* Astronomy

Britain might withdraw 1 Mauna Kea telescope

The Joint Astronomy Centre said one of the telescopes it operates in Hawaii is losing the support of its funding agency.
The United Kingdom's Science and Technology Facilities Council has come up with a five-year program that includes a "managed withdrawal" from the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope, the centre said on its Web site.
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Three of today's largest telescopes-Gemini North, Subaru, and Keck-stand within hailing distance of one another atop the nearly 14,000-foot peak of Hawaii's Mauna Kea, an inactive volcano. The altitude puts them above 40 percent of Earth's atmosphere-and most of its water vapour, which is opaque to the infrared wavelengths the astronomers like to study-but also makes it difficult for the astronomers and engineers who work there to breathe and think. Many wear clear-plastic oxygen tubes in their nostrils as routinely as we might wear eyeglasses. Others rely on the body's ability to adapt but worry about making what they call a CLM, or "career-limiting mistake."

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