Jodrell Bank is set to lose the £2.8 million of its annual funding from the UK government.
The observatory was built in 1957. People could be forgiven for thinking that a much newer telescope is superior, that Jodrell Bank is merely "iconic," and an antique.
However, Jodrell Bank remains at the cutting edge of scientific research and it is also major contributor to the wider scienfic community.
The £2.8 million funding element that the UK government is cutting helps the observatory remain connected with e-MERLIN. e-MERLIN is a network of seven radio telescopes. To quote the eminent, award winning science writer, Brian Clegg, "real science is being lost to save the £2.8 million going to e-MERLIN."
The tragedy is that many people regard the closure as being inevitable. They believe we are science also-rans. Nothing could be further from the truth. The UK excels at science.
Every year, the UK government writes off an (unfunded) £100 billion per year to a special project that harms all kinds of enterprises up and down the country. A sort of reverse Midas you might say.
It's called Brexit.
That being said, I'd still much rather you signed the petition opposing the closure of Jodrell Bank.
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