The Lovell Telescope control / machine room
Another picture of the famous venerable old Lovell radio telescope at Jodrell Bank, Cheshire. I was always fascinated by these structures on the dishes’ axial bearings. These bearings were made from salvaged battleship gun turret platforms from HMS Royal Sovereign and Vengeance respectively. The corrugated structures now house the motors and control equipment for rotation and steering of the telescope and possibly also some signal amplification and filtering, but in the early days the larger structure in this picture also housed the receiving instruments and work-stations for the astronomers and physicists. This has long since been moved into remote buildings connected to the telescope by a coaxial feeder and now radio, optical and IR links have also been used. The telescope does not have a transmitting function, though it can, in theory, be modified for this?
- Taken: 4 June, 2021
- Aperture: ƒ/8
- Shutter speed: 1/250s
- ISO: 100
- Focal length: 50mm
« January 2025 |