HONOLULU — Scientists planning to build one of the world’s largest telescopes on a Hawaii mountain said Wednesday construction won’t begin until at least next year. TMT International Observatory Vice President Gordon Squires told Hawaii News Now that the coronavirus pandemic presents a complicated and unsafe situation for moving ahead. “With the pandemic and other factors that have come in, winter seems like a long ways away, but it’s not that far away and for us to resume construction activities on site, winter on Mauna Kea just isn’t feasible,” Squires told the TV station. He told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that it takes a minimum of three months to gear up for the start of construction during optimal times. But bringing equipment and personnel from the U.S. mainland could now require double the preparation time, he said.

Source: International New York Times July 16, 2020 03:00 UTC