By Canadian Press

Jason Momoa visits protesters blocking new Hawaii telescope

Aug 1, 2019 | 8:26 AM

HONOLULU — “Aquaman” star Jason Momoa on Wednesday visited Native Hawaiian protesters blocking the construction of a giant telescope on Hawaii’s tallest mountain.

The Native Hawaiian Hollywood actor wore green leaf lei around his neck and the crown of his head as he attended a ceremony at the protest site.

Honolulu television stations livestreamed dancers in jeans and windbreakers performing hula in chilly weather.

Momoa stooped low to present an offering wrapped in green ti leaves. He said he was honoured to be there, drawing cheers after saying, “We are not going anywhere.”

Protesters have blocked the road to the summit for 17 days.

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Some Native Hawaiians believe Mauna Kea’s summit is sacred. The summit also has the best conditions for astronomy in the Northern Hemisphere.

Staff from existing telescopes on the summit meanwhile travelled up the mountain in seven vehicles to secure their facilities as two storms approached.

The observatories negotiated access through law enforcement, said Jessica Dempsey, the deputy director of the East Asian Observatory.

Some staff moved telescope domes away from the direction of prevailing winds. Others disabled systems so they won’t get as damaged if there’s a prolonged power outage.

The National Weather Service has forecast Hurricane Erick will pass south of Hawaii later this week. Meteorologists said Tropical Storm Flossie will likely approach the Big Island from the east early next week.

Astronomers haven’t been able to view the skies with the existing telescopes for the past two weeks amid protests.

Dempsey said the observatories haven’t been able to resume viewing because they still must notify law enforcement if they need to take vehicles up to the summit.

“And so at the moment, it remains that we cannot get all of our staff up, as well as our contractors and vendors, that we need to get up on a daily basis in order to return to operational state,” she said.

Audrey McAvoy, The Associated Press