Money Cuts May Close Jodrell Bank Telescope

UKRI has a yearly budget of nearly £10 billion, but it says it must put its money where it will do the most good over time. Its Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is making large savings because electricity bills and staff costs have risen sharply. Jodrell Bank received £2.8 million a year. The site opened in 1945 and helped create radio astronomy. Scientists there study how stars and planets are born, how supermassive black holes change the galaxies around them, and dark matter and dark energy, which make up most of space. During the Cold War, the site was also used to follow Soviet missiles. In 2019 it was named a World Heritage site by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

Astronomers are angry. Professor Brian Cox, who works at the University of Manchester, the observatory's host, said the decision was "hasty and ill-considered". Professor Catherine Heymans said it was "a real act of national self-harm". Professor Michael Kramer said Britain would lose its own skills in radio astronomy. The observatory plans to challenge the decision, and hopes that tracking satellites and space junk could bring in new money. The Guardian says the cuts also hit dozens of other science projects, putting about 800 jobs at risk.