Chilbolton Observatory

Chilbolton Observatory stands on the edge of Chilbolton village near Stockbridge in Hampshire. It is a research site for atmospheric science and radio waves, run by the STFC Radio Communications Research Unit from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The observatory sits partly on the former RAF Chilbolton airfield, which closed in 1946. Its location was chosen for clear views across the horizon and distance from busy roads that might interfere with sensitive instruments. The main dish was built in 1963 and the facility opened in April 1967. Early work focused on radio astronomy before shifting to radar meteorology. The site houses some of the most advanced meteorological radars in Europe. The 25-metre steerable dish, known as CAMRa, scans weather systems with an S band Doppler radar. Other equipment includes L band clear-air radar, W band zenith radar, and a UV Raman Lidar that measures atmospheric particles. Chilbolton hosts the UK’s only LOFAR radio telescope station, part of a European network. Projects such as CLOUDMAP2 improved weather prediction models, while tests with satellites like GIOVE-A and GIOVE-B helped calibrate space-based signals. The observatory has also supported airborne campaigns studying high-level clouds. Visitors see the giant white parabolic antenna rising above farmland near Salisbury Plain. The dish can be rotated to track storms and measure rainfall in fine detail. Inside the control buildings, scientists monitor data streams from multiple radars and lidars. The site remains one of the quietest places in southern England for electromagnetic research. On clear days the horizon stretches unbroken for many kilometres. The observatory’s work feeds into European weather satellites and climate studies across the continent.