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Author
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Topic: Radio astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell (1913-2012)
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gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 08-07-2012 08:02 AM
   
Pioneering astronomer and physicist Sir Bernard Lovell has died aged 98. Sir Bernard Lovell developed the science of radio-astronomy in the UK and was director of Jodrell Bank, the site of the country's largest radio telescope, for 30 years.When he was developing his idea for a radio telescope in the 1950s, he faced much hostility over the cost of the project. But this criticism turned to wonder and acclaim when, in October 1957, the telescope showed that it could accurately track the first Soviet sputnik spacecraft. It soon became one of the most famous scientific instruments in the world, recording radio emissions from outer space and setting the pattern for other radio astronomy observatories. Not only the founder of University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank Observatory that first tracked Sputnik and played a key role in the Cold War, but also one of the scientists who developed radar. |
minipci
Member Posts: 365
From: London, UK
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 08-07-2012 08:03 AM
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dom
Member Posts: 855
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 08-07-2012 08:05 AM
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Michael Davis
Member Posts: 528
From: Houston, Texas
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 08-07-2012 08:49 AM
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alexbaja
Member Posts: 448
From: Naxxar, Malta
Registered: Dec 2010
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posted 08-07-2012 09:10 AM
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LM1
Member Posts: 667
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 08-07-2012 09:23 AM
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Henk Boshuijer
Member Posts: 450
From: Netherlands
Registered: May 2007
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posted 08-07-2012 09:41 AM
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icarkie
Member Posts: 618
From: BURTON ON TRENT /England
Registered: Nov 2002
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posted 08-07-2012 09:58 AM
One of my customers (I'm a postman) told me he visited Jodrell Bank a few years ago with his family, knowing I'm into astronomy. Part way round the tour his little lad was playing up in his buggy while a talk was going on with a tour of the place.He took his lad out for a bit and an old man walking passed and asked him if he's enjoying the visit. Pete told him it's a great place, enjoying the visit, etc. and asked the old man if he has anything to do with the place. The old man had a rye smile and told him, "Sort of..." It didn't click at first but Pete had seen a photo of Sir Bernard and shook his hand both smiling about it. He got his tour programme signed and thanked him. He told me if little George hadn't had played up he would still be listening to the guide... |
Paul23
Member Posts: 836
From: South East, UK
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 08-07-2012 10:02 AM
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Joe Frasketi
Member Posts: 191
From: Florida USA
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 08-07-2012 10:23 AM
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Lasv3
Member Posts: 410
From: Bratislava, Slovakia
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted 08-07-2012 11:07 AM
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randy
Member Posts: 2176
From: West Jordan, Utah USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 08-07-2012 11:25 AM
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rjb1elec
Member Posts: 212
From: Merseyside, England
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 08-07-2012 12:51 PM
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Jeff
Member Posts: 474
From: Fayetteville, NC, USA
Registered: May 2009
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posted 08-07-2012 12:58 PM
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Gilbert
Member Posts: 1328
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003
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posted 08-07-2012 01:19 PM
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Paul78zephyr
Member Posts: 675
From: Hudson, MA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 08-07-2012 01:25 PM
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Madon_space
Member Posts: 667
From: uk
Registered: Sep 2002
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posted 08-07-2012 01:40 PM
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Philip
Member Posts: 5952
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 08-07-2012 01:51 PM
Great to know this legendary astronomer saw his 76 m radio telescope saved as it was restored in 2003 and elected UK's greatest "Unsung Landmark" in 2006.Since the summer of 2011, Jodrell Bank Observatory got a new visitor center and it's certainly worth a trip to the U.K.  |
East-Frisian
Member Posts: 586
From: Germany
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted 08-07-2012 02:26 PM
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GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2476
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 08-07-2012 02:29 PM
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chet
Member Posts: 1506
From: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 08-07-2012 03:23 PM
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Headshot
Member Posts: 864
From: Vancouver, WA, USA
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 08-07-2012 03:36 PM
I still get a chuckle when I hear the story about how Sir Bernard and Jodrell Bank intercepted the signals from the Soviet Union's Luna IX lander. I believe the PR officer at Jodrell Bank borrowed a newspaper telefax machine, hooked it up, and printed out images from the spacecraft sitting on the lunar surface. Sir Bernard scooped the secretive Soviets by releasing the pictures to the world before they could! |
Lunar_module_5
unregistered
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posted 08-07-2012 03:42 PM
.I posted some footage from the Apollo 8 flight that shows Sir Bernard at Joddrell Bank. I always loved his quotation about his realisation that there were human beings above the lunar surface. |
Delta7
Member Posts: 1505
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 08-07-2012 03:52 PM
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Apollo14LMP
Member Posts: 291
From: UK
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 08-07-2012 04:01 PM
Very sad news - I enjoyed his BBC TV commentary on Apollo 8 - Christmas 1968!
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uk spacefan
Member Posts: 168
From: London
Registered: Jan 2007
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posted 08-07-2012 04:28 PM
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Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3120
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 08-07-2012 04:35 PM
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Cozmosis22
Member Posts: 968
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 08-07-2012 04:45 PM
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NavySpaceFan
Member Posts: 655
From: Norfolk, VA
Registered: May 2007
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posted 08-07-2012 04:46 PM
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ea757grrl
Member Posts: 729
From: South Carolina
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 08-07-2012 04:53 PM
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Richard Rogers
Member Posts: 49
From: Desoto, Tx
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 08-07-2012 09:37 PM
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dss65
Member Posts: 1156
From: Sandpoint, ID, USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 08-07-2012 09:57 PM
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mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 08-07-2012 10:18 PM
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Kite
Member Posts: 831
From: Northampton UK
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 08-08-2012 01:34 AM
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David Carey
Member Posts: 782
From:
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 08-08-2012 10:10 AM
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nasamad
Member Posts: 2121
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 08-08-2012 10:31 AM
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bwhite1976
Member Posts: 281
From: Belleville, IL
Registered: Jun 2011
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posted 08-08-2012 12:53 PM
.Farewell to a legend. |
747flyer
Member Posts: 99
From: New York, NY
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 08-08-2012 07:26 PM
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Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 08-09-2012 08:02 AM
Jordell Bank also took part in one of the earliest joint experiments with NASA and the Soviets in the early 1960s as they beamed signals to the Echo 2 satellite, which were picked up by a tracking station in the USSR.Thanks for your pioneering efforts Sir Lovell. By the way, did Sir Lovell and Jim Lovell ever meet? |
irish guy
Member Posts: 287
From: Kerry Ireland
Registered: Dec 2001
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posted 08-09-2012 08:57 AM
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