UKRI Cuts £2.8 Million for Jodrell Bank's 7-Telescope e-MERLIN Network From 2028
Updated
Updated · Sky at Night Magazine · Aug 3
UKRI Cuts £2.8 Million for Jodrell Bank's 7-Telescope e-MERLIN Network From 2028
3 articles · Updated · Sky at Night Magazine · Aug 3
Summary
April 2028 is the cutoff date for all UKRI funding to e-MERLIN, the seven-dish radio telescope network anchored by Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope.
£2.8 million a year is being cut as part of wider pressure on UK astronomy budgets, removing support for research spanning dark matter, galaxy evolution and supermassive black holes.
Jodrell Bank's loss would also leave a gap in Europe's radio astronomy network, adding to UK pullbacks from projects including the Event Horizon Telescope and other major observatories.
Manchester University, which owns the observatory, said it will seek government, industry and philanthropic backing, as public outcry grows over risks to both science and the UNESCO-listed site's future.