Let me try to put the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) in perspective, using data from the TMT project EIS and the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision allowing the project to go forward.

Most of the Mauna Kea summit is within what is designated as the Mauna Kea Science Reserve, which consists of 11,228 acres, surrounded largely by forest reserve.

The bulk (95%) of the total is designated a Cultural and Nature Preservation area consisting of 10,763 acres.

The Astronomy Precinct makes up the remaining 525 acres (about 5% of the total).

And the total area of the proposed TMT, including the observatory dome, support building, and the area disturbed during construction would be about five acres.

Here’s a chart showing the relative sizes. The first column, on the left, represents the entire area set aside as the Mauna Kea Science Reserve. The second column represents what is part of the Cultural and Natural Preserve. The third column shows the relative size of the astronomy precinct. And, finally the last bar represents the size of the TMT site.

Here’s an overview from the EIS. The Mauna Kea Science Reserve is outlined by the green dotted line. The smaller Astronomy Precinct is outlined by the dotted blue line.

And one more graphic, this time a closer look at the location of the TMT site. The Astronomy Precinct is shown by the dotted blue line. The Astronomy Precinct is divided into five zones, marked as Area A through Area E. The latter, Area E, is in the upper portion of the Astronomy Precinct marked by the red dotted line.

The TMT site is shown in yellow, located in the upper section of Area E. The actual observatory would be in a portion of the area shown in yellow.

The TMT site is located 600 feet below the summit ridge, according to the EIS. The observatory would rise 180 feet above ground, leaving the top of the observatory more than 400 feet below the summit ridge.

Links to the draft environmental impact statement can be found here.

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