On Tuesday, the construction of the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) officially kicked off. This enormous next-generation telescope would be the world's largest telescope.

This telescope would have the capacity to transform astronomers' understanding of the universe. The construction of this telescope was halted for some time because of the protest by the group calling itself Mauna Kea Anaina Hou.

This TMT will be the largest Earth-based telescope ever to be built. In this construction, a 30-meter reflective surface built from 493 hexagonal mirrors will be done. The whole set up will be computer controlled so as to counteract the blurring effects of the Earth's atmosphere. This 2,000 ton instrument will be completed in 2022, and will incur a cost $1.4bn.

With an aim to minimize light and atmospheric pollution, it has been decided that this telescope will be built at 14,000 feet up on the summit of the Mauna Kea volcano on Hawaii's big island. This place is already home to 13 other telescopes and this is the reason why some of the locals have a problem with this latest construction.

The protesting group Mauna Kea Anaina Hou stated that the volcano is a sacred site. So, when more than 100 astronomers were all prepared to hold the opening ceremony of the site the members of this group staged a sitdown protest on the access road to the observatory. Because of this, the opening ceremony, which was due to have George Takei hosting, was briefly halted. Eventually the protestors were persuaded to move along.

TIO Board Chair Henry Yang said, "With profound respect for the culture, environment, and values, and thanks to the people of Hawaii, we appreciate the opportunity to build this revolutionary facility for expanding our understanding of the universe". He added that this telescope is a remarkable partnership among institutions in five nations, in cooperation with the University of Hawaii, to achieve a shared, visionary goal.