• An image provided by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan shows what the world's biggest telescope, known as the TMT, will look like when it is completed in March 2022. | KYODO
    An image provided by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan shows what the world's biggest telescope, known as the TMT, will look like when it is completed in March 2022. | KYODO

  • Kyodo

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Japan, the United States, China, Canada and India are scheduled to launch work Tuesday to build the world’s biggest telescope, known as the 30-meter telescope, or TMT, near the summit of the Mauna Kea volcano on Hawaii Island.

They plan to complete the construction in March 2022. Japan will cover about a quarter of the construction costs, or about ¥150 billion.

To mark the start of construction, some 100 astronomers and officials from the five countries were scheduled to attend a ceremony held Tuesday at a location 4,012 meters high on Mount Mauna Kea.

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