The end of the Thirty Meter Telescope? – US Congress to stop giving money
In 2024, the National Science Foundation stated there was only enough money for one giant US telescope. Now the thirty-meter telescope will be left empty-handed.
Artistic juxtaposition of the TMT and the GMT
(Image: US-ELTP (TIO/NOIRLab/GMTO))
The agency responsible for funding science in the US government no longer wants to support the construction of the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) in Hawaii, meaning that the future of the observatory is now completely unclear. As the National Science Foundation explains in its budget proposal to the US Congress, only the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is to be supported with money. Another multi-billion dollar telescope cannot be financed, which is why there will be no more money for the TMT. Those responsible expressed their disappointment to Hawai'i Public Radio, but want to stick to their project. What is possible without the money from the NSF is unclear. Billions of US dollars from the NSF have been earmarked for the construction of both instruments.
Successful blockade in Hawaii
The Thirty-Meter Telescope has actually been planned to be built on Mauna Kea in Hawaii since 2014. It was actually intended to be the largest optical telescope in the Northern Hemisphere. With its 30-meter mirror, it would clearly tower over the 13 existing astronomical facilities there. However, protests prevented the start of construction. A legal dispute ended with a ruling in favor of the telescope. When construction was actually due to start, new protests and a blockade of the only access road prevented this once again. Representatives of the Polynesian indigenous people oppose the giant telescope because Mauna Kea is sacred in their mythology.
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The construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), on the other hand, is being prepared on behalf of universities and research institutions from the USA and countries in Asia, South America and Australia. It is to be built in the Chilean Atacama Desert and thus in the Southern Hemisphere, just a few hundred kilometers away from the Extremely Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory. Just like the TMT, there will also be money for this from the NSF. More than a year ago, the NSF declared that only one of the two giant telescopes could be financed, which, considering the previous history, spoke against the TMT. Work on the technology of the GMT has long since begun. It is due to go into operation in the next decade.
The project manager responsible for the Thirty-Meter Telescope responded to the NSF's statement by saying that Mauna Kea is the most suitable place for astronomy in the entire Northern Hemisphere. The telescope project is one of the “most compelling opportunities for the nation's research in a generation,” Hawai'i Public Radio quotes him as saying. The hope is for further talks about the future. Considering the opposition of many local people, a move to the Canary Islands was proposed years ago. It remains to be seen whether the debate will now resurface or another solution will be found.
(mho)
