A plan by California and Canadian universities to build the world’s largest telescope at the summit of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano received approval from the state.
The decision by the board of land and natural resources clears the way for the group managing the Thirty-Metre Telescope project to negotiate a sublease for land with the University of Hawaii.
The telescope would be able to observe planets that orbit stars other than the sun and enable astronomers to watch new planets and stars being formed. It should also help scientists see some 13 billion light years away for a glimpse into the early years of the universe.
The telescope’s segmented primary mirror, which is nearly 100 feet (30 meters) long, will give it nine times the collecting area of the largest optical telescopes in use today. Its images will also be three times sharper.
But the telescope may not hold the world’s largest title for long. A group of European countries plans to build the European Extremely Large Telescope, which will have a 138-foot-long mirror.
Some Native Hawaiian groups had petitioned against the project, arguing it would defile the mountain's sacred summit.
Native Hawaiian tradition holds that high altitudes are sacred and are a gateway to heaven. In the past, only high chiefs and priests were allowed at Mauna Kea's summit. The mountain is home to one confirmed burial site and perhaps four more.
Environmentalists also petitioned to stop the telescope on the grounds it would harm habitat for the rare wekiu bug.