When Jodrell Bank radio telescope - brain-child of Professor Sir Bernard Lovell - was conceived and constructed, during the 1950s, it was the first of its kind; it soon became world-renowned: a unique and immediately recognisable icon of 20th-Century excellence.
It is barely possible to overstate the contribution Jodrell Bank has made to our understanding of the Universe and of space exploration. One need think no further than its role in tracking the first-ever artificial satellites launched by the (then) USSR and the USA, and in monitoring countless space missions, including the manned Apollo missions to the moon, to realise its historical significance. But the importance of JB goes way, way beyond - quite literally. It has long been at the forefront of the quest to understand "The Meaning of Life, The Universe and Everything" - not insignificant questions: the search for galaxies, black holes, supernovae, extra-terrestrial intelligence, not to mention the very origins of space-time itself.
So the plan to axe it, for want of some £2.7M - a figure described by one Radio-4 commentator this morning as "little more than loose change" in treasury terms - is, to be blunt, mind-boggling. It's virtually inconceivable that its closure would be contemplated at all - let alone for the sake of such a relatively small amount of additional funding.
What would the late Douglas Adams have made of it? The words "DON'T PANIC" in large friendly letters may not be enough. And what will be the next piece of national heritage to go? Could Stonehenge have to give way to a distinctly terrestrial highway needed to facilitate easier access to a planned gigantic out-of-town supermarket warehouse? (Surely not!)
Yes, I confess a personal interest: Jodrell happens to be in my "back yard"; and it is technically owned by my employer (The University of Manchester); both of which facts only serve to intensify my anguish.
A couple of further thoughts: which of the two, I wonder, would future generations be likely to look back upon as more worthy of retention: Northern Rock or Jodrell Bank? and which will been deemed to have given better value to UK tax-payers in the long-run?
As recently as December, 2001, Jodrell Bank appeared to have a bright future, as evidenced by this posting on the official Merlin/VLBI National Facility website.
But now we read this article in The Times about the proposed closure.
Please speak up, and exert any influence you can, before it's too late.
Don't let Jodrell Bank close without an almighty fight!!! At the very least - if you haven't already done so - please sign the petition:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/jodrellfunding/
Mike
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