In 2009, the TIO Board of Governors selected Maunakea, Hawai驶i as the preferred site for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). In 2016, TIO evaluated six potential locations to identify an alternate site, ultimately selecting the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) on the island of La Palma, Spain.
Both Maunakea and ORM meet TMT's site requirements and offer an exceptional location for adaptive optics. Maunakea offers the best seeing conditions, experiences less atmospheric water vapor (critical for infrared and mid-infrared observations), and benefits from its high altitude, which reduces atmospheric interference and allows more light to reach the telescope.
Main site characteristics measured for the Maunakee (preferred) and ORM (alternate) TMT sites. The data for the European ELT site is also included for comparison. Sites with the best parameter are boldface.
Note: (H) Higher is better. (L) Lower is better
You can read about the site selection of La Palma, here, and the comparison to Maunakea, here.
