World's largest optical telescope gets go-ahead (video)

Plans to build the world's largest optical telescope on top of a volcano in Hawaii have been approved. The plan by California and Canadian universities call for a 30m telescope, the largest ever created, The Daily Mail reports.

The $1bn telescope would be able to observe planets that orbit stars other than the sun and enable astronomers to watch new planets and stars being formed.

It should also help scientists see some 13 billion light years away for a glimpse into the early years of the universe.
Construction costs are expected to top $1 billion.

The telescope's segmented primary mirror, which is nearly 100 feet (30 meters) long, will give it nine times the collecting area of the largest optical telescopes in use today.

Its images will also be three times sharper. 
But the telescope may not hold the world's largest title for long.
A group of European countries plans to build the European Extremely Large Telescope, which will have a 138-foot (42-meter)-long mirror.

To build the world's largest telescope at the summit of Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano won approval from the state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday.

The decision clears the way for the group managing the Thirty Meter Telescope project to negotiate a sublease for land with the University of Hawaii.

Some Native Hawaiian groups had petitioned against the project, arguing it would defile the mountain's sacred summit.
Native Hawaiian tradition holds that high altitudes are sacred and are a gateway to heaven. In the past, only high chiefs and priests were allowed at Mauna Kea's summit.

The mountain is home to one confirmed burial site and perhaps four more.
Environmentalists also petitioned to stop the telescope on the grounds it would harm habitat for the rare wekiu bug.
The board approved the project anyway, but imposed two dozen conditions including a requirement that employees be trained in culture and natural resources.

The state's isolated location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean also means the area is relatively free of air pollution.
Few cities on the Big Island mean there aren't a lot of man-made lights around to disrupt observations.