HILO, Hawai'i — After years of controversy over the development of world-class high-tech telescopes on Mauna Kea, sponsors of the Pan-STARRS project are trying new approaches to win public support for the latest astronomy project on a mountain considered sacred to Hawaiians.

The stakes are high. Pan-STARRS is being designed to rapidly scan the night sky to detect asteroids and comets streaking through space on trajectories that could cause a devastating collision with Earth.

Scientists believe they can complete a survey of the potential threats in 10 years if Pan-STARRS is built on Mauna Kea, which is widely regarded as the best location for astronomy in the world. But that same work will take more than 20 years if Pan-STARRS must be built on a less desirable alternate site on Maui's Haleakala, according to planning documents for the project.

Pan-STARRS also has special local importance, since it is the first large-scale new astronomy project to be attempted on Mauna Kea since the Outriggers project lost its NASA funding last year in the midst of a legal fight with environmentalists and Hawaiian activists.

The years-long resistance to the Outriggers project at the W.M. Keck Observatory went far beyond the more muted opposition to previous projects on Mauna Kea, and stirred concern among some scientists that legal battles over new construction on the mountain might become the norm.

Planners of Pan-STARRS, or Panoramic Survey Telescope And Rapid Response System, are trying a number of strategies to prevent that.

Michael Maberry, assistant director of the University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy, said even the most outspoken critics of development on the mountain have said they are not against the advancement of science, and that has astronomers looking for common ground.

"We believe that we can co-exist in a respectful manner at the summits of Mauna Kea and Haleakala," he said. "We of course followed the Keck Outrigger environmental process very closely and we learned a lot during that process, and we hope that we are approaching this process with a lot more sensitivity to the interests and position of the community."

USE OF EXISTING FACILITY

Perhaps the most important element of the new pitch is the decision to "recycle" an existing astronomy site, tearing down an 88-inch University of Hawai'i telescope that has operated on Mauna Kea since 1970 to replace it with the four more powerful and advanced Pan-STARRS viewing devices on the same spot.

Critics of new construction on the mountain have argued astronomers should be satisfied with the 13 telescope sites on the mountain today, and should redevelop the existing facilities as needed instead of bulldozing new land for more development.

Although project planners initially wanted an entirely new site for Pan-STARRS, project manager William Burgett said there are advantages to re-using the site where the aging 88-inch University of Hawai'i telescope now stands.

For example, a system for delivering power to the site is already in place, which means crews don't have to dig up the mountain to install conduit for the project, he said.

Burgett said the new Pan-STARRS structure would stay within the old footprint at ground level, will not be as tall as the dome for the existing 88-inch telescope. It would also be designed to reflect light in such a way that the structure would be less visible from Hilo than the existing dome, he said.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

Planners for Pan-STARRS also decided from the outset to perform an environmental impact statement, a step that was never taken for some other projects of similar scope on the mountain, and one that likely will cost $1 million or more, Maberry said.

Again, the decision to carry out the EIS grew out of community discussions, in which people made clear they wanted the higher level of scrutiny offered by the more elaborate EIS review process, he said.

Some Hawaiians have also criticized the disposal of human waste on the mountain as desecration of sacred land, and Maberry said the Pan-STARRS plan is to operate the new facility robotically, which would minimize human activity and impact on the site.

The technology involved in the project is impressive to observers such as Kona resident Ed Stevens, who in the past has questioned the need for more telescopes on the mountain.

The four 71-inch mirrors gathering light for Pan-STARRS would each be hooked up to what will be the four largest digital cameras ever built. The system would be able to survey the entire sky once a week, and will be able to detect asteroids as small as 1,000 feet across.

Pan-STARRS is expected to have 10 times the capability of the active existing facility searching out asteroids today.

The project is being funded by the U.S. Air Force, and is expected to cost $80 million to $100 million. A prototype of the Pan-STARRS project is now being built on Haleakala, and is expected to be operational this year.

HARD TO RESIST

Because of the nature of the project, "it's hard for us to be against that development," said Stevens, who is a member of Kahu Ku Mauna, a group that advises the state on cultural issues related to Mauna Kea.

He said the Institute for Astronomy's efforts to consult with the community even before the preparation of the EIS this year demonstrated greater sensitivity than was shown in the past, and said the decision to tear down one telescope and reuse the same site for a new project was a step forward.

"We still see Mauna Kea as our sacred mountain, and this is where our concerns lie," he said. "Instead of continuing to proliferate with domes, take it easy, leave some for us, make better use of what you've got, and mitigate the need to add more.

"We're not against astronomy, but don't keep putting stuff on our mountain," he said.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.