Jodrell Bank faces nervous wait

The world-famous radio observatory faces an uncertain future

By BBC News Online science editor Dr David Whitehouse

The Jodrell Bank radio observatory has raised over £7m to pay for an essential upgrade to its array of radio telescopes. But despite Jodrell's success, it might yet be denied the government money it hoped to receive to run the network.

Earlier this year Pparc, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, the body that runs much of UK astronomy, refused to give government cash to the upgrade but said that if astronomers could find the money themselves, it would think about paying for the array's upkeep.

Without the upgrade, Jodrell Bank's position at the forefront of world radio astronomy will be threatened, along with many jobs.

Scientists at the observatory, south of Manchester, England, will be told in a few weeks what will happen to the funding situation.

'Jumped through hoops'

They are delighted that they have been able to raise the capital cost of upgrading the Merlin (Multi-Element-Radio-Linked-Interferometer) telescopes - a network of linked radio telescopes that stretch across the UK.

Merlin's director, Dr Phil Diamond, told BBC News Online: "We have jumped through all of the hoops put in front of us and now we are just a few weeks away from a decision."

Last week, experts from Pparc toured Jodrell Bank carrying out a risk assessment. They will make their decision on whether to find the running costs of the upgraded Merlin at a crunch meeting on 31 October.

At that meeting, Pparc will consider its new plan for UK ground-based astronomy. It wants to close some observatories and concentrate on a few internationally run large telescopes.

One insider told BBC News Online that he was amazed and impressed that Jodrell Bank had raised the money. "When Pparc said it would not pay for the Merlin upgrade, it said that if Jodrell found the money itself Pparc would consider finding the running costs," the individual said.

"But few considered that Jodrell had any chance of success. Now that it has, it's really posing a problem because to find the money for Jodrell Bank another observatory may have to close."