A group of astronomers planning to build a giant telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii has been met by protests and legal challenges that it considered finding an alternative site to build the telescope.
On Monday, the group revealed that it has chosen Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean as a possible alternative if it is blocked in Hawaii, where plans for constructing the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) have been met by oppositions from native Hawaiians and environmentalists.
Chairman of TMT International Observatory Board Henry Yang said that the board considered a number of alternative sites to build the telescope that would cost $1.4 billion but eventually chose La Palma in the Canary Islands as the primary alternative to Hawaii.
"After careful deliberation, the Board of Governors has identified Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) on La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain as the primary alternative to Hawaii," Yang said.
The decision came almost a year after the Supreme Court of Hawaii blocked the construction of the telescope.
Yang, however, said that the Big Island remains to be the preferred choice of the builders of the telescope and that the group will continue with its efforts to get approval for the construction of TMT. A new round of hearing started this month, as TMT officials seek a new permit from Hawaii's Bureau of Land and Natural Resources.
"We'll be watching the situation in Hawaii carefully, hoping that continues to move forward," said astrophysicist Fiona Harrison, from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, who is also member of the TMT board of governors. "And the success of those efforts will determine whether we can build the TMT in Hawaii."
Astronomers find the site ideal for observing outer space because of the dry atmosphere and its distance from light pollution. The area around the summit of Mauna Kea currently has 13 operational telescopes.
Yang did not cite the reasons what made the alternative site ideal for the project, but the elevation of La Palma is substantially lower compared with that of the Mauna Kea site.
This means that there would be more atmosphere that could get in the way between it and the stars that the big telescope will observe. It also means that more water vapor would be present in the telescope's line of sight, which could block mid-infrared wavelengths and even degrade the measurements.
Those who are opposed to the project said that the proposed site for the telescope in Hawaii is a burial ground and is considered a spiritual temple and the project may harm the sacred lands.
