Interest of the Observatory – Times Union

Albuquerque, N.M.

An observatory located in the mountains of southern New Mexico, dedicated to unlocking the mysteries of the sun, has found itself at the center of a mystery that is causing a sensation here below.

The solar sunspot observatory has been closed for more than a week. Authorities remained tight on Friday, only declaring that an undisclosed security concern was behind the decision to quit and lock the remote facility on Sept. 6.

The FBI has referred all questions to the group that runs the site, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. Officials there say they work with the authorities.

The association said in an update Friday that she "decided that the observatory will remain closed until further notice because of a permanent security problem." National solar observatory facilities remain open and operate normally ".

The vagueness continued to fuel speculation on social media.

Located at the top of Sacramento Peak, the observatory was established in 1947. It overlooks the Tularosa Basin – a desert expanse including the city of Alamogordo, Holloman Air Force Base, the reach of the White Sands missiles, the White Sands National Monument and the world's first site. atomic bomb test.

The Sunspot Telescope was originally built by the US Air Force. After several years of operation, it was transferred to the National Solar Observatory, which is part of the National Science Foundation.

In 2016, New Mexico State University launched an initiative funded by the foundation to upgrade and update the facility through the new Sunspot Solar Observatory consortium.

Sunspot's unique telescope produces some of the clearest images of the sun available in the world, officials said.

Data from observations made at Sunspot are sent to servers at New Mexico State University and can be used by researchers around the world.

Solar Physicist R.T. James McAteer, based at the State University of New Mexico, said Friday in an email that the Astronomy Research Association will have to decide on the date of reopening sunspots.

"We have interrupted our observations and take this opportunity to catch up with data from previous months," he said.

There are several university employees and association staff who work at the observatory.