The National Solar Observatory Evacuated and Closed

I saw this too. Really weird circumstances. From the local paper:

• An observatory 1 mile away remains open.
• Sheriff: "The FBI is refusing to tell us what’s going on. We’ve got people up there (at Sunspot) that requested us to standby while they evacuate it. Nobody would really elaborate on any of the circumstances as to why. There was a Blackhawk helicopter, a bunch of people around antennas and work crews on towers but nobody would tell us anything. We went up there and everything was good. There was no threat. Nobody would identify any specific threat. We hung out for a little while then we left. No reason for us to be there. It maybe somebody who threatened one of their workers. If that’s the case, why didn’t call us and let us deal with it. These guys are regular workers that work for this company. I don’t know why the FBI would get involved so quick and not tell us anything."

-cue X-Files theme-

Thanks for the additional details. Yeah, really weird. Why the post office too? Definitely a story worth following.

I’m not sayin’ that it’s aliens...

But yeah, it’s aliens.

Georgio Tsoukalos

It could be a problem with the structure....look for cracks....

In the Post Office?

I don't buy that it's just a simple equipment/crew change!

Large Mercury spill, maybe.. Could be why they closed the local PO. Hg on shoes??

Still very strange that no haz mat crews are there and the total blackout indicates espionage to me.

Nothing new: Could it have to do with a Sun spot storm?

National Solar Observatory Mysteriously Closed For Security Reasons ...

1 day ago - The National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico, has been shut down mysteriously and indefinitely for "security reasons".

Closure of National Solar Observatory remains shrouded in mystery ...

Sunspot Observatory south of Cloudcroft closed due to a security issue

National Solar Observatory Mysteriously Closed As Geomagnetic ...

The National Solar Observatory in Sunspot New Mexico has been ...

Sun spot storms? Are there not several solar observatories still in operational?

Curiouser and curiouser.

https://www.rt.com/usa/438275-fbi-observatory-evacuated-aliens/amp/

I read one comment (cannot find it again) speculating there is a release of the mercury from the telescope. While this is a health hazard, I doubt the response agency of choice would be the FBI.

Probably looking for bodies.....astronomer/serial killer

Probably not a hurricane...

Maybe someone was caught running !

I don't think I've ever seen that on a sign before?

How long do I have to pack my Faraday cage?

... let's hope not

For what it's worth:

Report that China was spying on missile tests at White Sands NM using antennae at Sunspot Observatory.

I'm still looking for more to support this assumption, but not too far out given the events so far.

That's the most reasonable explanation I've read. It even explains the closure of the post office in a way too.

A very recent article in Aus identified security cameras manufactured in a well known Asian country were capable of parallel (unauthorised) streaming to the manufacturer.

A local air force base has apparently removed a few cameras. The reports indicated that worldwide reviews were underway.

Maybe not the case in this instance, but timing seems of interest.

I have consulted my crystal ball and it seems the FBI is just there as a security measure, there seems to be a scheduled antenna upgrade and change of personnel from another organization, all scheduled some time ago...The area was evacuated to keep the perimeter clean, and facilitate testing without interference from outside communications....

Well that's just really boring. Makes a lot of sense though.

I think you should read #15 and apply it to your fantasy.

You be the judge.

I know why the FBI closed the National Solar Observatory! - YouTube

Yeah... That's what they want you to believe.

Maybe, they are all on vacation and waiting to read posts on their disappearance from work.

This just in....It seems the place was full of Sun worshipers...

Does anyone know why Google streetview stops working about 6½ miles North of the observatory.

You can't "drop" the little person any closer than the road label [624] at the top of this map. You can still "move" a mile or two South on Sunspot Highway from there but it gives up the ghost at a sign I can't read.

I wonder if this is normal, or has the data been deleted since the closure?

Probably too remote or bad roads for the googlemobile...

You can zoom in from above, as the Eagle fly's....

The National Solar Observatory is a United States public research institute to advance the knowledge of the physics of the Sun. NSO studies the Sun both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influence on Earth. Wikipedia

https://sunspot.solar/

That's the VLA at White Sands. Is there a connection?

Could be....

..."We describe the world's largest synthesis radio telescope, the Very Large Array (VLA), and how it can be used to complement observations with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and the Yohkoh solar spacecraft. The VLA provides images with high spatial and temporal resolution, often across the visible solar disk. The VLA also detects nonthermal radiation that is not observed with SOHO and Yohkoh, and provides estimates for the coronal magnetic field strengths that are not directly measured by these spacecraft. The VLA data can be combined with SOHO CDS, SOHO EIT, or Yohkoh SXT observations to provide new insights to the compact, variable sources, called blinkers and bright points, in the solar transition region or low corona. A new 400 cm VLA system provides images of nonthermal burst activity associated with Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and may detect thermal emission from CMEs, that can be compared with SOHO's LASCO and EIT instruments to obtain new information about the origin and evolution of CMEs."...

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1006507707878

It's a very impressive sight in person. It's clearly visible from U. S. 60 highway.

Yeah they've been used in several movies, Contact, Terminator...

If you go there you pretty much have the run of the place in my experience.

I was able to walk up the steps of a radio telescope and into a building where work was going on. Not much of a visitor center since it's in the middle of nowhere.

Just a little better than on the silver screen.

Google street view stops about a mile from my house. Apparently my street wasn't interesting enough for them to drive by.

Latest theory from the internet. There were Chinese working there and they seemed to have some antennae pointed towards White Sands. Most plausible explanation I've seen.

That corroborates an earlier comment about the Chinese hijacking an antenna for espionage (or something similar). I wonder if we'll ever know?

From a press release:

“AURA has been cooperating with an on-going law enforcement investigation of criminal activity that occurred at Sacramento Peak. During this time, we became concerned that a suspect in the investigation potentially posed a threat to the safety of local staff and residents. For this reason, AURA temporarily vacated the facility and ceased science activities at this location.”

Nailed it....

It was shut down because of child porn being downloaded.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/09/20/new-mexico-observatory-shut-down-amid-fbi-child-porn-investigation-documents.html

This is definitely the last thing I would have expected and yet sounds plausible. Or I guess it could be a cover if they really did catch spies there. Definitely sounds like it's not aliens.

Why was the post office also shut down?

A janitor downloading child porn...

..."According to KRQE, federal agents began speaking to the chief observer at Sunspot, who said he found a laptop running in several empty offices over the last few months. He told the feds what he found on the desktop was "not good," and that it appeared to be child porn.

The search warrant states the feds then monitored all the IP addresses and found the exact time child porn was being sent out, which then matched only the janitor.

According to KRQE, the observatory director said that once the janitor realized his computer was no longer there, he started "feverishly started looking through the facility." The director said the janitor also started making comments about "lax security at the facility," said it was "only a matter of time before the facility got hit, and he "believed there was a serial killer in the area" and that killer might enter the facility and execute someone.

The director said that's when he became concerned for his personal safety, and along with the agencies that operate the facility decided to evaluate it and shut it down. "...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sunspot-solar-observatory-new-mexico-search-warrant-reveals-child-pornography-investigation-2018-09-19/

Try as I might, I'm having a tough time believing this porn story. It just seems like too much effort by too many people, and a Blackhawk helicopter, all for a one person porn bust.

FBI: New Mexico Observatory Closed Because of Child Porn ...

"The janitor has not yet been arrested or charged with a crime."

Just maybe it's young alien porn.

Agreed.

Janitor, unhappy his laptop has been taken, mumbles about the lax security of the place and maybe some other bad stuff might happen...

Response is to shutter a functioning federal facility and evacuate and disrupt another undefined number of American citizens?

Is this janitor running for re-election, thus has immunity?