A plan for two 8-meter telescopes, one on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and one at Cerro Tololo in Chile, has been drawn up by the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO). The organization, which is funded by NSF, operates 4-meter optical telescopes on Kiu Peak in Arizona and Cerro Tololo, along with smaller telescopes at those sites and in New Mexico.
The total cost of the two new telescopes would be $125 million, according to Sidney Wolfe, NOAO director. That hefty price tag has led to a search for partners in the project, which NOAO hopes can begin in 1992 and be completed by the end of the decade. Fortunately for NOAO, astronomers in the United Kingdom and Canada have been developing separate proposals for government-funded 8-meter telescopes. A stipulation by both nations that the cost would be shared with another country has led each group to seek an international alliance.
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