PUKALANI, Hawaii — The National Science Foundation wants to build a solar telescope atop Maui’s Haleakala mountain that will enable scientists to observe sunspots, flares and other phenomena too small to be seen with current equipment.

The federal agency picked the dormant volcano as the site for the world’s largest solar optical telescope last week. It announced the choice in the Federal Register Tuesday.
The $300 million project is due to be built on a half-acre among a cluster of observatories near Haleakala’s summit.
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources must approve the project before it may go forward.
Backers say the telescope would advance humanity’s understanding of the sun.
Opponents say it would defile a place sacred to Native Hawaiians.
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Information from: The Maui News, http://www.mauinews.com