Chinese astronomers have signed on to participate in the development of the world's largest telescope, to be built atop Mauna Kea, a group said yesterday.

The Thirty Meter Telescope, the group spearheading the project, said the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has joined as an observer, the first step of a process expected to lead to China becoming a full partner and financial contributor.

When finished in 2018, the telescope will be so powerful that astronomers will be able to use it to see images of the first stars and galaxies forming — some 400 million years after the Big Bang.