Optical astronomy is very difficult in the UK because of the light pollution and poor weather. Radio astronomy is unaffected by both these problems and the UK is engaged in a number of radio astronomy projects.
Jodrell Bank is the UK’s premier radio astronomy site. The picture above is the Lovell Telescope, which at over 75 metres across is the world’s third largest steerable radio telescope. You can ge a better idea of the scale from the photographs below:
The dish of the Lovell Telescope is so large that it’s easily visible from the air. Jodrell Bank is also the home of the odd-shaped 28×25m Mark II telescope:
