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Astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell Dies At 98

Posted by Soulskill on from the rest-in-peace dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Sir Bernard Lovell, the founder of the Jodrell Bank Observatory and namesake of the Lovell telescope has died at the age of 98. The Mark 1 telescope, as it was known in the '60s, was the only western telescope that could track the early Russian moon probes, which ensured its debts were paid off. However, the telescope is more famous for radio astronomy, including pulsar research, hydrogen line studies of the galaxy, and much more as other telescopes joined it in the Merlin network."

13 of 22 comments (clear)

  1. Ad astra by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    RIP, Sir Bernard.

    1. Re:Ad astra by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      He's clearly scolding himself for being a fucking prick. Some people do it in front of a mirror, others, as you see, talk to themselves on the Internet.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  2. Key figure in radio astronomy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you're interested in the early history and technology of radio astronomy, read his book "Out of the Zenith." Good stuff!

  3. Why must people die? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    As I get older, they get to be people that I remember and am familiar with more and more, rather than just a random name from a bygone era. What a crappy world. At least he almost made the century mark.

  4. SBL by Vanders · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm proud to say I attended the Sir Bernard Lovell School in Oldland Common, where he was born. Sadly I suspect that the majority of students attending these days won't know who Sir Bernard Lovell is or what he did, which is a shame.

    --
    Syllable : It's an Operating System
  5. just think by ThorGod · · Score: 1

    Without him and the generation of astronomers he inspired, there'd be so much more about this universe to learn.

    --
    PS: I don't reply to ACs.
    1. Re:just think by Celarent+Darii · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually thanks to him, there is still so much more to learn that we don't know. Thanks to him, our view of the heavens surpassed the visible spectrum and we have so much more to observe.

      It is said that education is the progressive discovery of our own ignorance. With every discovery we only uncover a small part of the world, but at the same time shows how much is still yet to be known.

      RIP Sir Bernard Lowell.

      P.S. If it is any comfort it is nice to know he died peacefully, instead of what could have happened :

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/5362829/Sir-Bernard-Lovell-claims-Russians-tried-to-kill-him-with-radiation.html

  6. Things to see before you die by M1FCJ · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Mark 1 telescope is probably one of those things you must see before you die. Lovell's contributions to astronomy and science are hard to measure. Especially in early 40s and 50s all of this was cutting edge science. He is counted among the pioneers like Jansky,

    1. Re:Things to see before you die by mlush · · Score: 1

      Part of the gun turret mechanisms from the battleships HMS Revenge and Royal Sovereign were reused in the motor system for the telescope. Ob wikipedia

  7. I see that there is little Slashdot interest.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...in a subject where the British led much of the early work. Interestingly, and very telling, the Wiki entry for Radio Astronomy does not mention Lovell or the Jodrell Bank telescope at all...

  8. Re:I see that there is little Slashdot interest... by Vanders · · Score: 1

    It's incredibly sad, isn't it? I'm not even going to claim US bias here: out of the entire UK user base of Slashdot, you would have hoped that more than 10 or so people would have shown some interest in Sir Bernard and his work.

    --
    Syllable : It's an Operating System
  9. Re:I see that there is little Slashdot interest... by RaceProUK · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately, the UK education system(s) don't cover Lovell. Or Berners-Lee for that matter.

    --
    No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
  10. Re:I see that there is little Slashdot interest... by awrowe · · Score: 1

    But a terribly British thing.

    --
    A.I. Research. The peculiar science in which we know the question and we know the answer, but can't show the working