Thirty Meter Telescope

The National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences joined the Thirty Meter Telescope project last fall. Jun Yan, director of the observatories, said, “We believe that the Thirty Meter Telescope will provide an otherwise unattainable opportunity for the Chinese astronomical community to make significant discoveries, perform cutting-edge science, and advance technological development.”

Last July the collaboration announced its selection of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, for the TMT, despite some opposition to further construction at the site from environmentalists and Native Hawaiians (see Physics Today, January 2004, page 22 ). “The TMT has done a lot of work to understand and address the issues,” says project press officer Charles Blue, who noted that a final environmental impact statement and a conservation use permit are still pending.

Work is under way on the actuators, adaptive optics, and mirror segments that will make up the TMT’s primary mirror. Groundbreaking is slated for 2011, with first light planned for 2018. Construction of the telescope will total an estimated $1 billion, of which about a third has been raised so far, mostly from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Caltech, the University of California, and the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy jointly launched the TMT. The partnership shares of China and Japan, which joined earlier, are still to be determined.