Northwestern University joins Giant Magellan Telescope consortium
In what might be a signal as to the future of the two competing giant telescopes being built in the United States, Northwestern University has now chosen to join the consortium building the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) in Chile.
The university could have instead joined the consortium building the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) in Hawaii. That project however has been stalled for almost a decade due to opposition by DEI protesters who claim its construction would be a desecration to Mauna Kea, the mountain where it is being built.
At the moment both telescopes are lobbying the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the additional funds needed for completion. The NSF however can’t fund both, and either has to chose one or the other, or get Congress to give it more money. Right now it has been lobbying for more money, even though it has recognized that GMT is farther along and is in better shape. This decision by Northwestern might be telling us that university officials don’t expect that additional NSF funding to come through, and thus it is putting its money on the project most likely to get finished.
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In what might be a signal as to the future of the two competing giant telescopes being built in the United States, Northwestern University has now chosen to join the consortium building the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) in Chile.
The university could have instead joined the consortium building the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) in Hawaii. That project however has been stalled for almost a decade due to opposition by DEI protesters who claim its construction would be a desecration to Mauna Kea, the mountain where it is being built.
At the moment both telescopes are lobbying the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the additional funds needed for completion. The NSF however can’t fund both, and either has to chose one or the other, or get Congress to give it more money. Right now it has been lobbying for more money, even though it has recognized that GMT is farther along and is in better shape. This decision by Northwestern might be telling us that university officials don’t expect that additional NSF funding to come through, and thus it is putting its money on the project most likely to get finished.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
These will mainly be lobbying organizations trying to prevent more satellite deployments.