- Hawaii is set to begin the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).
- The project was first launched in 2015 but the construction was halted as protesters claimed damage to the mountain.However,Hawaii’s top court has ruled that observatory’s construction permit is valid paving the way for work to restart on Mauna Kea.
- Thirty Meter Telescope(TMT) is a proposed astronomical observatory with an extremely large telescope (ELT).It has a primary mirror with an effective diameter of 30 meters.It is getting built at Mauna Kea,Hawaii, USA.
- TMT will enable astronomers to study the Universe with exceptional detail right up to the first formation of stars and galaxies.It will also give finer details of not-so-far-away objects such as undiscovered planets and other objects in the Solar System and planets around other stars.
- The telescope will be built and operated by a consortium of institutions from the USA, Japan,China, India and Canada.India will contribute about 10% of the cost of building the telescope and observatory.
- The Indian participation will be funded by the Department of Science and Technology(DST) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).The DST will be the coordinating department for the project.
