The repercussions and fallout from Wednesday’s Thirty Meter Telescope beat-down at the Hawaii state Supreme Court are about as clear as a distant object in the nighttime sky.

But for many the biggest question is this: Will the TMT International Observatory Board, facing years of delay, now pack up its $1.4 billion project on Mauna Kea and search for a more accommodating mountain to conduct its cutting-edge astronomy?

After the court telegraphed its due process objections during oral arguments in August, an official with the California nonprofit conceded the project might face a delay but reaffirmed the board’s commitment to Hawaii.

Asked repeatedly about the future this week, TMT officials would say only they are assessing their next steps.

The state Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously ruled that the state Board of Land and Natural Resources failed to follow the state Constitution when it formally approved the project’s conservation district use permit before holding a contested case hearing.

A contested case, the court noted, is intended for the board to weigh additional evidence to fully evaluate a project before final approval.

The court revoked the permit and sent it back to the board for a new contested case hearing.

It’s unclear whether the University of Hawaii, on behalf of TMT, will have to apply for another permit and produce new and costly environmental studies and associated documents, or whether the process would simply start again at the contested case hearing, using the same application as before.

The office of state Attorney General Douglas Chin last week said details about what will be required are still under review.

Whatever Chin decides, the TMT is probably looking at years of delay, perhaps three to five years or even more, considering that the now-invalidated contested case hearing started four years ago.

And the project now faces re-energized and emboldened foes who promise to throw down objections and legal obstacles at every turn.

Then, if the TMT successfully negotiates those land mines, it faces the prospect of protesters once again forming a last line of defense on a mountain they consider sacred.

As currently planned, the giant telescope capable of seeing more than 13 billion light-years away would become operational in 2024.

While construction on Mauna Kea has been stalled since April, the manufacturing of telescope parts has continued unabated at plants in the project’s member nations, which include the United States, India, China, Japan and Canada.

If TMT officials are looking for an alternative site, they could very well take their telescope to Cerro Armazones. The mountain in Chile’s Atacama Desert was announced as the runner-up location in 2009 following evaluations of the top two sites.

But at least a couple of Hawaii astronomers say they would be surprised if the TMT abandoned Mauna Kea. They said restarting elsewhere would probably take longer than any delay here.

Thayne Currie, a research associate with Mauna Kea’s Subaru Telescope, said the runner-up site is in a foreign country, requiring a new set of permits and having to deal with new construction contractors, labor laws, environmental laws and new local infrastructure to support an observatory.

“Astronomers are accustomed to delays,” Currie said. “We often have to wait an extra year to do one thing that takes 30 minutes because weather happened to be bad on a given night. The James Webb Space Telescope has been delayed five-plus years but is going to turn out just fine. So will TMT. Patience: TMT is worth the wait.”

Doug Simons, director of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, said walking away from Mauna Kea would be extremely hard for TMT officials for several reasons, including the fact that the mountain’s astronomy infrastructure is far superior to any other place in the world.

Mauna Kea has a huge advantage, he said, due to existing fiber optics, power and road system, plus access to engineering expertise and a world-class astronomy program at the University of Hawaii.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he said of a possible move.

In addition, the TMT is the only next-generation, extremely large telescope planned for the Northern Hemisphere, Simons noted. The two other extremely large telescopes now under development are already planned to scan the southern sky.

Currie added: “Having used multiple telescopes on Mauna Kea and multiple sites in Chile and the mainland U.S., it is absolutely clear to me that Mauna Kea is the best site for astronomy.”

Simons, who has helped to organize community meetings in hopes of bringing both sides together, said the delay might even be a good thing for the project, considering the current frenzy of opposition.

He said allowing the telescope plan to simmer on low for a few years will decrease community tension and allow clear-headed discourse about science and culture on the mountain.

The delay will change the context and dynamics of the conversation without the spectre of an immediate TMT construction startup clouding the issues, he said.

But the opposition, including both the young protesters and the challenging litigants, has promised to keep the pressure on.

Richard Naiwieha Wurdeman, attorney for the Mauna Kea Hui, said his clients plan to challenge the case on any number of points from the beginning, including starting with UH-Hilo’s right to apply for or hold the permit on behalf of the TMT.

Fact is, he said, the project’s initial permit application fell short because it was submitted without a comprehensive management plan and it failed to meet other requirements. After the university won the permit, it entered into a sublease with TMT.

“In that, TMT is clearly the real party in interest,” Wurdeman said in an email. “A new application should be submitted by TMT and should be required by the BLNR, and the University of Hawaii needs to stop spending exorbitant amounts of taxpayer money to pursue permitting for a private entity.”

The university, in a statement following the high court ruling, said it is still evaluating “the best way forward.”

Simons, who has worked on Mauna Kea for 30 years, said many people don’t understand the consequences if TMT were to relocate.

Lots of federal dollars are at stake, he said, including some that are expected to go toward the next big project on the summit after TMT: the $250 million Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer project, which will turn the current 3.4-meter mirror at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope into a 10-meter mirror.

The MSE’s wide field surveys are expected to find potential targets in the sky that the TMT can set its powerful eye upon.

In addition, federal funds could be scuttled for another major overhaul planned for the Subaru telescope, which is looking to take on a supporting role for the TMT.

Simons said he’s already detected an erosion in confidence in Hawaii among funding sources, and he’s fearful the TMT debate will lead to targeting the Mauna Kea master lease, which is up for renewal in 2033. Without that lease, Hawaii island’s $91 million astronomy industry essentially would be wiped out.

“TMT represents a lot of opportunity for Hawaii — academic, economic, philanthropic and more. International governments, private foundations and national entities have chosen to invest here in Hawaii because of the promise TMT holds. Retaining their faith that Hawaii is a good place for clean, high-tech industry growth and academic excellence is key for the future of astronomy, and for the future of Hawaii,” Simons said.