Deadline is Oct. 24 to provide feedback about relocating UH telescope to Hale Pōhaku

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is undergoing a Draft Environmental Assessment on its proposal to relocate the school’s 28-inch educational telescope from the summit of Maunakea to Hale Pōhaku. The deadline to provide feedback on the assessment is Oct. 24.

The UH Hilo teaching telescope now is undergoing decommissioning at the summit. It is scheduled for completion in 2023.

The project includes a 14-foot high, 18-foot diameter dome that will house the teaching telescope at the mid-level Onizuka Center for International Astronomy on Maunakea.

The dome will be placed on a yet to be constructed wooden deck that will connect to an existing building at Hale Pōhaku.

A Draft Environmental Assessment is required by the Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources for astronomy facilities placed within the state conservation district, and it is triggered by the use of state land and funds.

The Draft Environmental Assessment for the UH Hilo teaching telescope anticipates a finding of no significant impact. The official State of Hawaiʻi Office of Planning and Sustainable Development notice includes instructions on how to provide comments, which will be considered during the preparation of the final environmental assessment.  

“We hope our local community takes some time to learn more about the teaching telescope and how it will benefit not only UH Hilo students, but the entire island,” UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin said. “I am especially excited for the programming ideas that we have for the community at large to utilize the telescope.”