08-27-2015, 02:25 PM
Ran into a couple of Mauna Kea astronomer friends last night and we discussed the ordeal in length. At this point they don't really care what happens. The setbacks and time lost due to the protesting will render TMT obsolete by the time it is built.
The protesters may be doing everyone a favor unknowingly. It's about being in space not on top of a mountain anymore. Incomparably better visibility and results hands down. The Hubble gets great visibility, Sophia is wonderful, but the best will be on the moon. Yes observatories on the moon, already working on it. And we are lagging way behind Europe, what happens here isn't all that important anymore.
The only concern my friends spoke of was the stain on our reputation for business here. TMT jumped thru all the hoops, paid a fortune and get derailed like this. Sends a terrible message to the rest of the world.
Regardless what the protesters think and say we need to keep moving forward economically if anything to just keep up with inflation so we can afford to live well. If TMT tanks everyone here may be facing economic hardship.
That's all I got for now.
The protesters may be doing everyone a favor unknowingly. It's about being in space not on top of a mountain anymore. Incomparably better visibility and results hands down. The Hubble gets great visibility, Sophia is wonderful, but the best will be on the moon. Yes observatories on the moon, already working on it. And we are lagging way behind Europe, what happens here isn't all that important anymore.
The only concern my friends spoke of was the stain on our reputation for business here. TMT jumped thru all the hoops, paid a fortune and get derailed like this. Sends a terrible message to the rest of the world.
Regardless what the protesters think and say we need to keep moving forward economically if anything to just keep up with inflation so we can afford to live well. If TMT tanks everyone here may be facing economic hardship.
That's all I got for now.