Jodrell Bank and the British Astronomical Association: The Making of a Generation of Scientists
Abstract
The discovery of radar echoes from meteor trains at Jodrell Bank in 1945 marked the beginning of a new era in meteor astronomy and laid the foundations for the subsequent development of radio astronomy. This paper examines the close relationship between Bernard Lovell's emerging research group at Jodrell Bank and the British Astronomical Association (BAA) during the formative years, 1946-1951. It explores the contributions of the individuals who connected these two communities. Particular attention is given to the lives and scientific careers of Michael Ovenden, Gerald Hawkins, John Clegg, John Davies, Victor Hughes and Mary Almond, all of whom were BAA members. Their later achievements demonstrate the remarkable talents of this generation of scientists, whose work extended across radio astronomy, planetary science, palaeomagnetism, archaeomagnetism and computer science.
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BibTeX
@misc{shears2026jodrell,
title = {{Jodrell Bank and the British Astronomical Association: The Making of a Generation of Scientists}},
author = {Jeremy Shears},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.27858},
eprint = {2609.27858},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.27858},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Jodrell Bank and the British Astronomical Association: The Making of a Generation of Scientists
AU - Jeremy Shears
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.27858
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.27858
AB - The discovery of radar echoes from meteor trains at Jodrell Bank in 1945 marked the beginning of a new era in meteor astronomy and laid the foundations for the subsequent development of radio astronomy. This paper examines the close relationship between Bernard Lovell's emerging research group at Jodrell Bank and the British Astronomical Association (BAA) during the formative years, 1946-1951. It explores the contributions of the individuals who connected these two communities. Particular attention is given to the lives and scientific careers of Michael Ovenden, Gerald Hawkins, John Clegg, John Davies, Victor Hughes and Mary Almond, all of whom were BAA members. Their later achievements demonstrate the remarkable talents of this generation of scientists, whose work extended across radio astronomy, planetary science, palaeomagnetism, archaeomagnetism and computer science.
ER -