Hawaii Approves Telescope on Volcano Sacred to Indigenous People

An artist's concept illustrating the TMT Observatory at the proposed site on Mauna Kea, Hawaii provided on Sept. 28, 2017. Courtesy of TMT Observatory/Handout via REUTERS

A team of scientists won approval from Hawaii officials on Thursday to build a $1.4 billion telescope atop a volcano indigenous people consider sacred, but opponents vowed to continue fighting.

The Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources voted 5-2 to allow construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii’s Big Island, state officials said in a statement.