WAILUKU >> An asteroid warning system that includes a telescope atop Haleakala is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The Maui News reported Sunday the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System will be installed in an existing facility at the Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site.

The Institute for Astronomy says the system will be capable of providing a one-week warning for a 50-yard diameter asteroid and three weeks for a 150-yard diameter one.

The institute says the system will also look for dwarf planets, supernova explosions and flashes of light that occur when a star is gobbled up by a massive black hole in a distant galaxy.

NASA is providing $5 million over five years for the project that includes eight telescopes, including one at Mauna Kea.