Thirty Meter Telescope

WHY IN NEWS?

India, a partner in the construction of one of the largest telescopes in the world, TMT, has said it wants the project to be moved out of the proposed site at Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii.

ABOUT THIRTY METER TELESCOPE

• The Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT) will enable scientists to study fainter objects in the universe, which gives information about early stages of evolution of the universe.
• It will also allow to see deeper into space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity.
• With its 30 m prime mirror diameter, TMT will be three times as wide, with nine times more area than the largest currently existing visible-light telescope in the world.
• The Thirty Metre Telescope is a joint venture (JV) involving following countries namely, USA, Japan, China, India and Canada.
• From India side, this will be a joint project of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
• Hanle in Ladakh has been identified as one of the potential alternate sites for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). The original site for TMT was Mauna Kea in Hawaii in the United States of America.
• India has committed $200 million, which is about a tenth of the proposed cost.
• The telescope needs 492 precisely polished mirrors and India is to contribute 83 of them.
• India, in 2020 stands to get 10% of the available slots. As the level of contribution determines the amount of viewing time, or slots, that the member-countries’ scientists get on the machine.

India’s Proposal for Changing the Location

• The TMT has been a litigious site since 2014. The project has not made any progress because of regular obstructions.
• The proposed site is considered sacred to indigenous Hawaiians, and already has too many observatories in the region.

Prelims Question

Q. Consider the following statements regarding Thirty Metre Telescope :
1.The Thirty Metre Telescope is a joint venture (JV) involving USA, Japan and India only.
2.From India side, this will be a joint project of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a)1 only
b)2 only
c)Both 1 and 2
d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to the Prelims Question