misinformation – A Darker View

The motivation for TMT is greed and profit?

It is said over, and over, and over… The telescopes exist to exploit the mauna, to extract profit, that they are built for greed. This is the single most repeated myth about the observatories, and it is the most insulting.

The fact is that the observatories make no profit, they are either government owned or operated by non-profit corporations. Actually the reverse is true, they are very good at spending money, and they spend a lot, observatories are expensive to operate with about $100 million put into the island economy.

What opponents seem oblivious to is in insisting that the telescopes are for profit it that they a being totally insulting. The insinuation of greed is as insulting as the worst things said against them. They repeat the insult over and over and do not care.

People work in astronomy to learn and explore the universe, they consider the pursuit of knowledge to be a noble goal. I have never met someone who worked in astronomy to get rich, the very idea is laughable. Like much of academia astronomy generally does not pay very well compared to some alternatives. Personally I could be making far more money working for some mainland electronics firm, and have a much smaller mortgage.

Will TMT use nuclear power?

I truly cannot believe I am writing this. But the question is getting asked over and over on social media. The claim that TMT will use some for of nuclear power is apparently believed in some parts of the protest community.

TMT Cross Section — A cross section rendering of the TMT observatory

What will power TMT? HELCO

TMT will draw power from the local power grid like every other telescope. There is an underground power line run up the side of the mauna from the cross island transmission line in the Saddle.

There are other places where TMT could be built?

While it is true that TMT could be located at another site, no site would be quite as good as Mauna Kea.

The Thirty Meter Telescope — An artist concept of TMT at night, with the laser guide star system illuminated.

Astronomers measure the quality of a site in several ways, one of the most important is simply called ‘seeing’. This is a measure of atmospheric distortion, the amount of turbulence in the atmosphere above the telescope that distorts or blurs the image. In short it is a measure of how much stars twinkle at the site.

Seeing is measured in terms of the smallest discernible detail in arcseconds. A good site will have seing of less than one arcsecond. The best Chilean sites have seeing that averages around 0.7 arcseconds at best. Mauna Kea can have seeing that averages around 0.4 arcseconds when it is good, roughly twice as good as Chile.

Space telescopes are better?

Opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope attack the telescope in any way possible. Any argument is fodder in social media and newspaper editorials. Many of these arguments depend on a superficial level of knowledge about astronomy, this claim is a good example of this.

An artist’s concept of the James Webb Space Telescope

The claim is that a ground based telescope like TMT is not needed as a space telescope is more capable. Why spend the money? Why build TMT on Mauna Kea?

Given the stunning accomplishments of the Hubble Space Telescope this sounds plausible. This argument also ignores a number of fundamental realities in telescope design and use. Both have their limitations and we will discuss some of the more important ones here.

Certainly a telescope in space has a number of advantages over a ground based telescope. Not having an atmosphere to look through helps, it helps a lot. This is countered by the way ground based telescopes have developed solutions to overcome those limitations. The limitations on a space telescope are not created by the atmosphere and as such are far more practical and daunting.

Will TMT be obsolete before completion?

Among the claims made against the observatories this is probably another on the top three list… That TMT will be obsolete before it is complete, that the telescope is simply a waste of money.

This claim draws on the public perception that technology is advancing at a breakneck pace and that many devices we use in out daily lives are quickly obsolete in the face of new tech. What many people do not understand is that this does not apply to telescopes, or rather it does, but not in the way you might think.

The telescope itself is simply a light collector, a large mirror that collects the light from distant sources and focuses it for use by an instrument.

The basic optical design of one of the large telescopes atop Mauna Kea has not really changed that much since Laurent Cassegrain sketched it out in 1672. Sure the design has been refined, and made a bit bigger, but totally recognizable as the same in those original drawings from more than three centuries ago.

If the basic design of the telescope has served for centuries one can understand why it will not be obsolete in a few mere decades. The real technology in an observatory is found elsewhere.

Are there TMT jobs for locals?

Among the claims made against the observatories this is probably on the top three list… The observatories do not hire local people. As you can guess this is also quite wrong.

Looking from the top of the keck 2 dome towards IRTF, CFHT, and Gemini

For those who do not work on the mountain it is easy to be skeptical of job claims. Too many think that you need to be an astronomer to work at an observatory, or need to have some advanced degree.

What so many folks do not realize is that observatories hire relatively few astronomers. Maintaining a large observatory is the job of a wide range of people, a few scientists and engineers, and a lot of skilled workers that get the job done.

Astronomers do not fix telescopes, guys who know what wrench to use fix telescopes. The summit crews are largely mechanics, technicians, welders, electricians, and similar. By and large these guys are local, with most having grown up in the islands.

A Compendium of Anti-TMT Myths

When the Thirty Meter Telescope issue began I would have described myself as quite sympathetic to the cause of Native Hawaiians due to my normal political leanings and my own personal heritage. Over the years I have often become quite bitter about the continued use of lies, smears, and insults used against the telescopes by opponents.

TMT Rendering — An overhead view of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope, credit TMT Observatory Corporation

Can we have an honest dialog here?

Apparently not. The issues has become something akin to a religious crusade among people who have devoted their lives to the cause. When this happens little things like truth seem to lose.

I am going to be blunt here, we know much of the anti-TMT argument is either false or gross exaggeration. Project supporters have patiently corrected these arguments time and time again, documented the issues during the hearings, and yet we continue to hear these false arguments repeated. They are repeated online in social media, in newspaper editorials, even under oath in official proceedings.

Certainly some people repeat this misinformation in an honest belief that it is true, maybe they hear it from a source they trust, perhaps from a leader in the protest movement. We are now well over a decade into the controversy and we have been over and over the issues so many times, those more involved with the controversy should know the difference.

Will access to the mauna be closed permanently?

This one is a new one, at least to me, this bit of misinformation started showing up just after Governor Ige’s press conference that announced the access road closure to allow construction equipment to be moved.

Loading Snow — Loading pickup trucks with snow for export from the mauna.

Why do I get the feeling shit will go down on Mauna Kea with TMT, which will give the authorities the excuse to execute their plan of shutting down the summit road to the public for good? Mountain access stolen….
(Isn’t that part of the new plan? Reducing public’s access? All they need is an excuse to do it sooner than later. What then?)
Demian Barrios, Facebook post, July 11, 2019

Having a good understanding of management to the mauna I know this one to be false. One need only read the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan, Public Access Subplan to know where the official stance on access is. These are the binding management plans for the mauna, and nowhere do these plans permit permanent restrictions on the public’s use of Mauna Kea. Quite the opposite, public and cultural access is to be specifically permitted.

Changing these plans, and changing the access rules requires a full rule making process and public hearings.

Remove the abandoned telescopes?

One of the most pervasive claims surrounding the summit is that there are obsolete and abandoned telescopes littering the summit region. The claim seems to be pushed to show that there is no need for a new telescope or that the university’s management of the summit is negligent.

CSO — The CalTech Submillimeter Observatory under the stars

There are currently thirteen telescope facilities. All of these telescopes are functional, or were usable scientific instruments prior to shutdown, none have been abandoned in any sense.

Two of the telescopes are currently shutdown, in many ways victims of the current controversy rather than obsolescence. Both could be brought back on-line to perform useful science if allowed.

The Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, or CSO, was shutdown and is now awaiting dismantling and site restoration. An environmental assessment and a conservation district use permit are in process to allow this to happen.

Even while CSO has been shut down the reasons were budgetary, not so much obsolescence. The telescope itself is planned to be dismantled, moved, and reassembled on another site elsewhere in the world.

The University of Hawaii Hoku Kea telescope was due to be recommissioned with a new telescope installed in the recently renovated dome. This is on hold due to the TMT issues and the dome is likely to be dismantled as part of the deal to allow TMT. Loss of this telescope is unfortunate as this was a student telescope for university astronomy students.

Given the actual status of these two shutdown telescopes it is clear they are not abandoned as per the usual claim. All of the other facilities on the summit are operational and doing science.

Is TMT a military installation?

This lie is the favorite of the conspiracy theory crowd. It plays upon the fundamental distrust and enmity towards the US military that many segments of our island community hold. How can you have a giant structure on the mountain without the military being in charge? With lasers!

Why does TMT think #MaunaKea is worth all this trouble vs. the Canary Islands?
Is it the subtle cloud cover difference, or the FACT that Hawaii is heavily militarized with all 4 branches nearby?
Spoiler: major weapon contractors reside in current telescopes.
Kaniela Ing‏ @KanielaIng on Twitter, 16July2019

There is even a military base positioned to protect it! Never mind that base is a training base that has no troops more than half the time.

As someone on the inside I know this to be false. How to prove that? A bit more difficult as none of my answers are going to be heard by the true believers.

There are some practical considerations that should make this clear. The largest telescopes are not capable of tracking something as fast as a low earth orbit satellite, where the spy satellites operate. These big telescopes simply can not move fast enough to follow these objects across the sky. I work on the drive systems, I know.