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Lovell: 50 years of listening

1950s: After early successes with a 218ftÌý wire mesh Transit aerial, astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell puts forward plans for a new fully steerable radio telescope. He chooses Jodrell Bank - then the University's botanical station - as a quiet observing site away from the radio interference of the city.

1950s: the Mk1 takes shape

Lovell proposes a 250ft (76m) bowl that could be pointed to any part of the sky to detect radio waves emanating from space. Building of the Mk1, 250ft radio telescope begins.

1957: the Mk1 becomes operational in October 1957. In the same month, the Soviet Union launched the first satellite into earth orbit, Sputnik 1, and the Mk1 is able to track the third stage of the carrier rocket by radar.

1958: In response to the 'Sputnik challenge,' the USA announces plans for a lunar probe to be sent to the Moon. The Able project is launched and, amid a media frenzy, the US Air Force enlists the support of Jodrell Bank.

Sputnik the first satellite in space

Late 1950s: a series of experiments are instrumental in the discovery of QUASARS - a then unknown astronomical phenomenon andÌý the most distant and energetic objects in the Universe.

1959: The telescope receives the very first pictures transmitted from the far side of the Moon in 1959. Jodrell Bank continues to play a pivotal role in the early exploration of space, tracking both US and Russian space probes. The exploits of the telescope leads to a donation from Lord Nuffield to pay off its remaining debt.

1960s: The telescope is given an interim ballistic missile early warning role based on its success in radar tracking Sputnik (and later Sputnik 3 itself) and demonstrating its ability to detect missiles at great range. This effort also provides some much needed funding for the telescope.

1992: Einstein's gravitational lens

1970: The Mk1 receives a major upgrade, becoming the Mk1A and is fitted with a new parabolic surface.

1976: the telescope has a brush with disaster, narrowly escaping serious damage during the heavy storms of January 1976. Diagonal bracing girders are added soon afterwards - the last major engineering work on the telescope.

1979: Observations with the telescope lead to the discovery of a new class of object - known as 'gravitational lenses' - first predicted by Albert Einstein almost a century ago.

1987: To mark its 30th anniversary, the Mk1A telescope is renamed the Lovell telescope after its creator.

Today: still listening to Space

1992: The Telescope is linked into the upgraded MERLIN array, which becomes a national facility open to all astronomers.

1993: At NASA's request, the Lovell Telescope searches for America's lost Mars Observer spacecraft, the only instrument able to do so.

2001/ 2002: the Telescope is given a new surface and drive system to greatly extend its capabilities.

2006: is named the winner in a Â鶹Éç News online competition to find the UK’s greatest Unsung Landmarks.

The €1.5bn Square Kilometre Array

2007: Hosts Space50, a series of events marking 50 years of the Lovell Telescope and the Space Race. For the main public event, the telescope is given a night off from listening to Space and transformed into the biggest cinema screen on the planet.

Oct 2007: Jodrell Bank is chosen as the HQ for what is planned to be the 'world's largest telescope'. The €1.5bn Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be made up of thousands of antennas spread over thousands of kilometres. It will enable astronomers to explore dark energy, to see the first stars and galaxies, to test Einstein's theories and to study the origin of stars, planets and life.

2008: An £80m shortfall in science research funding threatened Jodrell Bank's future role in its flagship e-MERLIN project, due to launch in 2009. However, an outcry by astronomers forced a change of heart by the Science and Technology Facilities Council which agreed to provide half the money it needs. The University must now find the rest. (July 2008)

MERLIN is hoping to answer some of the big questions - such as what is the universe made of and how do galaxies, stars and planets evolve.