THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The sun sets behind telescopes at the summit of the Big Island’s Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Below, Native Hawaiians protest the destruction of their sacred mountain.
From left state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, activist Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, state Sen. Kurt Fevella and state Sen. Laura Acasio pose for photos at the end of the 2022 legislative session at the Hawaii State Capitol in Honolulu on May 4, 2022. Telescopes and the needs of astronomers have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea for 50 years but that’s changing with a new state law saying the mountain sacred to Native Hawaiians must be protected for future generations and that science must be balanced with culture and the environment.
FILE – Native Hawaiian activists pray at the base of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, in the background on July 14, 2019. For over 50 years, telescopes have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea, a place sacred to Native Hawaiians and one of the best places in the world to study the night sky. That’s now changing with a new state law saying Mauna Kea must be protected for future generations and that science must be balanced with culture and the environment.
FILE – Officers from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources prepare to arrest protesters, many of them elderly, who are blocking a road to prevent construction of a giant telescope on a mountain that some Native Hawaiians consider sacred, on Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii on July 17, 2019. For over 50 years, telescopes have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea, a place sacred to Native Hawaiians and one of the best places in the world to study the night sky. That’s now changing with a new state law saying Mauna Kea must be protected for future generations and that science must be balanced with culture and the environment.
FILE – Kupuna Noe Noe Wong-Wilson dances a morning hula with other kupuna and ki’ai during the seventh day of protests against the TMT telescope on July 22, 2019 at the base of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island. For over 50 years, telescopes have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea, a place sacred to Native Hawaiians and one of the best places in the world to study the night sky. That’s now changing with a new state law saying Mauna Kea must be protected for future generations and that science must be balanced with culture and the environment.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The sun sets behind telescopes at the summit of the Big Island’s Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Below, Native Hawaiians protest the destruction of their sacred mountain.
From left state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, activist Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, state Sen. Kurt Fevella and state Sen. Laura Acasio pose for photos at the end of the 2022 legislative session at the Hawaii State Capitol in Honolulu on May 4, 2022. Telescopes and the needs of astronomers have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea for 50 years but that’s changing with a new state law saying the mountain sacred to Native Hawaiians must be protected for future generations and that science must be balanced with culture and the environment.
FILE – Native Hawaiian activists pray at the base of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, in the background on July 14, 2019. For over 50 years, telescopes have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea, a place sacred to Native Hawaiians and one of the best places in the world to study the night sky. That’s now changing with a new state law saying Mauna Kea must be protected for future generations and that science must be balanced with culture and the environment.
FILE – Officers from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources prepare to arrest protesters, many of them elderly, who are blocking a road to prevent construction of a giant telescope on a mountain that some Native Hawaiians consider sacred, on Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii on July 17, 2019. For over 50 years, telescopes have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea, a place sacred to Native Hawaiians and one of the best places in the world to study the night sky. That’s now changing with a new state law saying Mauna Kea must be protected for future generations and that science must be balanced with culture and the environment.
FILE – Kupuna Noe Noe Wong-Wilson dances a morning hula with other kupuna and ki’ai during the seventh day of protests against the TMT telescope on July 22, 2019 at the base of Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island. For over 50 years, telescopes have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea, a place sacred to Native Hawaiians and one of the best places in the world to study the night sky. That’s now changing with a new state law saying Mauna Kea must be protected for future generations and that science must be balanced with culture and the environment.
HONOLULU — For more than 50 years, telescopes and the needs of astronomers have dominated the summit of Mauna Kea, a mountain sacred to Native Hawaiians that’s also one of the finest places in the world to study the night sky.
That’s now changing with a new state law saying Mauna Kea must be protected for future generations and that science must be balanced with culture and the environment. Native Hawaiian cultural experts will have voting seats on a new governing body, instead of merely advising the summit’s managers as they do now.
The shift comes after thousands of protesters camped on the mountain three years ago to block the construction of a state-of-the-art observatory, jolting policymakers and astronomers into realizing the status quo had to change.
There’s a lot at stake: Native Hawaiian advocates want to protect a site of great spiritual importance. Astronomers hope they’ll be able to renew leases for state land underneath their observatories, due to expire in 11 years, and continue making revolutionary scientific discoveries for decades to come. Business and political leaders are eager for astronomy to support well-paying jobs in a state that has long struggled to diversify its tourism-dependent economy.
To top if off, the new authority may offer a first-in-the-world test case for whether astronomers can find a way to respectfully and responsibly study the universe from Indigenous and culturally significant lands.
“We’ve been here for centuries. We are not gone; we are still here. And we have knowledge that would produce a feasible management solution that would be more inclusive,” said Shane Palacat-Nelson, a Native Hawaiian who helped draft a report that laid the foundation for the new law.
At issue is the summit of Mauna Kea, which sits 13,803 feet above sea level. In 1968, the state gave the University of Hawaii a 65-year lease for land that the school subleases to leading global research institutions in exchange for a share of observation time.
Astronomers like Mauna Kea’s summit because its clear skies, dry air and limited light pollution make it the best place to study space from the Northern Hemisphere. Its dozen huge telescopes have played key roles in advancing humanity’s understanding of the universe, including making some of the first images of planets outside our solar system. Astronomer Andrea Ghez used one to prove the existence of a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, for which she shared the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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UV Index: 7 High
Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 66F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
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Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
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Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
Chance of Rain: 13%
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Humidity: 32%
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UV Index: 8 Very High
A few clouds from time to time. Low 64F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
Chance of Rain: 32%
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Humidity: 34%
Wind: S @ 9 mph
UV Index: 8 Very High
Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
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