Canada commits nearly $250 million to help build world's largest optical telescope

Tuesday, April 7, 2015, 6:24 PM - After months of silence on their commitment to the Thirty Meter Telescope, the federal government has now approved nearly $250 million over the next decade towards the construction of this world-class observatory.

When completed in 2023 or 2024, the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will be the largest optical telescope in the world, capable of delivering images of our universe even sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope.

A collaboration between Canada, the United States, China, Japan and India, the $1.5 billion project has already broken ground at the construction site, near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. However, while the other four nations had already committed and approved their contributions to the collaboration, delays from the federal government back in October 2013 threw the project's future into uncertainty.

In a Monday announcement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he committed $243.5 million to the project over the next decade. The majority of that money being spent right here in Canada for design, development and construction of some of the telescopes most important components.

"Our participation in the Thirty Meter Telescope project will generate new capabilities and technologies in Canada which will help create and maintain high-quality jobs in communities across the country," Harper said.

Among the components being build here in Canada are the telescope's 22-story tall precision steel enclosure, which will protect the telescope's vital components from the environment, as well as the adaptive optics system that will allow the telescope to virtually ignore the potentially disruptive effect our turbulent atmosphere can have on a telescope's view of the universe.

Adaptive optics are already used in some of the most advanced telescopes in the world. Rather than one large mirror collecting light, these telescopes have several mirrors fitted together, and the position of the mirrors at any time is guided by a 'false star' beamed into the sky by the telescope's laser. With the properties of the laser's light precisely controlled, the way that light is distorted by the atmosphere provides the telescope's computer with the information it needs to adjust the position of the mirrors to compensate. This allows the telescope to keep its targets in focus, seeing just as well as a telescope located in space.

Announcement Praised by Researchers

The University of British Columbia, one of a score of Canadian Universities who are members of the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy (ACURA), applauded the Prime Minister's announcement.

"This investment guarantees Canadian scientists’ access to what will be one of the most advanced pieces of astronomical research equipment," John Hepburn, vice president of research and international at UBC, said in a statement.

The University of Toronto, a leading member of ACURA, joined UBC in their praise.

"I thank and congratulate Prime Minister Harper and his government for this historic investment in world-leading Canadian science," said Meric Gertler, president of the University of Toronto. "As a result, astronomers and astrophysicists at U of T and their colleagues across the country are now in a position to make their full contribution to the most important discoveries of the coming decades – greater understanding of everything from how planets, stars and galaxies are formed to the very structure of the universe. The government’s decision puts Canada where it should be - on the global cutting edge of advanced research and innovation in this crucial, high-technology field."

A Rocky Start

Although the Thirty Meter Telescope will be a boon to the world's scientific community, and it joins a collection of roughly a dozen other telescopes already located at the summit of Mauna Kea, the project has drawn protesters who object to it being built on what they call sacred land. Rather than being a new issue, this is the latest part of a long-standing dispute between native Hawaiians and the University of Hawaii, over the rights to build on top of the extinct volcano.

Although the protests have been peaceful, they have already disrupted the ground-breaking ceremony back in October, and more protests in recent days have so-far resulted in 31 arrests as over 300 people gathered to prevent access to the construction site.

As of Tuesday, April 7, Hawaii governor David Ige announced that the University is pausing all construction work on the site for this week, which coincides with the Merrie Monarch Festival - a week-long celebration dedicated to the memory of King David Kalākaua, who reigned over the islands towards the end of the 19th century. 

However, rather than seeing this pause as a sign of hope for a cancellation of the project, some protesters are concerned that this is simply a way for the University to avoid publicity troubles during the festival.

Sources: Government of Canada | UBC | U of T | NBC News | Hawaii News Now