Evaluation of General Sources: Telescope Assembly

Evaluation of General Sources

There are currently a number of major debates in the field of optical engineering, one of which revolves around the building of a massive telescope in the midst of Hawaii. As the construction of this innovative optical instrument has come about there has been much controversy regarding the specific plot of land which it is intended to be on. Many native Hawaiians are angered with this invasion of their homeland and a number of articles have been written pertaining to the controversial topic. 

Pathan, Kashif. "Thirty Meter Telescope in Hawaii, one of 6 new telescopes that will change the way we see space." 11/13/14 via flickr. Public Domain Dedication

Business Insider Article: 

Buisiness Insider's Article: "5 Ways the world's most controversial telescope could revolutionize astronomy" delves into the incredible functions of the telescope being built on one of Hawaii's mountain while also discussion the major debate about whether or not it is appropriate for it to be built there. 

• URL: The URL of this website is .com which means that it is a website that is looking to make money. This url, .com, was originally intended for business reasons but today it is the most common url used for many different types of websites. Although this source would be more credible if it had a different url such as .org this website should be suitable for this blog because I was looking for a general sources, not specifically a scholarly source. 
• Author: The author of this post is Kelly Dickerson, a woman who graduated with Journalism degrees in science and health reporting. She has a history of having reported and written for a number of credible organizations so I think she comes across as credible to report on this controversy. 
• Last Updated: This specific article was last updated on June 2nd, 2015. Because this is a pretty recent date I would assume that the controversy is still pretty heated, unless there has been massive strides in coming to an agreement in the past three months. There are a number of links on the page that help to further define terms used such as the "sacred ground" the Hawaiians are complaining about and what specifically the telescope is. 
• Purpose: The purpose of this text is to explain to readers the reason for the controversy over building such a large telescope on the Hawaiian mountain and additionally to specify exactly the importance of the amazing innovation. 
• Graphics: There are a number of graphics throughout the article including a depiction of what the telescope should look like, a diagram showing how innovative the telescope's ability to see into space will be, and a map depicting dark matter in the universe. 
• Position on Subject: Throughout the article the author doesn't appear to take on one side or the other of the controversy when explaining it  but through the explanation of how many new things the telescope will be able to the author seems to be leaning more towards how important it is to have such technology to further society's understanding of the world, space around it and the galaxy. 
• Links: After reading the article I also found links at the bottom of the page for readers to follow to read further on how the controversy has extended to many people in the optics field. One of the articles was entitled: "This giant telescope has split the astronomy community in two" which goes into more depth on how society feels regarding the innovative creation. Additionally the links throughout the article work to provide articles to help further reader's understanding of the features of the new telescope and how it will work. 

Phys.org Article: 

This article, titled "Amid Controversy, construction of telescope in Hawaii halted (update)" was written earlier than The Insider article this year but had the same focus regarding Hawaii's controversial telescope. This article primarily focuses on the heart of the controversy though, rather than the specific capabilities of the telescope. 

• URL: The website has a .org domain which means that this website is run by a non-profit organization. This domain type means that the website is very credible due to the fact that its main focus isn't making money but rather just informing society about the issues which its articles pertain to. 
• Author: Unfortunately there were no links to a specific profile of the author but when I looked up his name, Caleb Jones, on twitter the first option was a Caleb Jones who is an environment reporter. I believe that this is him because he is living in Hawaii and has posted a number of articles regarding his surrounding area which makes him seems somewhat credible although more information on him would be helpful to get a better idea on who he is. 
• Last Updated: The article was last updated on April 7th, 2015 which isn't very recent so there could be more updated research and information on the controversy. There are no immediate links in the body of the article which leads me to believe it might be more helpful to search for more up to date information regarding the topic. 
• Purpose: The purpose of this article is to inform readers about the reason why the Hawaiian natives are so upset about the building of the telescope on their special land that they consider "sacred" while also informing readers of the importance of the telescope and why proponents are favoring it being built in an area handpicked because of the lack of any special landmarks or archeological sites. 
• Graphics: There are a number of pictures showing both what the intended telescope should look like as well as pictures of the surrounding area and protest which have been occurring since October of 2014. 
• Position on Subject: The author seems to have written this article without a one sided view and primarily informing readers about the controversy overall. Due to the fact that he cites both critics and supporters of the building of the telescope he doesn't seem to promote one side or the other just simply giving the facts regarding both sides. 
• Links: At the bottom of the article there is a link to another article entitled: "World's largest telescope to be built in Hawaii" which is an article regarding the more specifics of the telescope that is intended to be built in Hawaii and how it will be unlike any other previous telescope built.