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Mauna Kea Telescope Construction Slated To Resume
After an earlier halt to the work of constructing the "world's most advanced and powerful telescope" (and
subsequent loss of support from an organization acting on behalf of native Hawaiians,) the Thirty Meter Telescope is again in "on again" mode. From the Associated Press article as carried by U.S. News & World Report:
The Mauna Kea site provides a clear view of the sky for 300 days a year, with little air and light pollution.
The telescope project was developed as a collaboration between U.S. and Canada universities and the national institutes of Japan, China and India.
Gov. David Ige in April said the Thirty Meter Telescope board is legally entitled to "use its discretion to proceed with construction." He said he respected the rights of protesters to appeal in court.
You are so full of shit. This has nothing to do with money, but rather self rule. It's about Hawaiians being held at gunpoint to sign over sovereignty. It's about the dozen plus other observatories already there (built under protest also). It's about Kaho'olawe being blown to bits for decades. It's about a lot of things, but money isn't one.
Regardless, PR has much to gain from statehood and little to lose. Hawaii would be a 3rd word country with no health care (basically the Philippines) without statehood. PR's territory status gives it some protection, but just imagine getting treated like Cuba in the '50's. There's not much for PR to complain about.
Why do you think over a dozen observatories have been built there? Think it's cheap to sent giant pieces of delicate scientific equipment from the mainland? TFA doesn't even mention the actual reason why Mauna Kea is one of the best places on the planet for optical telescopes: seeing conditions (aka, how much celestial objects "twinkle" on average. Outside of deep Antarctica (Dome A, not far east of the South Pole), there's no other better known location on the planet (a couple are pretty close, like La Palma and La Silla, but none exceed it). Good seeing requires high altitude with the area around being as perfectly flat and uniform as possible for hundreds of kilometers.
For optical telescopes, seeing is the most critical factor for resolving fine details. And this telescope is all about resolving fine details. Adaptive optics help counter seeing problems, but the better your seeing baseline, the better the final result.
What about the Ant People? They owe us money.
that's so nice and condescending of you to assume the motivations of others in a self-serving way
truly you are an enlightened, peerceptive, patronizing asshole
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
The natives of hawaii were never given a choice. Hawaii was annexed by force. Puerto Rico was also annexed but has been offered independence and turned it down. By the time the statehood vote was taken, mass numbers of non-hawaiians had moved to the state and become residents and the only vote offered was either statehood or territory.
Outside of deep Antarctica (Dome A, not far east of the South Pole),
What are you smoking? It isn't possible to be *east* of the South Pole. Only north of it.