Posted on: Friday, October 24, 2003

EDITORIAL
Hawai'i can work out a new superscope site

Hawai'i is poised to compete for the world's largest and most powerful astronomical telescope.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are to be spent on paving the way for this project, which could end up in northern Chile if building it in Hawai'i becomes too complicated.

At stake is Mauna Kea's hold on to its title as the world's premier stargazing location.

Astronomers tout the yet-unnamed super telescope as a tool to understand the evolution of the universe from the "Big Bang" to the formation of life, and to search other planetary systems for signs of life.

Granted, they say that about every new telescope. But the possibility of solving the mysteries of the universe nonetheless gives us chicken skin.

That said, we must acknowledge the sensitivities and valid concerns of environmentalists and Native Hawaiians who say the telescopes atop Mauna Kea's 13,796-foot crown intrude upon endangered species and sacred sites.

The summit of the "White Mountain" is home to 13 observatories operated by a total of 11 countries.

And that's quite enough, according to Kealoha Pisciotta, president of the Mauna Kea Anaina Hou.

The Mauna Kea Science Reserve Master Plan strives to balance the needs of various interest groups, and restricts the development of telescopes to a 600-acre area.

It also allows for five new state-of-the-art telescopes to be built within that zone.

Under the master plan, the superscope could be constructed on the northern plateau of the mountain off the summit ridge.

Or, as Pisciotta reasonably suggests, it could replace an old observatory.

Rolf-Peter Kudritzki, director of the UH Institute for Astronomy, says both options are feasible, and doesn't want to "impose a solution," preferring that the stakeholders reach a consensus through constructive dialogue.

He predicts that in 20 years, there'll be fewer yet more powerful telescopes atop Mauna Kea. We hope he's right. What we need at the summit is the best, not the most.

In the meantime, we do not want to see Hawai'i miss this opportunity to become home to the world's most powerful telescope.

So without bulldozing the opposition, let's focus our energy on determining where to build this telescope rather than whether to build it.