The committee of experts of the US Academy of Science considers that the TMT is a priority, and maintains La Palma as a possible site

Simulación del TMT. Crédito: M3 Engineering, Telescopio de Treinta Metros

The National Academy of Science of the United States presented, yesterday afternoon, its report Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s, a decadal study which identifies priorities for research and makes recommendations for future investment in scientific projects for the next ten years.

Among its conclusions the report specifies the Programme of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELT) as a priority for ground-based astronomy, and stresses the need to invest in at least one of the projects proposed for this type of telescopes, among them the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).

According to the report, the TMT could be sited either in Hawaii or La Palma. Rafael Rebolo, Director of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) rates this decision as a success “because it means that the scientific evaluation carried out by the higest level committee in the United States considers that the scientific objectives of the TMT are feasible if it is sited in La Palma”.

During 2022 the National Science Foundation (NSF) will carry out an external and exhaustive revision, to evaluate the financialand programmatic viability of each of the American projects for ELT’s. 
 

Link to Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s​​​​​

Related projects
Thirty Meter Telescope - TMT
Thirty Meter Telescope - TMT
Una vez construido, el Telescopio de Treinta Metros (Thirty Meter Telescope, TMT) será el telescopio terrestre más avanzado y potente de la historia, así como el telescopio óptico infrarrojo más grande del hemisferio norte que existirá en ese momento. Se incluye entre los denominados de tipo Telescopio Extremadamente Grande por el diámetro de su
Related news