An important figure in the world of astronomy and physics, Sir Bernard Lovell, has succumbed to poor health and old age and has passed away at age 98.

Lovell was a key figure in the development of radar technology during the second World War and was founder of the Jodrell Bank Observatory at the University of Manchester, in which he invented the third biggest steerable telescope ever in 1957, the Lovell Telescope, standing at an enormous 76 metres. He was knighted not long after in 1961.

Astronomer Royal since 1995, Lord Martin Rees dubs Lovell 'one of the great visionary leaders of science' adding that, 'He had the boldness and self-confidence to conceive a giant radio telescope, and the persistence to see it through to completion, despite the risk of bankruptcy.'

Particle physicist and 'Wonders of the Universe' presenter, Professor Brian Cox knew Lovell after joining the University of Manchester in the '90s and described him as an 'inquisitive scientist all the way'. He recalls to BBC News: 'I remember once I went to his house and immediately he said, 'Ah Cox, tell me about this muon' [a sub-atomic particle]. He knew that I was doing particle physics and thought back to the last time he had thought about such things - he'd been thinking about astronomy for decades - and that's what he wanted to talk about.'