Thirty Meter Telescope's website was hacked to protest its construction
A lot of people are obviously still unhappy that the Thirty Meter Telescope's (TMT) construction was greenlit, because the project's website was reportedly hacked on Sunday. A group called Operation Green Rights, which is associated with Anonymous, claims to be the brains behind the DDoS attack that took down the the TMT portal for a few hours. A post on its website says: "Nothing will ever justify the destruction of ecosystems; filthy money can never replace them. Stand with the Hawaiian natives against #TMT." The group also claims to be behind another DDoS attack on Hawaii's local website.
If you recall, many locals have been against the project from the time it was cooked up back in the 90s, because they consider Mauna Kea sacred. Environmentalists are also worried that the gargantuan telescope's construction will ruin the local ecosystem and affect people's drinking water. According to the folks behind the project, though, TMT will be a "zero waste discharge facility" and will be "no such danger" to the environment. Despite continued protests, it doesn't look like construction's been delayed again, so scientists might be able to use the telescope by its projected launch date in 2022.
