[meteorite-list] Thirty Meter Telescope Selects Mauna Kea

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:33:47 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <200907232333.n6NNXlX2009422_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Thirty Meter Telescope Corporation

For more information contact:
Charles E. Blue, TMT Media Relations Specialist
626 395-1639

July 21, 2009

Thirty Meter Telescope Selects Mauna Kea

PASADENA, Calif. -- After careful evaluation and comparison between two
outstanding candidate sites -- Mauna Kea in Hawai'i and Cerro Armazones in
Chile -- the board of directors of the TMT Observatory Corporation has
selected Mauna Kea as the preferred site for the Thirty Meter Telescope. The
TMT will be the most capable and advanced telescope ever constructed.

When completed in 2018, the TMT will enable astronomers to detect and study
light from the earliest stars and galaxies, analyze the formation of planets
around nearby stars, and test many of the fundamental laws of physics.

To achieve these outstanding results, the TMT will integrate the latest
innovations in precision control, segmented mirror design, and adaptive
optics to correct for the blurring effect of Earth's atmosphere, enabling
the TMT to study the Universe as clearly as if the telescope were in space.
Building on the success of the twin Keck telescopes, the core technology of
TMT will be a 30-meter primary mirror composed of 492 segments. This will
give TMT nine times the collecting area of today's largest optical
telescopes.

To ensure that the site chosen for TMT would enable the telescope to achieve
its full potential, a global satellite survey was conducted, from which five
outstanding candidate sites were chosen for further ground-based studies of
atmospheric stability, wind patterns, temperature variation, and other
meteorological characteristics that would affect the performance of the
telescope.

Based on these results and extensive studies, Mauna Kea and Cerro Armazones
were selected in May 2008 for further evaluation and environmental,
financial, and cultural impact studies. The TMT board used the results from
these meticulous research campaigns to help guide the final site-selection
process.

"It was clear from all the information we received that both sites were
among the best in the world for astronomical research," said Edward Stone,
Caltech's Morrisroe Professor of Physics and vice chairman of the TMT board.
"Each has superb observing conditions and would enable TMT to achieve its
full potential of unlocking the mysteries of the Universe."

"In the final analysis, the board selected Mauna Kea as the site for TMT.
The atmospheric conditions, low average temperatures, and very low humidity
will open an exciting new discovery space using adaptive optics and infrared
observations. Working in concert with the partners' existing facilities on
Mauna Kea will further expand the opportunities for discoveries," said
Stone.

Henry Yang, TMT board chair and chancellor of the University of California
at Santa Barbara, expressed excitement at this decision. "Our scientists and
engineers have been designing and building the key components that will go
into the telescope. By deciding to build on Mauna Kea, the TMT board has
given a clear signal that we are ready to move forward and begin building in
earnest as soon as all the necessary approvals are in place. I want to thank
the Moore Foundation for its visionary support. I also want to thank our
scientific colleagues and the coalition of community members, educators,
businesses, unions, political leaders, and stakeholders in Hawai'i who have
brought us to the point of this site selection. The board expresses a strong
commitment to respect the long history and cultural significance of Mauna
Kea to the Hawaiian people, and has committed annual funding for local
community benefits and education in Hawai'i."

Before construction can begin on Mauna Kea, the TMT must submit and have
approved an application for a Conservation District Use Permit (CDUP) to the
Hawaiian Department of Land and Natural Resources. This will be done through
the community-based Office of Mauna Kea Management, which oversees the Mauna
Kea summit as part of the University of Hawai'i at Hilo.

"We are very grateful for the support that TMT has received from both the
people and governments of Hawai'i and Chile during the site-selection
process," said Professor Ray Carlberg, the Canadian Large Optical Telescope
project director and a TMT board member. "We are excited about the prospect
of being the first of the next generation of extremely large telescopes."

The TMT project is an international partnership among the California
Institute of Technology, the University of California, and ACURA, an
organization of Canadian universities. The National Astronomical Observatory
of Japan (NAOJ) joined TMT as a Collaborating Institution in 2008.

"The selection of Hawai'i as the site for the Thirty Meter Telescope will
greatly strengthen international cooperation in astronomy. The synergy
between TMT and the highly successful Subaru Telescope already on Mauna Kea
will lead to many further research breakthroughs," said Professor Masanori
Iye, the Extremely Large Telescope Project Director of the NAOJ.

The TMT project has completed its $77 million design development phase with
primary financial support of $50 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore
Foundation and $22 million from Canada. The project has now entered the
early construction phase thanks to an additional $200 million pledge from
the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Caltech and the University of
California have agreed to raise matching funds of $50 million to bring the
construction total to $300 million, and the Canadian partners propose to
supply the enclosure, the telescope structure, and the first light adaptive
optics.

TMT gratefully acknowledges support for design and development from the
following: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Canada Foundation for
Innovation, Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, National Research
Council of Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada, British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, Association of
Universities for Research in Astronomy, and the National Science Foundation
(USA).

[NOTE: Images and animations supporting this release are available at
http://www.tmt.org/gallery/index.html ]
Received on Thu 23 Jul 2009 07:33:47 PM PDT