European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Giant hawaiian Eye by Malcolm w. Browne new York times blowing through the final thickets of technical and human problems builders say that the Keck Telescope the world largest and most powerful optical Telescope will be ready to open its huge Eye to the heavens this Spring. Astronomers expect the 396-Inch Telescope to yield a Harvest of discoveries comparable to those produced by the 200-Inch Hale Telescope  mount Palomar in California which has been operating brilliantly for 40 years. Future users of the Keck Telescope Hope to learn among other things How the universe acquired its Complex galactic Structure after the big bang the infinitely hot fireball from which most cosmologists believe the universe sprang the birth of the Keck Telescope has not been easy. The whine of electric tools and the shouted conversation of steel workers bolting together the towering framework clash with the stillness outside the cavernous Observatory dome the new Telescope has intruded upon Mauna Kea a dormant Volcano that rises 13,796 feet above sea level on the Island of Hawaii the largest in the hawaiian Chain it is the highest Mountain in the Pacific Basin. The Keck Telescope will be the ninth major instrument installed at or near the Summit since 1968. Still More Are planned at 13.600 feel the Altitude of the Keck Observatory the air is so thin that workers must be taught How to breathe solely the Ruddy Rock strewn soil of the Summit Region looks As Barren As a Martian landscape. The lunar Rover vehicle used by Apollo astronauts to explore the Moon was tested there. Only a few dozen Miles away vacationers bask under a tropical Sun. But there scientists and technicians huddle in parkas against biting winds and snowstorms. Winter storms make the Steep single Lane Road to Mauna Kea s Summit especially treacherous the Telescope girders and prefabricated framework which were made in Spain Are relatively impervious to Shock. But 42 Mirror segments polished by laboratories in the Mainland United slates must also be trucked up. Each segment valued at about $1 million is made of thin fragile Glass. Although most hawaiians appear to approve of the astronomical development of Mauna Kea approval is by no Means Universal. Small shrines on the flanks of Mauna Kea and its actively volcanic neighbor Mauna Loa attest to the continued worship of the spirits thought to reside on these peaks. Some Hunters hikers conservationists and illicit marijuana growers object to the scientific exploitation of the Mountain officials say. Public Access to the Summit is guaranteed by the state of Hawaii which administers the Peak As a scientific preserve but officials and scientists will bar the Public from the site during the total eclipse of the Sun on july 11,1991. A storm of protest has already greeted the planned closure. Astronomers have also lost favor with a few resort developers. Prodded by scientists the county of Hawaii which is contiguous with the Island has imposed stringent Laws against Light pollution. But the conditions that cause problems for humans on Mauna Kea make the White Mountain As its name Means in English Ideal for astronomy. Mauna Kea is probably the Best site in the world for ground based optical  said or. Gerald m Smith the Keck project manager. Up Here we Are above 40 percent of the Earth s atmosphere and this eliminates much of the kind of distortion which at lower altitudes makes stars appear to  the air above Mauna Kea is very dry he added and the absence of water vapor allows infrared and microwave radiation from celestial sources to reach the ground Hawaii s location near the Equator moreover gives it a particularly Good View of the Center of the Milky Way Galaxy a prime target of infrared astronomy. Of the nine major telescopes on Mauna Kea the Keck will be supreme if it lives up to expectations. The diameter of its segmented Glass Mirror will be 33 feet allowing it to gather four times As much Light from the stars As does the Palomar instrument. Or. Jerry Nelson of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in California the principle designer of the Keck Telescope said the instrument will be Able to see twice As far into space As the Palomar Telescope. The Keck will also vastly outperform the space Telescope in Many types of observations he said. The space Telescope scheduled to be launched aboard a shuttle flight this year has a Mirror Only 94 inches in diameter. A lot of Light is needed to make the detailed spectral analyses of celestial objects needed for most astronomical research programs Nelson said. Spectral studies Are essential to the calculation of astronomical distances and the chemical compositions i of stars which reveal their evolutionary histories. The space Telescope will be a wonderful instrument but it cannot match the essential Light gathering ability of Large aperture ground  the Only Region rivalling Mauna Kea in popularity among major Observatory builders is a Section of the Andes mountains in Northern Chile. A consortium of european nations the european Southern Observatory expects to Complete its very Large Telescope vat at la Silla Chile before the end of the Century. The instrument s Lour huge mirrors will have a combined aperture equivalent to 16 meters. The completion of the Keck Telescope will culminate planning that began i 1965 to build a super Telescope based on innovative technology. A Grant of $70 million from the v m Keck foundation brought the plan to fruition. Nelson realized at the outset that a 10-meter Glass Mirror in one piece would be far too heavy to resist the bending forces of Gravity. Instead he and other experts developed a composite Mirror of 36 hexagonal segments each one six feet across and separated from its neighbors by spaces of three Millimetres. Each Mirror is Only three inches thick and would Bend out of shape if supported by a conventional Telescope framework. The Keck designers used two types of support. One provides a rigid backing and the other is a system of constantly readjusted pressure Points at the Back of each segment. The question being asked by baby Boomers in t. Is there life after throwaway diapers Are abolished but is that life Worth living disposable diapers were something my generation used to fantasize about. That and Catheter implants. I used to stand at my picture window in the suburbs watch a blizzard raging outside and Pray please god. I Don t care if the milk gets through or the mail or even the school bus. But please give wings to the diaper service truck " maybe it s because we had All gone through the dip and hush Era on our hands and Knees in front of the commode it was not a pretty sight. If we drifted for a moment the flush sucked the diaper and our Arm right into the septic tank on the front Lawn. When diaper service came into being we rejoiced. It was t until the Day before pickup that dropping a soiled diaper into the can meant risking the sight of a Good Eye. But it was better than what we had. When paper products became state of the Art in this Page 16 the stars and stripes country disposable diapers were a natural. Today mothers use 16 billion of them a year. That s 3.6 million tons a year going into sanitary landfills environmentalists say you have to Start somewhere. Why not go Back to cloth diapers that you dip and flush Wash bleach soften and use again could we talk about this As a Mother. I d rather do away with foam cups and have hot Coffee poured into both of my hands and drink fast than do away with disposable diapers. Want to Cut Back on paper products abolish those Little paper dresses that doctors use to make you forget Why you came to their office in the first place. Just bring a Bathrobe from Home. It s not As if we Don t have other options. Think How much wastepaper we could save by doing away with the 18 or 19 subscription cards that drop out of a single Magazine and into our laps each month. Ask yourself do we need All that paper wadded up in the toes of new shoes there is absolutely no reason in this world to keep turning out gift boxes year after year. My saturday february 10,1990 Mother has enough of them stored to Supply every major City in this country for the next 10 years. You have to have priorities. What is More important filling out eight pounds of insurance forms for a crack in your Windshield or changing the diaper of a child who just ate mud there have been few contributions to society in this Century that have made such an Impact on our population As the disposable diaper. I Don t think people really care if their hamburger is housed in a White foam Condo or if plastic rings Are really necessary to Bond their six pack. But to do away with paper diapers would once again bring mothers to their Knees. Literally. Let us Hope manufacturers can come up with a diaper that is environmentally sound. To go Back to cloth would Send us Back to the Day when breathing and raising a baby at the same time were incompatible. C i990 Ernia boat tick