Thirty Meter Telescope

The Thirty Meter Telescope is a planned optical-infrared observatory with a 30-meter segmented primary mirror. Its proposed site on Mauna Kea has become the focus of legal and cultural dispute.

Segmented mirror: A large mirror assembled from smaller reflective segments that work together as one optical surface. Its 492 hexagonal segments would form the telescope’s 30-meter primary mirror.
California Extremely Large Telescope: A University of California proposal for a very large optical telescope that preceded the Thirty Meter Telescope project. This earlier design supplied a direct institutional and technical predecessor.
Exoplanet: A planet that orbits a star beyond the Solar System. The telescope is designed to study exoplanet atmospheres and planetary systems.
Mauna Kea: A dormant volcano on Hawaiʻi Island that hosts observatories near its summit and holds deep cultural significance for Native Hawaiians. The proposed construction site lies on this mountain, where astronomy and cultural stewardship intersect.
Thirty Meter Telescope protests: Protests against construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, led largely by Native Hawaiian protectors and allies. These protests made opposition to the proposed site visible and sustained.
Adaptive optics: Techniques that correct image distortion caused by atmospheric turbulence, often using deformable mirrors and guide stars. The telescope’s adaptive-optics system is designed to sharpen images distorted by Earth’s atmosphere.
Keck Observatory: A pair of 10-meter optical-infrared telescopes on Mauna Kea, built with segmented primary mirrors. Keck’s segmented-mirror success helped establish the engineering path toward a much larger telescope.
First light: The earliest luminous sources in the universe, including the first stars and galaxies. Its sensitivity is intended to help investigate the universe’s earliest galaxies.
Native Hawaiian religion: The Indigenous religious traditions of Hawaiʻi, including relationships among people, ancestors, land, and spiritual beings. Opposition has emphasized the mountain’s sacred significance within Native Hawaiian traditions.
Mauna Kea Access Road blockade: A 2019 blockade of the Mauna Kea access road that prevented construction crews from reaching the proposed telescope site. The blockade became a defining confrontation over whether construction could proceed.

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