A group of our Year 8 students spent a fantastic day at the Jodrell Bank Observatory and Discovery Centre, where they learnt many interesting facts about space.
The Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre provides out-of-classroom education which inspires the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Our students saw exhibits highlighting the centre’s research, including the work of the Lovell Telescope, and the search for pulsars, black holes, and extra-terrestrial life.
Additionally, students visited a unique mechanical orrery (a moving model of the Solar System) and the iconic Lovell Telescope.
For over 50 years the giant Lovell Telescope has been quietly probing the depths of space. Even now, it remains one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world, and continues to investigate cosmic phenomena.
You can see the huge white bowl of the telescope for many miles around. When pointed towards a radio source in the sky, radio waves are reflected from the steel surface into the focus box mounted on top of the central tower. Here a small aerial picks up the waves and feeds them into a sensitive radio receiver.
Finally, the students enjoyed seeing an ethanol rocket launch, which blasted off with a big bang!