Running an observatory can cost millions of dollars each year, and yet the astronomy business is not for-profit. “Our currency is knowledge, not dollars,” Astronomer and University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy Director Günther Hasinger says. “Astronomy is not a business in that sense.” Mauna Kea’s current 13 observatories rely on support from taxpayer-supported international science agencies and educational institutions. Hasinger estimates operations cost roughly $100,000 per employee…