(UFU - 2015 - 2aFASE)Worlds Largest elescope Faces
(UFU - 2015 - 2a FASE)
World’s Largest elescope Faces pposition from Native Hawaiian Protesters
By Katie Worth
The broad-shouldered summit of Mauna Kea holds many meanings for many people: For astronomers, it's a high-altitude playground of stars, among the best places on Earth to explore the firmament with minimal atmospheric distortion. For environmentalists, it's a “sky island ecosystem” that hosts rare and altitude-sensitive species, including the wekiu bug found nowhere else in the world. For Hawaiian spiritual practitioners, it is the home of gods, the most holy place on Hawaii's big island. As vast as its expanses of ice and lava are, Mauna Kea has not proved sizable enough to accommodate the desires of all three groups. The dormant volcano has become a battleground between astronomers, who have placed 13 telescopes at its summit and now wish to build one more, and Hawaiian cultural and environmental activists who believe the stargazing science has already had too much impact on the 4,205-meterhigh mountain.
Two lawsuits are in motion over the California Institute of Technology and the University of California's proposal to build the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT); in October activists shut down the project's groundbreaking in a protest that made headlines worldwide. So far, courts have ruled in favor of the telescope and construction has recently begun. Activists have appealed and say they will continue to protest.
For astronomers, the proposed new telescope represents tremendous promise: With a mirror nearly three times larger than any other on Earth, it could detect signs of life in other solar systems and provide clues to the origins of the universe. But for some Hawaiians, it represents the ongoing desecration of a sacred place.
Disponível no site: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/world-s-largest-telescopefaces-opposition-from-native-hawaiian-protesters/. Acesso em 21 fev. 2015.
RESPONDA A QUESTÃO EM INGLÊS. RESPOSTAS EM PORTUGUÊS NÃO SERÃO ACEITAS.
Based on the text about “World’s Largest Telescope”, answer the following questions:
A) What benefits can the construction of the new telescope provide?
B) Why is there opposition against the construction of the new telescope?
