Tim O’Brien is an astrophysicist and Associate Director of the University of Manchester’s Jodrell Bank Observatory. He carries out research on stellar explosions using a wide range of telescopes around the world and in space. He is also the Director of Teaching & Learning in the University’s School of Physics & Astronomy and plays a leading role in Jodrell Bank heritage and public engagement with research.

Talk: Jodrell Bank and the Race to the Moon

odrell Bank Observatory helped pioneer the exploration of the invisible Universe using radio waves instead of visible light. Using radio telescopes, astronomers have discovered previously undreamt things – quasars powered by gigantic black holes; pulsars flashing like cosmic lighthouses; gravitational lenses distorting space-time; even the fading glow of the Big Bang.

In this talk, Tim will explore how the radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank work, taking you on a virtual tour behind the scenes at the Observatory. He will present live observations, demonstrate how data are analysed, and show how radio images, like the recent one of a black hole event horizon, are actually produced.