Editing Jodrell Bank Observatory (section)

== Transit Telescope ==
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The Transit Telescope was a {{convert|218|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[parabolic reflector]] [[zenith telescope]] built in 1947. At the time, it was the world's largest radio telescope. It consisted of a wire mesh suspended from a ring of {{convert|24|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[scaffolding|scaffold poles]], which focussed radio signals on a [[focus (optics)|focal point]] {{convert|126|ft|m|abbr=on}} above the ground. The telescope mainly looked directly upwards, but the direction of the beam could be changed by small amounts by tilting the mast to change the position of the focal point. The focal mast was changed from timber to steel before construction was complete.<ref name="story_jb"/>

The telescope was replaced by the steerable {{convert|250|ft|m|abbr=on}} Lovell Telescope, and the Mark II telescope was subsequently built at the same location.

The telescope could map a ± 15-degree strip around the zenith at 72 and 160&nbsp;MHz, with a resolution at 160&nbsp;MHz of 1 degree.<ref name="bluebook">{{cite book | first=Bernard | last=Lovell | author-link=Bernard Lovell | title=Blue Book | date=1950 | url=http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/lovell/bluebook/ | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114004039/http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/lovell/bluebook/ | archive-date=14 January 2010}} (the proposal document for the Lovell Telescope). pp. 4–5</ref> It discovered radio noise from the [[Andromeda Galaxy|Great Nebula]] in [[Andromeda (constellation)|Andromeda]] – the first definite detection of an extragalactic radio source – and the remnants of [[SN 1572|Tycho's Supernova]] in the radio frequency; at the time it had not been discovered by [[optical astronomy]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk/history/early.html | title=The Early History | publisher=Jodrell Bank Observatory | access-date=2006-11-22 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081027221016/http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk/history/early.html | archive-date=27 October 2008}}</ref>