Construction of “a new class of extremely large telescopes” on Mauna Kea will bring several benefits to the community, despite a history of some opposition to its development, an official with the project said.
The Thirty Meter Telescope, known as the TMT International Observatory (TMT), will generate more jobs as it provides astronomers a clearer picture of what’s out in space, Gordon Squires, TMT vice president for external relations, told Big Island Times.
“During the eight- to 10-year construction timeline, TMT will create about 300 local and specialized construction jobs,” Squires said. “Once the telescope is completed, TMT will expend about $40 million annually in observatory operations and employ about 140 employees.”
Gordon Squires
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TMT will have a 30-meter mirror diameter, and “will be three times as wide, with nine times more area, than the largest currently existing visible-light telescope in the world,” TMT’s website said. TMT will join other observatories on the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano that rises “4,205 meters above the Pacific Ocean on the island of Hawaii,” Scientific America said.
“The TMT telescope will provide extremely sharp images that will allow astronomers to see much fainter and more distant objects than possible with existing telescopes, and to study them in greater detail,” Squires said. “This represents the possibility of pushing our vision farther into space and our understanding farther back in time to help answer fundamental questions about the universe.”
Some Hawaiians have protested TMT’s construction, citing the sanctity of the site and environmental concerns among reasons to halt construction, Scientific America said. Culture and astronomy can co-exist and complement each other on Mauna Kea, Squires said.
“Mauna Kea is the best place in the Northern Hemisphere for astronomical observations, as demonstrated by the 50-plus-year history of the local astronomy community on Mauna Kea and Hawaii Island,” Squires said. “Located above approximately 40% of Earth’s atmosphere, Mauna Kea has a climate that is particularly stable, dry and cold; all of which are important characteristics for capturing the sharpest images and producing the best science.”
TMT made a commitment to fund $1 million per year for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, the TMT's website said. The Workforce Pipeline Program initiated by TMT is to help Hawaii Island students prepare for “science and technology jobs,” the website said.
“TMT has also provided support to numerous other educational initiatives, including the Akamai Program, which provides college students with summer internship projects at observatories and STEM companies in Hawaii,” Squires said. “During the pandemic, TMT has supported local teachers and students with online learning programs.”
In June 2003, the nonprofit TMT Observatory Corporation was founded, a timeline of TMT construction on the website said. Mauna Kea was selected in July 2009 by the TMT board of directors as the preferred site of TMT. Construction of TMT was scheduled to begin the week of July 15, 2019.
The observatory is scheduled for completion on July 20, 2027, the timeline said.