Most of the astronomical facilities on the mountain stopped their activities and evacuated their personnel. There had been many negotiations and protests over the years, and the latest and current protest started on July 15, 2019, the kia’i (translates to the protector of the mountain) blocked the access road to the mountain preventing the planned construction from commencing. Although the science is the subject of this movement at this point, it is more than that it’s about the Hawaiian people’s rights. The group of telescopes on Mauna Kea and the Native people has been involved in a very complicated debate for years and it has since escalated after the plan to build TMT got approved. The Mauna Kea mountain is considered sacred land for Native Hawaiians. Manua Kea is more than a mountain with a great view of the night sky Can you imagine all the information we could gather from these big mirrors?īut as it turned out there was more to the story than I knew. It was going to be the largest visible-light telescope on the mountain. It meant more chances for the human race to understand the origin of the universe. When I first heard the announcement about building the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), I got excited. Then, we heard the news about the protest. So when Stephen and I planned to travel to the Big Island, I shouted ‘Mauna Kea!’ in my head. I’ve been to some wild places to chase the darkest, clearest skies. A group of us working at the observatory dreamt of seeing the telescope up close and seeing the night sky up there someday. To young astronomy enthusiasts, it was the wildest thing you could imagine. When I was working at an observatory in Korea as an astronomy teacher, we used to reference Keck Telescope’s size, as its diameter was almost two times bigger than our little dome. Mauna Kea is known as one of the best places on Earth for large telescopes because viewing conditions are excellent due to high elevation and low humidity. Keck Telescopes has been on my list for a very long time. Hawaii’s $1.Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Share on Email What Does the Thirty Meter Telescope Mean to the People of Hawaii?.Hawaii supreme court stops construction of world’s largest telescope.Construction of world’s biggest telescope starts amid protests against ‘desecration’.Website Physicsworld reports that construction on TMT could be completed by 2023. The telescope’s "first light" was due to come in 2022 before the legal proceedings. Those behind the TMT say they will "move forward with fulfilling the numerous conditions and requirements of the state CDUP prior to the start of any construction". Since its inception in the 1990s the project has faced criticism from Hawaiians who are concerned about its environmental and cultural impact. "Various measures are being taken to reduce the impact of the TMT, and that Mauna Kea can also be honoured through the advancement of scientific knowledge that TMT would provide." "Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners believe that Mauna Kea, as a sacred manifestation of their ancestry, should be honoured in its natural state and is desecrated by development of astronomy facilities near its summit.
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