Mauna Kea

The advancement of science is the driving force for the future of humankind. Sometimes scientific advancement can get in the way of cultural and sacred practices. According to Christophe Dumas, head of operations for the Thirty Meter Telescope, the telescope would be more than 200 more sensitive than current telescopes and able to revolve objects 12 times better than the Hubble Space Telescope. The Thirty-Meter Telescope is planned on being built on Hawaii’s tallest mountain, Mauna Kea. Hawaiian natives protesters, “say installing yet another observatory on Mauna Kea’s peak would further defile a place they consider sacred”. This creates a dilemma which then in turns chooses people to pick science over religious and cultural practices.

“The Thirty Meter Telescope would enable scientists to study more galaxies and more black holes in greater detail.”(Mcavoy, 2019). The telescope will provide more information about distant planets, possibility of finding signs of extraterrestrial life, and the ability to study blackholes more closely. Andrea Ghez, a University of California, Los Angeles physics and astronomy professor who discovered our galaxy’s black hole won the Nobel Prize. Andrea explains that scientists believe balck holes play a fundamental role in how galaxies are formed and evolve. Andrea also explains, “The larger your telescope is, the finer the detail you should be able to see, and my group has worked on techniques for getting to that theoretical limit — getting to the sharpest images that we can obtain — and doing so allows us to see the heart of our galaxy.” (Hobson, 2020). The potential for scientific advancement is critical for the future of mankind, but this also may come with a detrimental cost.

The Hawaian natives have protested against building the Thirty Meter Telescope because, “Hawaiians consider Mauna Kea sacred for numerous reasons. The mountain is known as the home to Wākea, the sky god, who partnered with Papahānaumoku, the earth goddess. Protesters hope to protect and help restore the native ecosystem on Mauna Kea”. (2019). Many Hawaiians want to keep the naive Hawaiian culture alive ever since the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown. Hawaiians lost their land as well as their culture as the latter was suppressed through law and religion. (2019). Science tends to have a colonial aspect that no one seems to talk about. “Tackling the lingering influence of colonialism in science is much needed. But there are also dangers that the more extreme attempts to do so could play into the hands of religious fundamentalists and ultra-nationalists.”(2018). Overall I think respecting culture and religion is extremely important. I also believe that there must be a different location for this new telescope that does not disrupt peoples cultural and religious beliefs. There are many scientific benefits that can arise from building this telescope which can overall improve the lives we have today.

Work Cited:

‘A new Hawaiian Renaissance’: How a telescope protest became a movement. (2019, August 17). Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/16/hawaii-telescope-protest-mauna-kea

Hobson, J. (2020, October 06). Winner Of Nobel Prize In Physics Discusses Her Research Into Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/10/06/nobel-prize-physics-black-hole

Mcavoy, A. (2019, July 19). Giant Hawaii telescope to focus on big unknowns of universe. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://phys.org/news/2019-07-giant-hawaii-telescope-focus-big.html

Science Still Bears the Fingerprints of Colonialism. (2018, April 09). Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/science-bears-fingerprints-colonialism-180968709/