Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2009

Courtesy of TMT Observatory Corporation

The Japanese government is well-known for its contribution to overseas aid programs, but an international scientific collaboration promises to benefit humanity in a different way. When it’s completed in 2018, the Thirty Meter Telescope will “enable astronomers to detect and study light from the earliest stars and galaxies, analyze the formation of planets around nearby stars, and test many of the fundamental laws of physics,” according to the project’s website. The telescope is being built on Mauna Kea in Hawaii (elevation: 13,796 feet) by a confederation of US and Canadian universities; the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan joined as a “Collaborating Institution” last year. www.tmt.org