Maui PLANETS Telescope Comments Due by Aug. 22

Site of the proposed PLANETS Telescope. Image credit: Haleakalā High Altitude Observatories, KC Environmental Inc./ Draft EA.

University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy is proposing to establish and operate a PLANETS telescope facility located within the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site, near the summit of Haleakalā on Maui.

The proposed project would be specifically designed for low scattered light and high-contrast nighttime observations and would house the world’s highest-contrast optical telescope.

The proposed project involves the reuse and renovation of an existing structure that was formerly the University of Chicago Neutron Monitor Station.

The telescope is designed to study the atmospheres of planets around the sun and other stars.

Comments on the Draft Environmental Assessment are being accepted through Aug. 22, 2016.

Comments can be sent to: The University of Hawaiʻi, Institute for Astronomy (UH IfA) 34 Ohia Ku St. Room 216, Pukalani, HI 96768.  A copy should also be sent to the consultant at: KC Environmental, Inc. P.O. Box 1208, Makawao, HI 96768.