Hope For New Telescopes As Mauna Kea Plan Approved

摘要

Hawaiian officials have conditionally approved a comprehensive management plan for the volcanic peak of Mauna Kea, which researchers hope will pave the way for the construction of more telescopes atop the 4,200-metre summit. The University of Hawaii has a long-term lease on a 46-square-kilometre preserve, of which 2 square kilometres are used by 13 observatories. Some native groups believe that the terrain is sacred and oppose its development. In 2006, a judge reversed a permit for additions to the twin 10-metre Keck telescopes, saying that a summit-wide plan was needed.