Mauna Kea is the proposed site for what would be the world’s largest optical telescope — the Thirty Meter Telescope. “The University of Hawaii was represented at the table during the working group discussions," said the group's chairperson, Rep. Mark Nakashima, a Democrat whose Hilo district includes Mauna Kea. “The working group early on discussed the fact that ... some of those decisions were not in our control," Nakashima said. Opponents of the telescopes say Mauna Kea’s observatories desecrate the peak and harm the environment. Some of the research from Mauna Kea has contributed to science's understanding of black holes and gravity, among other major breakthroughs.

Source: Forbes December 18, 2021 05:27 UTC