09-05-2019, 02:20 PM
"India would be a much, much better site than Hawaii."
No, this is incorrect. The site you refer to, Hanle, was looked at when the TMT was looking for an alternative site, but due to the geography of the area, winds are blown up and over the top of the site which degrades the seeing and is not comparable to Mauna Kea. Secondly, due to the lack of infrastructure and the distance from ports, the costs to build there would have been much greater than Mauna Kea. Thirdly, heavy snow blocks the few roads into the area each winter meaning the construction periods would be short and if built there, gaining access to the observatory for maintenance would often be impossible.
No, this is incorrect. The site you refer to, Hanle, was looked at when the TMT was looking for an alternative site, but due to the geography of the area, winds are blown up and over the top of the site which degrades the seeing and is not comparable to Mauna Kea. Secondly, due to the lack of infrastructure and the distance from ports, the costs to build there would have been much greater than Mauna Kea. Thirdly, heavy snow blocks the few roads into the area each winter meaning the construction periods would be short and if built there, gaining access to the observatory for maintenance would often be impossible.