The reason why this was done is because it is the single best place in the northern hemisphere for visual astronomy. No other location is a close second.
Building the TMT in no way expands that preserve, but only adds another instrument to it.
The TMT would expand the largest telescope by three times in aperture and would significantly benefit science education on Hawaii.
Mauna Kea is the largest mountain on the planet. It's summit is gigantic, only a small part of which is the astronomical preserve. The summit is so high supplemental oxygen is often needed by people working there. It certainly is no place for public worship, volcano gods notwithstanding. The people complaining about this telescope certainly don't go up there very often, and if they do, maybe it's good that supplemental oxygen is available at the astronomical preserve, if they can survive long enough to make it there.
I have zero sympathy for the luddites who oppose the TMT. What they are asking for is neither rational nor reasonable.
Are these the same volcano gods that guided their ancestors across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii in the first place? No! That would be the stars in the sky which guided their boats. They could navigate by the sky. Now they want to impede the education of that same sky.
Fuck em! Build the TMT on Mauna Kea!
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