US launches environmental study for Thirty Meter telescope on Mauna Kea

The latest study is required under US law in order for the National Science Foundation to invest in the project. TIO, a partnership between the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and government-backed research institutions in Canada, China, India and Japan, plans to obtain $800m, 30% of the estimated cost of construction, from the US government, according to a report.

Supporters of the project have argued it will bring jobs and educational opportunities to the area, including via scholarships for Hawaii Island students.

Pisciotta was critical of the new study, which she said will force opponents to again take time away from their lives to give their views.

In a report issued last year, the US astronomy community said the National Science Foundation should invest in at least one or two of a new class of observatories called Extremely Large Telescopes planned by American institutions. The project proposed in Hawaii would cover the skies from the northern hemisphere, while the Giant Magellan Telescope project, based in Chile, would observe the universe from the southern hemisphere.