Dive Brief:

• Construction on what will be one of the world’s largest telescopes is under siege in Hawaii, where police have arrested dozens of protestors for blocking a road to prevent heavy equipment from passing, and a native Hawaiian leader has called for the state to halt the project.

• Their objection centers around the location of the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope in the Mauna Kea Conservation District on the Big Island of Hawaii. Native Hawaiians claim the construction site is sacred ground and should be left undisturbed.

• The protestors disrupted the site’s groundbreaking in October and have filed petitions with Hawaiian courts and the governor, aiming to shut down construction of the 18-story telescope, slated to power up in 2022.

Dive Insight:

Native Hawaiians and environmentalists have fought for three decades with the University of Hawaii, which has wanted to build on Mauna Kea. But supporters of the telescope, which will be 10 times more powerful than the Hubble Telescope, say it will allow scientists to see 13 billion light years away, which could lead them to discoveries about the early years of the universe.