When I was growing up, up in Cheshire, Jodrell Bank was a place which was always not that far away but which I rarely actually visited. There were plenty of road signs to the observatory in my local area, but before I started using a powerchair getting myself there was far out of my range. Coming from an extremely scientific family though, my brothers and I understood how important the observatory was to scientific discourse; and it felt great to have such an awesome bit of kit so close, peering up into the fascinating realms of space.

I was therefore astonished to read that funding for the world famous, important observatory is now going to be cut.” The Jodrell Bank Observatory, which has housed the UK’s largest telescope for nearly 70 years, has lost its funding and could now close, the BBC understands.” How stupid and regressive can you get? While I know how important it is for a country to save money, Jodrell Bank is a vital facet of the UK’s contribution to world science: How else are we going to look into the final frontier? I’m thus just as appalled by this news as guys like Professor Brian Cox and every other British scientist; I really hope the scientific community takes firm action to keep the observatory up and running.