An enormous next-generation telescope that could transform astronomers' understanding of the universe is now under construction, to the consternation of some protestors.
The building phase of the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope officially kicked off Tuesday (Oct. 7) with a groundbreaking/dedication ceremony near the top of Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano, though the event was delayed several hours, apparently by people blocking the road up the mountain.
"The groundbreaking and blessing ceremony for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), hindered by a small group of protestors for a brief time, took place and all the partners of the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory (TIO) are looking forward to proceeding on the production of TMT as planned," TMT communications director Gordon Squires said in a statement provided to Space.com.
TMT has dealt with opposition repeatedly since the project began taking shape in the 1990s; some people in Hawaii have voiced concerns about the telescope's environmental and cultural impact. (The summits of mountains throughout the archipelago are sacred to native Hawaiians.)
But construction activities on TMT — which is just as big as its name suggests — remain on track, and the telescope should begin observing the heavens in 2022, project representatives say.
"This is an exciting moment as we begin construction of TMT," said TMT International Observatory Executive Director Ed Stone, a researcher at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena and the project scientist of NASA's Voyager mission, in a statement. "Its giant mirror, nearly 100 feet across, promises the highest definition views of planets orbiting nearby stars and the first stars and galaxies in the distant universe."
Source:Space.com
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