China, India to jump forward with Hawaii telescope

January 12, 2012 By AUDREY McAVOY , Associated Press Enlarge

In this artist rendition provided by TMT, the Thirty Meter Telescope is seen. China and India have signed on to be partners for a project to build the Thirty Meter Telescope, which will be the world's largest when it's finished in 2018, at the summit of Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii. It's the first time either nation has joined a major telescope involved in research on the frontiers of astronomy. The TMT observatory will be so powerful it will allow scientists to see some 13 billion light years away and get a glimpse into the early years of the universe. (AP Photo/Thirty Meter Telescope)

China and India are catapulting to the forefront of astronomy research with their decision to join as partners in a Hawaii telescope that will be the world's largest when it's built later this decade.

China and India will pay a share of the construction cost - expected to top $1 billion - for the Thirty Meter Telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea volcano. They will also have a share of the observation time.
It's the first advanced telescope in which either nation has been a partner.
"This will represent a quantum leap for the Chinese community," Shude Mao, professor of astrophysics at National Astronomical Observatories of China, said in a telephone interview Wednesday from Waikoloa on the Big Island, where he was attending a meeting of the telescope's scientific advisory committee.

MORE: http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-china-india-hawaii-telescope.html

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