In Hawaii, Construction to Begin on Disputed Telescope Project

[Xe4]

Gov. David Ige of Hawaii announced on Thursday that a "notice to proceed" had been issued for construction of a giant, long-contested telescope on Mauna Kea, the volcano on the Big Island that 13 major telescopes already call home. Construction could start as soon as July.

Such an announcement has been anxiously awaited both by astronomers and by Hawaiian cultural activists since last year, when Hawaii's Supreme Court restored the telescope's building permit. As part of the deal, five telescopes currently operating on Mauna Kea will be shut down and their sites restored to their original condition.

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The announcement was another skirmish, surely not the last, for control of the volcano's petrified lava slopes and the sky overhead. The Thirty Meter Telescope would be the largest in the Northern Hemisphere. Hawaiian activists have long opposed it, contending that decades of telescope-building on Mauna Kea have polluted the mountain. In 2014, protesters disrupted a groundbreaking ceremony and blocked work vehicles from accessing the mountain.

Mauna Kea is considered "ceded land" held in trust for the Hawaiian people, and some Hawaiians have argued that the spate of telescope construction atop the mountain has interfered with cultural and religious practices.

The Thirty Meter Telescope would be built by an international collaboration called the TMT International Observatory. The project, which involves the University of California and the California Institute of Technology as well as Japan, China, India and Canada, is expected to cost $2 billion.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/20/scienvce/telescope-mauna-kea-hawaii.html

Those who oppose the billion-dollar-plus project immediately denounced the move.

"It's a sad day in Hawaii," Native Hawaiian activist Healalani Sonoda-Pale said. "If they're going to move forward on this project, then we are going to have conflict up on the Mauna. There's no question about it."

Mauna Kea Hui leader Kealoha Pisciotta said about 20 state vehicles, law enforcement officers before dawn dismantled the religious structures, including ceremonial platforms for placing flowers, sacred water and other offerings during prayer.
The operation happened on the eve of solstice ceremonies, Pisciotta said.

"This state action is desecration, provocation (and) is a hostile and racist act committed against the Hawaiian people and the good people of Hawaii. This is Pono ole! (not righteous). Is this all for Astronomy?" she said.

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https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019...ction-of-thirty-meter-telescope-on-mauna-kea/

More at the links.

This is an issue that I've followed somewhat, both as someone interested in astronomy, but also because it's definitely a case with no clear cut answer to me.

On one hand, Mauna Kea is easily one of the best sites to put a telescope in the world with numerous features that astronomers look for, including:

• Low light pollution from the surrounding areas.
• Low moisture and virtually no clouds due to being above the inversion layer:
• High elevation at > 4,000 meters (>13,000 ft)
• Low air turbulence leading to high astronomical "seeing"

The telescopes on Mauna Kea have allowed us unprecedented access to the grandeur of the universe, and projects such as the Thirty Meter Telescope will improve our knowledge and awe of the world even more.

However on the other side of things, I think it's important to be respectful of people's non-harmful beliefs and practices, which is a big deal with Mauna Kea being such a prominent area culturally to Native Hawaiians. This is especially true with the United States and other actors stealing Hawaii from the native populace in the early 20th century.

I'm not sure how much dialogue is going on between the astronomical community and Hawaiian cultural activists, but clearly there needs to be more. I'm certainly not a fan than the proposers of observatories pushing through the telescopes while removing ceremonial structures people spent their time and effort putting up, all while expecting the resistance of these projects to go away.

Perhaps there will be a way to allow the Native Hawaiians to continue their cultural practices while still allowing telescopes on the site, so that we can all enjoy the wonders of the universe.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Dongs Macabre]

There's some cool tech that'll be used in this telescope and I do hope it gets built. Of course, it should always be important to respect the local culture, but it's just such a perfect place for the telescope.

 

[jchap]

More protesting today.

Here is the top of the mountain by the way. Already lots of telescopes (for good reason).