Construction of the most advanced and optically powerful telescope on the planet this week was suspended because of protesters protesting the location of the observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
"The construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is hampered by a small group of protesters," said a statement from the California Institute of Technology, which is a major project, estimated at $ 1.4 billion. This place is considered sacred to some Hawaiians who expressed concern about the environmental and cultural impacts of the project.
The Los Angeles Times reports that some guests planning to attend the construction were unable to do so. The protest also interrupted the live broadcast. "Construction will not be delayed because of the protest," said a spokesman for the California Institute of Technology Judy Asbury. The resolution of the new telescope will be 10 to 12 times greater than that of Hubble. TMT is designed to peer farther back in space time, expanding the boundaries of observational astronomy. "Its huge mirror, nearly 100 feet across, will help us see the planets orbiting nearby stars, as well as stars and the galaxy in a distant universe," said Ed Stone, executive director of TMT International Observatory.
The TMT will consist of 492 reflecting mirrors, which together will create a surface of aperture of 98 feet (30 meters) across. Software, known as "adaptive optics", will mitigate the effects of scattering of the Earth’s atmosphere. Observations are expected to begin in 2022.
