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Hawaii Supreme Court Invalidates Permit for Telescope Construction on Mauna Kea

The dispute between scientists and preservationist islanders is hardly over.

On Wednesday, the Hawaii Supreme Court invalidated a permit previously granted to an international consort of universities for construction of a new telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea. The ruling stated that the Board of Land and Natural Resources should not have granted a permit in the first place to the project without first holding a hearing to evaluate a petition submitted by a group opposing the new telescope, according to the AP.

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The court had previously granted a temporary suspension of the permit, which was to expire on Wednesday.

The Thirty Meter Telescope is planned to be one of the largest such tools in the world—with the ability to peer at the beginning of time itself—and, if it does eventually get constructed, it will be the 14th telescope on the mountain's summit.

The project has been the subject of ongoing protests led by islanders who believe that the mountain is sacred, an occasionally ugly battle pitting scientists and the state of Hawaii against spiritualists, preservationists, and, yes, some celebrities. In an investigation published earlier this week, Motherboard's Becky Ferreira went inside the dispute.

This is hardly the end of things. The Board will reconsider the permit following a hearing TBD. Whatever the decision, it seems unlikely to end there.