At 3 a.m. on July 11, 1054, Arabic astronomers observed an extremely brilliant light emerging in Taurus. For 23 days this supernova challenged the sun and night, the most incandescent occurrence in recorded history. People in China, Arabia, Alaska, Arizona and the South Pacific marked this miraculous spectacle, but in Europe, no mention of it could be found in any manuscript in any library in the western world. It was the Dark Ages.

Freedom of science and inquiry cannot be repressed; nobody, no matter how they try to justify it, has the right to slam the lid on knowledge. Science, religion and culture need not be mutually exclusive but intertwine, each supporting the others.

Major advancements through the most powerful telescope ever developed will honor the navigational skills of the brave early Hawaiian explorers and has tremendous implications for today’s descendants, continuing man’s inherent drive to push beyond known boundaries, finding forming galaxies near the beginning of time.

Discoveries of our genesis will be Maunakea’s everlasting gift to the world.

Linda Hunter

Honokaa, Hawaii island

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