Thirty-Meter Telescope
Artist's rendering of proposed telescope
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| Alternative names | California Extremely Large Telescope 
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| Location(s) | (proposed) Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, United States |
| Coordinates | 19°49′58″N 155°28′54″W / 19.8327°N 155.4816°WCoordinates: 19°49′58″N 155°28′54″W / 19.8327°N 155.4816°W |
| Organization | TMT International Observatory |
| Altitude | 4,050 m or 13,290 ft |
| Wavelength | Near UV, visible, and Mid-IR (0.31–28 μm) |
| Built | mid-2020 |
| First light | est. 2022 |
| Telescope style | Segmented Ritchey–Chrétien telescope |
| Diameter | 30 m or 98 ft |
| Secondary diameter | 3.1 m or 10 ft |
| Tertiary diameter | 2.5 m × 3.5 m or 8.2 ft × 11.5 ft |
| Collecting area | 655 m2 or 7,050 sq ft |
| Focal length | f/15 (450 m) |
| Mounting | Altazimuth mount |
| Enclosure | Spherical calotte |
| Website | www |
 Location of Thirty Meter Telescope
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The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is a proposed astronomical observatory with an extremely large telescope (ELT) that has become the source of controversy over its planned location on Mauna Kea in the US state of Hawaii. Construction of the TMT on land which is sacred to Native Hawaiian culture and religion attracted international coverage after October 2014, when construction was temporarily halted due to protests. While construction of the telescope was set to resume on April 2 and later on June 24, 2015, it was blocked by further protests each time. The Board of Land and Natural Resources approved the TMT project, but the State Supreme Court of Hawaii invalidated the building permits in December 2015, ruling that the board had not followed due process. Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain is the alternative site if construction cannot go forward in Hawaii. The TMT would become the last area on Mauna Kea on which any telescope will ever be built.
Scientists have been considering ELTs since the mid 1980s. In 2000, astronomers considered the possibility of a telescope with a light-gathering mirror larger than 20 meters in diameter. The technology to build a mirror larger than 8.4 meters does not exist; instead scientists considered using either small segments that create one large mirror, or a grouping of larger 8-meter mirrors working as one unit. The US National Academy of Sciences recommended a 30-meter telescope be the focus of U.S. interests, seeking to see it built within the decade. Scientists at the University of California and Caltech began development of a design that would eventually become the TMT, consisting of 492 segmented mirrors with nine times the power of the Keck telescope. Due to its immense light-gathering power and the optimal observing conditions which exist atop Mauna Kea, the TMT would enable astronomers to conduct research which is unfeasible with current instruments. The TMT is designed for near-ultraviolet to mid-infrared (0.31 to 28 μm wavelengths) observations, featuring adaptive optics to assist in correcting image blur. The TMT will be at the highest altitude of all the proposed ELTs. The telescope has government-level support from several R&D spending nations: China, Japan, Canada and India.
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Wikipedia