Australia. The 7 m was originally constructed in 1970 by Marconi Company.

A Polar Axis telescope was built at Jodrell Bank in 1962. This had a circular 50 ft (15.2 m) dish on a polar mount, and was mostly used for moon radar experiments. It has since been decommissioned. There has also been an optical telescope at the observatory; an 18-inch (460 mm) reflecting optical telescope was donated to the observatory in 1951. However, this telescope was not used much, and was in turn donated to the Salford Astronomical Society around 1971.