1957, October — The Mark I telescope becomes operational. It tracks the carrier rocket of Sputnik 1; the only telescope in the West able to do so.[9][10]
1960sedit
1960, May — Lord Nuffield pays the remaining debt on the Mark I and the observatory is renamed the Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories.[11]
1962 — As part of a radio-linked interferometer, the Mark I identifies a new class of compact radio sources, later recognised as quasars.[12]
1968 — The Mark I confirms the existence of pulsars.[16]
1968 — The Mark I took part in the first transatlantic VLBI experiment in 1968, with other telescopes being those at Algonquin and Penticton in Canada.[17]
1969 — The Mark I is used for the first time in a VLBI observation, with the Arecibo radio telescope in 1969.[12]
1970sedit
1970–1971 — The Mark I is repaired and upgraded; it is renamed to the Mark IA.[15]
1972–1973 — The Mark I carries out a survey of radio sources; amongst these sources was the first gravitational lens, which was confirmed optically in 1979.[18]
1976, January — storms bring winds of around 90 mph which almost destroy the telescope. Bracing girders are added.[19]
1980sedit
1980 — The Mark IA is used as part of the new MERLIN array.[12]
1982 — The 42 ft telescope is built, to replace the 50 ft.[citation needed]
^Lovell, Story of Jodrell Bank, p. 250 "On This Day - 3 February 1966: Soviets land probe on Moon". BBC News. 3 February 1966. Retrieved 9 April 2007. "The Lunar Landscape". Time Magazine. 11 February 1966. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
^"Lovell Radio Telescope refurbished". BBC News. 28 April 2003. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
^ abRohrer, Finlo (5 September 2006). "Aye to the telescope". BBC News.
^"Scientists listen intently for ET". BBC News. 1 February 1998. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
^"Alien hunters back on track". BBC News. 23 March 1999. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
^"Earth turns its ears to Mars". BBC News. 2 October 2000. Retrieved 9 April 2007. "Quiet please, we're listening to Mars". BBC News. 3 February 2000. Retrieved 5 April 2007. "Mars lander search goes on". BBC News. 8 February 2000. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
^"Seeing the invisible — first dark galaxy discovered?". Jodrell Bank Observatory press release. 23 February 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
^"SpacedOut Location: The Sun at Jodrell Bank". Archived from the original on 13 December 2005. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
^"Jodrell Bank bids for world heritage status". Inside the M60. 22 March 2011. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011. {{cite news}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
^"Six cultural sites added to UNESCO's World Heritage List". UNESCO. 7 July 2019.
^"Jodrell Bank gains Unesco World Heritage status". BBC News. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
Booksedit
Lovell, Bernard (1968). Story of Jodrell Bank. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-217619-6.
Lovell, Bernard (1973). Out of the Zenith: Jodrell Bank, 1957-70. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-217624-2.
Lovell, Bernard (1985). The Jodrell Bank Telescopes. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-858178-5.
Lovell, Bernard (1990). Astronomer by Chance. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-55195-8.