Il TMT è seriamente a rischio cancellazione a causa dei tagli all’NSF operati dall’ammistrazione Trump. In questi giorni la Spagna ha messo sul piatto 470 milioni di dollari per “portare” il telescopio alle Canarie.
Un breve articolo da Nature.
Spain bids €400 million to host mega telescope at risk in US budget cuts (archive)
Last month, the administration of US president Donald Trump announced plans to abandon further support for the telescope, as part of its proposals to slash by half funding for the US National Science Foundation (NSF), which has until now supported the telescope’s design.
Now the Spanish government has pitched to bring the giant facility to La Palma, in Spain’s Canary Islands — and backed up the effort with a pledge to contribute €400 million (US$470 million).
Il comunicato ufficiale dal sito del TMT:
Spain Extends Invitation for TMT to Consider La Palma Site
Today the Science Minister of Spain invited TMT to consider a move from our site in Hawaii to our alternative site in La Palma.
For over ten years, TMT has been engaging in discussions about the La Palma location as part of our contingency planning. No decision has been made about TMT’s future at our primary site in Hawaii.
The construction of TMT remains an exciting part of the future of astronomy. The project will realize the most sophisticated telescope ever constructed, at a scale needed to make the next generation of breakthroughs in the search for life on other planets, uncovering the nature of dark matter and dark energy that makes up most of our universe, and finding answers to the question of our very origins.
We will work expeditiously to secure our project’s future at the best site available to us.
Il comunicato del governo spagnolo:
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