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from the they-will-just-have-to-hubble-along dept.
From Nature.com:
Hawaii's supreme court has ruled that the construction permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on top of the mountain Mauna Kea is invalid. The 2 December decision is a major blow to the international consortium backing the US$1.5-billion telescope, and a win for the Native Hawaiians who have protested against its construction on what they regard as a sacred summit.
And the top reddit comment on the article, which I found neatly summed up the situation.
I spent time in Hawaii and talked to locals that were born and raised there about this issue. Its polarizing.
People against it brought up the need for spirituality and respect for the Hawaiian culture lost over hundred of years of Western influence.
Argument for the telescope, however, claimed that building it would do nothing but respect their history. How did the ancient Hawaiians get to the island? They used the stars. It was "in their blood" to understand the heavens. Most of the those complaining are young disenfranchised people struggling in one of the crappiest economies in America.
Of course this could be a generalization based on second hand observation.
As for me, as big as these telescopes are, they look like ants on top of these massive volcanoes. Ruining the scenery is nonsense.
We covered the Groundbreaking for World's Largest Telescope nearly a month ago.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 06 2015, @02:12AM
The aesthetic objection could be overcome if the building were made to look like a natural part of the landscape, rather than just painting it white as is typically done to enclosures for telescopes. I suppose that a dark-coloured dome would become hot during the day, and the heat could cause the optics to deform, but it may be possible to incorporate insulation into the design of the dome, or to compensate for the deformation.
(Score: 2) by Covalent on Sunday December 06 2015, @02:59AM
Fantastic idea! You could build a wall around the complex that looks more or less like additional mountain. You'd obscure the very low angles for the telescope, but that might be an acceptable compromise. You'd also reduce the wind on the telescope, which would potentially improve the optics.
You can't rationally argue somebody out of a position they didn't rationally get into.