One of the unexpected casualties of the £80m funding crisis at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is the iconic Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire. Owned by the University of Manchester, it has inspired generations of astronomers to stare at the heavens. But its annual £2.5m budget is now under threat.
Astronomer and British institution, Patrick Moore, was moved to tears in a recent Sky at Night programme and, as if to underline the strength of emotion, locals in Macclesfield have decided not to let it go without a fight. Radio station Silk FM has organised its listeners and local schoolchildren to write a song to drum up support and funding for the telescope. There's even a Dylan-esque pop video storming the British YouTube charts. (You can register your support for Jodrell Bank via the Silk FM's campaign)
To solve its cash-flow problems, the STFC consulted expert panels, one of which concluded that one of the projects at Jodrell Bank, e-Merlin, was of a low priority. The council is now engaged in a further consultation of its scientists on whether to stop funding the telescope, which will report in July.
Jodrell's saving grace might be the plans to use it as the headquarters for the Square Kilometre Array, a collection of radio telescopes that will be spread thousands of kilometres apart and give astronomers 50 times more sensitivity at studying the sky than current instruments.
For its part, the STFC accepts that Jodrell Bank is important for the future and has suggested it would help look for local sources of funding, such as the North West Development Agency, if its expert panels decided against any future funding. Fingers crossed it doesn't come to that.
