Mullard Observatory - 2018

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BikinGlynn

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Mullard Observatory


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The Cavendish Laboratory pioneered the field of Radio astronomy under the direction of Professor Sir Martin Ryle, F.R.S. from 1945 to 1982. The first Observatory was on the outskirts of Cambridge. In 1957, through the generosity of Mullard Ltd. and with support from the Science Research Council, the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory(MRAO) was built 5 miles south-west of Cambridge, at Lord’s Bridge. The Observatory is operated by the Cavendish Laboratory, supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

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When Ryle joined the Cavendish laboratory the sunspot cycle was on its way towards solar maximum. As a result Ratcliffe suggested to Ryle that it may be a good time to investigate the source of radio noise associated with sunspot activity that had been observed by Stanley Hey during the Second World War.(1) But unfortunately at that time a typical radar antenna, operating at a wavelength of 1.5 m, had a beamwidth of the order of 10° making it impossible to find the exact source of radio waves on the Sun. So in the winter of 1945–1946 Ryle decided to build a radio interferometer which should be able to locate the sources much more accurately.

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It consisted of two antennae working at 175 MHz (λ 1.7 m) at separations of up to 240 m or 140 wavelengths. Each antenna was made of eight half-wave dipoles mounted over a wire mesh reflector. With this system Ryle and Vonberg were able to show that short duration radio bursts from the Sun were often circularly polarised and came from discrete areas on the Sun's disc, and not from the disc as a whole.

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Two years later Ryle and Smith used another Michelson interferometer at Cambridge to study the cosmic source Cyg A, which Hey, Parsons and Phillips had found in 1946 fluctuated over a period of a few seconds. Ryle and Smith's interferometer consisted of two groups of four Yagi antennae spaced 500 m apart, operating at 80 MHz (λ 3.75 m).

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Heres a full list of items that are / were at Cambs

Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Large Array2007Active
Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Small Array2004Active
Very Small Array (moved to Tenerife in 1999)1998Active
Cosmic Anisotropy Telescope made first high-resolution maps of Cosmic Microwave Background fluctuations1995Decommissioned
Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope (COAST) first aperture synthesis at optical wavelengths1993Operated on clear nights
One receiver from the e-MERLIN array1990Active
Cambridge Low Frequency Synthesis Telescope (CLFST)1980Decommissioned
Ryle Telescope (formerly 5-Kilometre Telescope)1971Decommissioned
(repurposed for AMI LA in 2006)
Half-Mile Telescope1968Decommissioned
Interplanetary Scintillation Array discovered first pulsar1967Decommissioned
One-Mile Telescope1964Decommissioned
4C Array, first telescope at the Cambridge's new observatory, used to make the 4C catalogue1958Decommissioned

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Its a well covered place but very photogenic, as an added bonus the only time Iv seen a woodcock (Q the tacky puns) was here. so heres the rest of the pics

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Thanks For Looking
 
Funny I spent some time at the Cavendish setting up equipment from where I worked though never really knew of that place. I might have seen the name on the Rutherford Labs phone list when I worked at Diamond as there are dishes like that set up on the site
Nice work
 
Awesome photos. Beautiful place and pieces of astronomical science and history.
 
LORDS BRIDGE TELESCOPES

How much of the Mullard Radio Observatory's installations along the former Cambridge to Bedford railway line are still operational? Most of what was built on the old railway line after its closure in 1968 and acquisition by Cambridge University seems to be abandoned and some dismantled: particularly the former 'Five-Kilometre Telescope'. The ' Cambridge Low-Frequency Synthesis Telescope (CLFST) with antenna stretching along part of the old line seems to be out of use now. See the table in the wikipedia entry on the Mullard Radio Observatory which shows most of the facilities have been decommissioned over the years. (I can't include the actual link as your server seems to block inclujding wikipedia links.)
The main telescope group now in use is the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager, which concentrates 8 telescopes into one location.
The main MRAO site is about 1 km to the south of the old railway line and on the old trackbed only the location of the Arcminute 8 telescopes is now shown as within the MROA site. See Cambridge University sites map under Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory.
Many thanks.
 

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