A recommendation to the federal government that it fund several large astronomy projects including the Thirty Meter Telescope is “ambitiously pragmatic,” astronomers said Thursday.
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, or Astro2020, concluded it could be “disastrous” for U.S. astronomy if the National Science Foundation does not invest in the TMT.
Doug Simons, director of the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, said the report, released Thursday, highlights the caliber of Maunakea as a location for astronomy, and found the survey to take an “extremely thoughtful and pragmatic approach.”
In particular, the National Academy of Sciences’ survey names both the TMT and the Giant Magellan Telescope — a large observatory planned to be built in Chile — as the two pillars of a U.S. Extremely Large Telescope Program, which would compete directly with astronomy efforts in Europe.
The European Extremely Large Telescope is an unrelated large observatory also planned to be built in Chile, which Astro2020 considers both the TMT and the GMT to be incapable of competing with on their own.
“There’s a little bit of a feeling of astronomy going the way of physics,” Simons said, explaining that, with the 1993 cancellation of a planned 87-kilometer particle accelerator under Texas, most high-level physics research and discoveries have taken place at European facilities like the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland. “I think if … the Europeans were the only international organization that had this kind of research capacity, that really signals something kind of alarming in the U.S., which has historically had a leadership role in contemporary astronomy for a very long time.”
Simons added he believes that if the NSF opts to fund only one of the two projects, it should favor the TMT because of the scientific value of having a large telescope facility in both north and south hemispheres.
John O’Meara, chief scientist at the W.M. Keck Observatory, called the report “ambitiously pragmatic, but executable,” explaining that the pathway to provide funding for both the TMT and the GMT is plausible. The report recommends that the NSF provide $800 million in funding to each of the projects.
Simons said the report’s space-based recommendations are “spectacularly bold.” The survey recommends that NASA develop a fleet of three space telescopes to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope — to the tune of about $21 billion.
However, Astro2020 also notes broad shortcomings within the astronomy community in general, citing widespread problems with diversity and a general disregard for indigenous people.
Simons called that acknowledgment “refreshing,” saying that, as IFA director, he welcomes the opportunity to get local students involved with IFA.
“The whole idea of working with those who have a tie to the lands you want to build a project on … could be transformational to astronomy,” said Greg Chun, UH’s executive director of Maunakea Stewardship. “For me, personally, I can’t rewrite history, but we can certainly make new history.”
Others in the astronomy community agreed.
A statement from Christian Wong, executive director of the Hawaii Science and Technology Museum, was supportive of strategies outlined in the survey to “continue prioritizing workforce development, education and public outreach to invest in Hawaii’s future scientists and star-gazers.”
Kai‘u Kimura, executive director of ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center, said in a statement: “Astro2020’s discussion of the state of the profession is a continuation — and expansion — of an important conversation that recognizes a shared goal of raising the level of indigenous community engagement nationwide. This shared goal is at the core of ‘Imiloa’s mission, and something that our astronomy community in Hawaii also stands by as we all work together to actively strengthen our efforts in the ongoing, long-term kuleana to Maunakea.”
Not all were satisfied by the report.
Native Hawaiian activist Keialoha Pisciotta said she was disappointed that for all Astro2020’s words about receiving the informed consent of indigenous communities, it did not acknowledge that many Native Hawaiians already have said no to TMT.
“I wish they would have recognized that we have already spoken,” Pisciotta said. “It’s nontrivial when you’re talking about half a million people in opposition.”
“Science can’t operate in a vacuum,” Pisciotta went on. “Science has to do right by humanity before it can claim to represent humanity.”
Henry Yang, board chair with the TMT International Observatory, provided his own brief statement.
“The Thirty Meter Telescope, an international collaboration, thanks the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine for its thorough work to prioritize the next decade’s astronomy and astrophysics projects and programs,” he wrote. “We are grateful for the science community’s support for our project, and acknowledge it is just one step in a process.
“We will review the full report carefully and evaluate our next steps.”
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.