The official website of the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope in Hawaii was temporarily shut down during a cyberattack April 26, according to local reports.

The telescope is slated to become one of the world's biggest and is being built on the peak of Mauna Kea in Hawaii's Big Island despite opposition from local groups that don't want it.

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The website was shut down for two hours after the cyberattack. TMT spokeswoman Caroline Witherspoon confirmed the cyberattack but couldn't say who launched the attack.

A website called Operation Green Rights that claims to be affiliated with the hacker group Anonymous posted images on its page on Sunday claiming they were responsible for the hack.

Project spokeswoman Sandra Dawson said the TMT became a victim of an unscrupulous denial of service attack that was launched by Anonymous. Investigations are now being carried out.

Apart from the TMT, a state-owned website also was also hacked, according to local news reports.

The Operation Green Rights page posted screenshots from the Thirty Meter Telescope main site, which also includes the official website of Hawaii's state government.

A message on the group's page said "nothing will justify the destruction of our ecosystems as filthy money can never replace them. Stand with Hawaiian natives against the Thirty meter Telescope". This message includes a hashtag, #wearemaunakea.

Over the past month, many locals have been protesting the telescope's construction atop Hawaii's highest mountain. Locals believe the highest mountains in Hawaii are sacred since this is where their deities live.

Earlier this month, controversy and opposition intensified following the arrest of 31 protesters on the site.

The US$1.4 billion telescope is now under construction by the TMT Observatory Corporation. Mauna Kea which is considered ideal for astronomers as the telescope will lie inside a crater, providing unprecedented, clear views of the night sky to peer deeper into space.

TagsHawaii's Thirty Meter Telescope Website Shut Down by Cyberattack, US, Mauna Kea, TMT telescope, Thirty Meter Telescope, cyberattack TMT website