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SUNSPOT – The sunspot observatory was shut down and vacated on September 6 because of an undisclosed security risk. Officials do not say why it was closed, which has led to media coverage and speculation.
The authorities remain discreet.
"Nothing has changed since last week," spokeswoman Shari Lifson, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, or AURA said Thursday.
Lifson did not offer any other information.
The Sunpspot facility is part of the National Solar Observatory and AURA maintains it.
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"Last Thursday, AURA phoned us in the morning to tell us that they were temporarily evacuating the site and asked us to evacuate our people," said director of the solar observatory Sunspot. James McAteer said. "So, I called our people and asked them to leave in a very sensitive and quiet way and lock everything up. We left from there since Thursday morning.
McAteer is a professor of astronomy at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, about an hour and a half west of the observatory. The observatory is located high in the Sacramento Mountains. The nearest town is Alamogordo, at the base of the Sacramentos, about 15 miles flying from the bird, but about an hour away.
The Sunspot Solar Observatory is managed by a consortium of universities that are funding the use of the telescope and the adjacent visitor center, McAteer said.
"These are the two buildings where we have our employees at Sunspot: the telescope and the visitor center," McAteer said.
Which means that they are responsible for guided tours and scientific data, he said.
The four NMSU employees at Sunspot were evacuated on September 6, along with five or six AURA employees. The United States Postal Service, which runs the Sunspot Post Office, evacuated its employees, but McAteer said he did not know how many people were working in the facility.
There were also about 12 to 15 residents who were evacuated, McAteer said.
"The whole site has been evacuated," McAteer said.
The Richard B. Dunn solar telescope, operated by McAteer and his team, is running on a mercury float at the top of the tower.
Mercury was not the reason for the closure, McAteer said.
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"There is no mercury incident. It's a completely different set of protocols that would not have involved locking all the doors, "McAteer said. "We have a very regular maintenance routine. There is no need to worry there.
There was no word if, or if, the evacuations will be lifted.
The observatory posted this message on its website and on social media platforms:
"On Thursday, September 6th, AURA has decided to temporarily close Sunspot and the Sunspot Solar Observatory continues to work closely with AURA to allow us to reopen as soon as possible. will reopen and see for yourself the services we offer for scientific and public awareness in heliophysics.If you have any questions about the science we perform at the telescope, please contact our director, Dr. McAteer at mcateer @ address nmsu.edu ".
Follow Nicole Maxwell on Twitter: @nicmaxreporter
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