3/31/2023 0 Comments Mauna kea observatory![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Together, the two projects are seeking $3 billion from NSF in exchange for the wider U.S. GMT’s site is already being prepared in Chile but it is also in financial straits. TMT’s request has come in partnership with the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), another U.S.-led effort to build a massive new telescope. TMT has accrued substantial financial backing from its university backers and the governments of China, Japan, India, and Canada, but it is still far from fully funded and has asked NSF to fill the gap. That mandate has given some astronomers hope that TMT could move forward in a consensual way.īut there is another actor in this drama: the National Science Foundation (NSF). According to the Hawaiian law that formed Mauna Kea’s new authority, astronomy is a priority of the state and management of the mountain should balance the interests of all interested groups. That state agency currently leases the mountain to UH, which in turn subleases sites to Mauna Kea’s 12 existing observatories. Over the next 5 years, MKSOA will take over management of Mauna Kea from the University of Hawaii (UH) and the Department of Land and Natural Resources. It emerged from the recommendations of a similarly diverse working group that had virtually held discussions the year before, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The panelists’ descriptions of how they built trust and came to understand each other’s positions won a standing ovation.įormed by a state law in July 2022, the 11-member Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority (MKSOA) includes observatory representatives, Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, local business and education officials, and experts in land management. Legal challenges were raised and resolved, but TMT remains stalled after thousands took part in further protests in 2019.Īt this week’s meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in Seattle, TMT’s uncertain future took center stage again, as three members of a new Hawaiian body designed to oversee Mauna Kea’s future use-for astronomy and other activities-held a town hall discussion. But in 2015 construction trucks heading for Mauna Kea were halted by protesters, some wishing to stop what they called further desecration of the mountain, which is sacred to Native Hawaiians, and others angered by the perceived imperialism of the mainland United States. The project, led by the University of California and the California Institute of Technology with partners abroad, aims to construct by far the largest telescope in the Northern Hemisphere. One of the most intractable questions in astronomy-aside from what makes up dark matter and whether life exists elsewhere in the universe-is whether the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will ever be built on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. ![]()
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