reprinted courtesy Halekala Times newspaper 2/27/07
UH Seeks to build world’s largest solar telescope atop Haleakala
February 27, 2007
A proposal by the University of Hawaii to install what will be the
world’s largest solar telescope atop the 10,023 ft. Haleakala have many in the
Native Hawaiian community questioning the project’s impact on important
cultural resources in and near the proposed construction site. Concerns
relating to traffic and impact on endangered species have also arisen.
In stark contrast to the cinder-strewn Martian landscape of Haleakala’s summit,
a number of boxy “Area 51” type buildings and several shiny high-tech
telescopes are clustered at an area called Kolekole. Known as “Science City,”
most of the structures currently at the summit are military or government
owned, and used for surveillance, satellite tracking and night-sky observation.
The UH Institute for Astronomy (UHIA) currently holds 18.1 acres at Kolekole;
the Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site, The proposed 143-foot high
Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) would rest on a 74-acre site, and
include about 40,500 square feet of building space.
“It will be the largest leap in technology since Galileo first used the
telescope to look at the Sun.” said Michael Maberry, UHIA assistant director
for external relations. “The telescope combines a lot of new technology that
will allow UH astronomers to study the corona of the sun at levels that have
never been done before.” The telescope also utilizes a new technology called
“adaptive optics” that helps clear the image of atmospheric turbulence problems.
Interestingly, this same technology may be used for human vision problems in
the future.
Throughout Polynesian culture, the summit of Haleakala has been revered as a
Pu‘u Honua—a sacred place. The summit is considered the spiritual epicenter of
Maui, and has been a focal point in Polynesian mythology predating the arrival
of the first Hawaiians, which is believed to have been sometime in the third
century.
In a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared for UH by
Makawao-based KC Environmental, Inc., the 143-foot high Advanced Technology
Solar Telescope (ATST) was deemed “a cultural desecration of a sacred site” in
Cultural Impact Report by Kahu Charles Maxwell of CKM Cultural Resources. If
the observatory is built, it will be the tallest structure on Maui.
“The disturbance by the buildings and the activity that is going on interferes
with the quietness and solitude one should have when visiting a place like this
for cultural purposes,” Maxwell wrote. “It is like going into a church for prayer
or meditation then being interrupted by humming sounds coming from electronic
equipment, and the bustle of human activity working around the telescopes and
observatories in the area.” Maxwell alleges that during the construction of the
Faulkes telescope at Science City religious and cultural beliefs were ignored.
His report requests educating temporary and permanent workers about the
cultural significance of the site, along with consultation of a kahu (reverend)
and a kupuna (elder) for the first construction and planning phases, marking
and protection of cultural sites and a cultural inspection of Kolekole three
times a year.
Maberry says that UH has taken Maxwell’s requests to heart, and UH has already
begun its “Sense of Place” education program.
Maui was chosen as the best out of 70 potential sites worldwide for the $180
million project, outranking two other top sites at Big Bear, California and the
Canary Islands.
According to Maberry, Big Bear wasn’t high enough, and blowing sand from the
Sahara Desert would interfere with viewing at the Canary Islands site.If all
goes smoothly, construction will commence in fiscal year 2009, and the
telescope is anticipated to be in operation by 2015.
J.M. Buck
reprinted courtesy Halekala Times newspaper 2/27/07
original story at: www. haleakalatimes.com/story2419.aspx
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