Hawaii telescope project7/23/2023 ![]() ![]() The answer is a resounding "yes" from opponents. ![]() Some question whether one more telescope - albeit a giant one - would make such a big difference. The new telescope, according to scientists, would enable astronomers to see "forming galaxies at the very edge of the observable universe, near the beginning of time."Īlready, Mauna Kea, which means White Mountain, is home to 13 telescopes housed in 12 facilities at or around the summit, which have been the source of a host of new discoveries and scientific studies. Protest leaders say the consortium of scientists behind the project can build their scope on a less controversial site, including on a mountain in Spain's Canary Islands, where they say it would be a win-win situation for everyone.ĭumas argues, however, that Mauna Kea "remains the ideal site" in the Northern Hemisphere because of its altitude - 13,796 feet (4,205 meters) above sea level - as well as its remoteness and clear skies which make it one of the best places on the planet for astronomical observatories. and the process to obtain a construction permit lasted 10 years." "Construction has been delayed for years because of this situation," Christophe Dumas, a French astronomer and head of operations at TMT, told AFP. Work on the project - set to be completed by 2027 - was supposed to start in 2015 but has been hampered by repeated protests. "What I realized today, and obviously I've been following this for years now, is that it's bigger than a telescope," Johnson, who lived in Hawaii as a child, reportedly said when he visited the site earlier this summer. The demonstrators, who have converged on the site peacefully, argue that the $1.4 billion project would sit on a volcano that is sacred to Native Hawaiians and would harm the environment.Ĭelebrities like Dwayne Johnson, Jason Momoa and Bruno Mars have lent their support to the protesters. For months, hundreds of protesters have delayed the start of construction on Mauna Kea volcano of the so-called Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT, which astronomers say will have a dozen times thresolution of the Hubble Space Telescope.
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