Editing Jodrell Bank Observatory (section)

== Early years ==
[[Image:Jodrell bank Hut 1945.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Initial observations at Jodrell Bank in 1945]]
{{see also|Timeline of Jodrell Bank Observatory}}
Jodrell Bank was first used for academic purposes in 1939 when the University of Manchester's [[Faculty of Life Sciences (University of Manchester)#Department of Botany|Department of Botany]] purchased three fields from the Leighs. It is named from a nearby rise in the ground, Jodrell Bank, which was named after [[William Jauderell]], an archer whose descendants lived at the mansion that is now [[Terra Nova School]]. The site was extended in 1952 by the purchase of a farm from George Massey on which the Lovell Telescope was built.<ref name="story_jb">Lovell, ''The Story of Jodrell Bank''</ref>

The site was first used for [[astrophysics]] in 1945, when Bernard Lovell used some equipment left over from [[World War II]], including a [[gun laying]] radar, to investigate [[cosmic ray]]s.<ref name="story_2">Lovell, ''The Story of Jodrell Bank'', p. 2</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The Story of Jodrell Bank | publisher=Jodrell Bank | url=https://www.jodrellbank.net/explore/heritage/the-story-of-jodrell-bank/ | access-date=17 February 2025}}</ref> The equipment was a GL II radar system working at a wavelength of 4.2&nbsp;m, provided by [[J. S. Hey]].<ref name="astronomer_110">Astronomer by Chance, p. 110</ref><ref name="2005Gunn">Gunn, 2005</ref> He intended to use the equipment in [[Manchester]], but [[Electromagnetic interference|electrical interference]] from the trams on [[Oxford Road, Manchester|Oxford Road]] prevented him from doing so. He moved the equipment to Jodrell Bank, {{convert|25|mi|km}} south of the city, on 10 December 1945.<ref name="2005Gunn" /><ref name="story_3">Lovell, ''The Story of Jodrell Bank'', p. 3</ref> Lovell's main research was transient radio echoes, which he confirmed were from [[ionisation|ionized]] meteor trails by October 1946.<ref name="story_9">Lovell, ''The Story of Jodrell Bank'', p. 9</ref> The first staff were Alf Dean and Frank Foden, who observed meteors with the naked eye while Lovell observed the electromagnetic signal using equipment.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bernard Lovell |url=http://www.economist.com/node/21560524 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=18 August 2012 |access-date=30 August 2012}}</ref> The first time Lovell turned the radar on – 14 December 1945 – the [[Geminids]] [[meteor shower]] was at a maximum.<ref name="story_3"/>

Over the next few years, Lovell accumulated more ex-military radio hardware, including a portable cabin. The first permanent building was near to the cabin and was named after it.<ref name="story_9"/>