Former UK telescope to be taken from sacred Hawaii mountain

FILE - In a Monday, Aug. 31, 2015 file photo, telescopes are shown on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, near Hilo, Hawaii. The University of Hawaii announced the third Mauna Kea observatory that will be decommissioned, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, fulfilling the governor's request to remove 25 percent of the telescopes from the mountain. The university on Wednesday said the third one marked for decommissioning will be the UKIRT Observatory, formerly known as the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File) FILE - In a Monday, Aug. 31, 2015 file photo, telescopes are shown on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, near Hilo, Hawaii. The University of Hawaii announced the third Mauna Kea observatory that will be decommissioned, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, fulfilling the governor's request to remove 25 percent of the telescopes from the mountain. The university on Wednesday said the third one marked for decommissioning will be the UKIRT Observatory, formerly known as the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File)

By Associated Press October 21, 2015 3 min read

HONOLULU (AP) – The University of Hawaii announced Wednesday that a third observatory will be taken from Mauna Kea – a move that fulfills the governor’s request to remove 25 percent of telescopes from the mountain considered sacred by many Native Hawaiians.

Gov. David Ige made the request in May amid protests against the building of a giant $1.4 billion telescope near the summit of the mountain.

Ige said 25 percent of the 13 telescopes already on the mountain must come down before the new Thirty Meter Telescope is ready for operation.

Construction of the new telescope has been stalled since April, when protesters blocked crews from the site.

The nonprofit company building it hasn’t indicated when it will resume construction, but the facility is still expected to be operational by 2024, spokeswoman Caroline Witherspoon said.