New paintings and regular art updates.
#bandofsketchers prompt ‘prop’ from a couple of weeks ago.
Old drawing of Jodrell Bank radio telescope, takes tons of metal to prop the dish up….previously used for a different band of sketchers prompt ‘holiday ‘ but it seemed appropriate. Cheshire, near Holmes Chapel,
What’s a job you would like to do for just one day?
WordPress does not have a photo of Jodrell Bank radio telescope near Holmes Chapel in England, so I’ve chosen a random photo of a radio telescope from their image selection.
I love visiting the place, but I wish I had an astrophysics qualification so I could sit in the control room and actually be involved in the discovery of something spectacular, like the radio signal of a pulsar, or the signal from an alien civilisation. To be the first to hear something new. Like Jocelyn Bell-Burnell who discovered the first Pulsar, a fast spinning neutron star that gives off radio signals which can be detected by the radio telescope. She didn’t get credit for the discovery and wasn’t included the nobel prize when it was awarded for the work she did.
If I could be there I’d even enjoy making tea for the astronomers, or just sit quietly in a corner, listening out for signals. I used to be a member of a citizen science group looking out for alien signals. SETI is really interesting and I also like the ZOONIVERSE group that looks at data for several citizen science projects.
The trouble is if you let me in…. You won’t get me out!
Thursdays #bandofsketchers prompt was holiday. Holiday? What’s that. We usually stay around Stoke because we don’t have many people to cat sit and holidays are too expensive. We do have days out. I tried to draw Jodrell Bank from memory, gave up and drew over it with a silver pen. Vaguely got the detail!
I was pleased to find this picture of the Jodrell Bank Observatory in my Facebook memories recently. I think it’s from about 2012.
Jodrell Bank radio telescope was built on the Cheshire plain in the 1950’s near Holmes Chapel. It was built there because it was far enough away from the radio noise given out by big cities like Manchester and Liverpool.
The radio telescope is a large dish shaped telescope, supported by a massive superstructure. Part of it was made from two gun turrets from world war two battleships that act as the pivots for it. The dish can rotate around its axis and from horizontal to vertical so it can scan most of the northern hemisphere.
It’s worth a visit for the day (covid safely). There is an arboretum, the radio telescope, a discovery centre and other interesting exhibits. Check their website for details at https://www.jodrellbank.net
Mallaband-Brown