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HONOLULU A giant telescope planned for the summit of Mauna Kea will likely get a $150 million infusion in cash and high-tech equipment from India.
While no amount has been officially committed, India's contribution could be worth about $150 million, Thirty Meter Telescope spokeswoman Sandra Dawson said Tuesday. Canada, Japan and China have also signed on as partners in the $1.2 billion Big Island telescope, which will be among the world's largest telescopes.
"The amount of money from each partner is not fully determined or committed," she said. "Speculating on what various countries will do is difficult."
On Saturday, the vice minister of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology visited Mauna Kea with other officials, Dawson, and high-level visits from other countries are expected to follow.
All of the countries will contribute a combination of cash and equipment in exchange for observing time on the telescope and opportunities to develop high-tech technology such as lasers and mirror polishing.
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents last year approved a plan to build the telescope, clearing the way for managers to seek a permit from the state to build the facility on conservation land. Dawson said final approval is expected early next year from the Board of Land and Natural Resources. If construction can begin in late 2012, the telescope is expected to be complete by 2018.
Some Native Hawaiians have opposed the telescope on the grounds it would defile Mauna Kea summit, which they consider sacred, and environmentalists have cited threats to the rare wekiu bug as a reason to oppose the telescope's construction.
The federal government recently decided not to designate the bug a rare insect that is found only in cinder cones at the summit of Mauna Kea as a threatened or endangered species. No telescopes will be built on any cinder cones inhabited by the species.
The telescope's segmented primary mirror, which is nearly 100 feet 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.
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 University of California system, the California Institute of Technology, and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy are spearheading the project.
India could contribute $150M to Hawaii telescope | Deseret News
While no amount has been officially committed, India's contribution could be worth about $150 million, Thirty Meter Telescope spokeswoman Sandra Dawson said Tuesday. Canada, Japan and China have also signed on as partners in the $1.2 billion Big Island telescope, which will be among the world's largest telescopes.
"The amount of money from each partner is not fully determined or committed," she said. "Speculating on what various countries will do is difficult."
On Saturday, the vice minister of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology visited Mauna Kea with other officials, Dawson, and high-level visits from other countries are expected to follow.
All of the countries will contribute a combination of cash and equipment in exchange for observing time on the telescope and opportunities to develop high-tech technology such as lasers and mirror polishing.
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents last year approved a plan to build the telescope, clearing the way for managers to seek a permit from the state to build the facility on conservation land. Dawson said final approval is expected early next year from the Board of Land and Natural Resources. If construction can begin in late 2012, the telescope is expected to be complete by 2018.
Some Native Hawaiians have opposed the telescope on the grounds it would defile Mauna Kea summit, which they consider sacred, and environmentalists have cited threats to the rare wekiu bug as a reason to oppose the telescope's construction.
The federal government recently decided not to designate the bug a rare insect that is found only in cinder cones at the summit of Mauna Kea as a threatened or endangered species. No telescopes will be built on any cinder cones inhabited by the species.
The telescope's segmented primary mirror, which is nearly 100 feet 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.
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 University of California system, the California Institute of Technology, and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy are spearheading the project.
India could contribute $150M to Hawaii telescope | Deseret News
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