A popular observatory has been closed for a week now, but no one is saying why.On Thursday last week, the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot near Alamogordo was evacuated, along with a nearby post office. When KOAT reached out to the observatory for more information we were referred to the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), the company that manages the site.On Friday AURA told KOAT they had decided that the observatory would "remain closed until further notice because of an ongoing security concern. "They did not disclose any more information as to the nature of that security concern.People posting on social media think the closure has to do with aliens. The FBI won't say how involved it is in the investigation but did say the security issue isn’t about UFO’s or aliens.As of now the neighbors who live in the community have no idea when they'll be able to go back to their homes.According to the observatory’s website, the site has been a “premiere facility for solar research since 1947.” A popular observatory has been closed for a week now, but no one is saying why. On Thursday last week, the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot near Alamogordo was evacuated, along with a nearby post office. Advertisement When KOAT reached out to the observatory for more information we were referred to the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), the company that manages the site. On Friday AURA told KOAT they had decided that the observatory would "remain closed until further notice because of an ongoing security concern." They did not disclose any more information as to the nature of that security concern. People posting on social media think the closure has to do with aliens. The FBI won't say how involved it is in the investigation but did say the security issue isn’t about UFO’s or aliens. As of now the neighbors who live in the community have no idea when they'll be able to go back to their homes. According to the observatory’s website, the site has been a “premiere facility for solar research since 1947.”<doc-sep>The internet is speculating about aliens, FBI involvement and more. A mysterious solar observatory evacuation in remote New Mexico is sparking an array of conspiracy theories ranging from alien sightings to foreign spies. The Sunspot Solar Observatory was unexpectedly closed down and evacuated without publicly stated reason last Thursday -- and a week later, nobody seems to know why. While local law enforcement was requested at the scene in the town of Sunspot, they said they were left in the dark. Benny House of the Otero County Sheriff’s Office told ABC News that employees from the observatory called his team in around 10 a.m. on Thursday, September 6. He said the team stood by for a few hours while employees evacuated, but the security issue remained a secret. "They were tight-lipped about what was going on, no one would tell us what the threat was," House said, and confirmed the FBI had been there. A post office nearby was also evacuated. An official from the United States Postal Service told ABC affiliate KVIA in El Paso, Texas, that he did not know who ordered the postal workers to leave. The observatory is run by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, or AURA, which released a statement about the "security" incident. "AURA is addressing a security issue at the National Solar Observatory facility at Sacramento Peak, New Mexico and has decided to temporarily vacate the facility as a precautionary measure," Shari Lifson, AURA Corporate Communications Coordinator, said in a statement to ABC News. Lifson said AURA is working with authorities on the issue, but did not offer further information. Since last week’s evacuation, the Sunspot Observatory website has also posted a notice: "On Thursday September 6th, AURA made the decision to temporarily close Sunspot. The Sunspot Solar Observatory continues to work closely with AURA in order to allow for us to reopen as soon as possible. With the excitement this closure has generated, we hope you will come and visit us when we do reopen, and see for yourself the services we provide for science and public outreach in heliophysics." The lack of explanation left plenty of room for the internet to speculate and conspiracies to emerge. The Albuquerque FBI has not yet responded to ABC News' request for comment. Whether it be aliens, government secrets, foreign spies or none of the above, what is certain: The observatory remains shut down, with no word about when it will reopen.<doc-sep>Nicole Maxwell and Dylan Taylor-Lehman Alamogordo Daily News SUNSPOT - Sunspot Observatory was closed and evacuated Sept. 6 due to an undisclosed security risk. Federal officials aren't saying why it was closed, and the silence has led to international media coverage and plenty of speculation. Authorities remain tight-lipped. The FBI referred all questions to the group that manages the site, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. Officials there say they’re working with authorities. AURA released a statement Friday, stating it has "decided that the observatory will remain closed until further notice due to an ongoing security concern. The rest of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) facilities remain open and are operating normally." “Nothing’s changed from last week,” AURA spokeswoman Shari Lifson said by phone Thursday afternoon. Lifson offered no further information. Security guards from Alamogordo private security firm Red Rock Security were posted at the observatory's gate on Thursday due to the amount of curious visitors who have come to the site since the closure, said Red Rock security guard Angel Escalante. Approximately 35 people had come to the site by Friday afternoon, she said. "(Thursday) was way worse and that's why they had us come up here — tons of people were trying to get in," Escalante said. The guards are stationed at the gate around the clock, but they have not been in the facility and have no more of an idea about what's going on than anyone else, Escalante said. "We're just mainly right here making sure people don't come past this point," said Red Rock guard Joe Mangum. "Everybody was evacuated, and from that point, that's as far as they can go." A tent belonging to an employee and resident of the observatory was set up near the gate. The employee is allowed to enter the facility to do routine maintenance but can't stay in his home, Escalante said. "He just comes in to do what's he's got to do, work his shift, and that's it," she said. Everyone evacuated Everyone in the facility and the Sunspot community was evacuated on Sept. 6, said Sunspot Solar Observatory Director and New Mexico State University astronomy professor R.T. James McAteer. NMSU's four employees at Sunspot were evacuated, as were employees of AURA, McAteer said. AURA announced Friday that approximately nine NMSU and AURA staff are employed at the observatory. The U.S. Postal Service, which operates the Sunspot Post Office, evacuated its employees as well, though McAteer said he did not know how many people worked at the facility. There were also about 12 to 15 residents who were evacuated, he said. “Last Thursday, we got a phone call in the morning from AURA who told us to say that they were temporarily evacuating the site and asked us to evacuate our people,” McAteer said. “So, I called our people up and asked them to leave in a very sensible and calm manner and locked everything up. We’ve been out of there since Thursday morning.” McAteer said in an email to the Associated Press that it will be up to the astronomy research association to decide when Sunspot reopens. “We have paused observations, and are taking this opportunity to catch up with the back log of data from previous months,” he said. Sunspot observations Located atop Sacramento Peak, the observatory was established in 1947. It overlooks the Tularosa Basin – an expanse of desert that includes the city of Alamogordo, Holloman Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range, White Sands National Monument and the site of the world’s first atomic bomb test. The telescope at Sunspot was originally built by the U.S. Air Force. After several years of operation, it was transferred to the National Solar Observatory, which is part of the National Science Foundation. New Mexico State University in 2016 launched an initiative funded by the foundation to upgrade and update the facility through the newly formed Sunspot Solar Observatory Consortium. Sunspot’s one-of-a-kind telescope produces some of the sharpest images of the sun available in the world, officials said. Data from observations done at Sunspot is sent to New Mexico State University servers and can be used by researchers around the world. “Those are the two building where we have our employees at in Sunspot: the telescope and the visitor’s center,” McAteer said. The staff is responsible for the guided tours and scientific data, he said. The Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope, which McAteer and his team operate, rotates on a mercury float bearing at the top of the tower. The mercury was not the reason for the closure, McAteer said. “There’s no mercury incident. That’s a completely different set of protocols that would not have involved them locking all the doors,” McAteer said. “We have a very regular maintenance routine. There is no cause for concern there.” There's been no word whether, or if, evacuations will be lifted. The observatory posted this message to its website and social media platforms: "On Thursday Sept 6, AURA made the decision to temporarily close Sunspot. The Sunspot Solar Observatory continues to work closely with AURA in order to allow for us to reopen as soon as possible. With the excitement this closure has generated, we hope you will come and visit us when we do reopen, and see for yourself the services we provide for science and public outreach in heliophysics. If you have any questions about the science we perform at the telescope, or about the outreach we provide through our Visitors Center, please contact our Director, Dr McAteer at mcateer@nmsu.edu " The Associated Press contributed to this story.<doc-sep>
Nicole Maxwell Alamogordo Daily News SUNSPOT - Sunspot Observatory was closed and evacuated Sept. 6 due to an undisclosed security risk. Officials aren't saying why it was closed and that's led to media coverage and plenty of speculation. Authorities remain tight-lipped. “Nothing’s changed from last week,” Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, or AURA, spokeswoman Shari Lifson said by phone Thursday afternoon. Lifson offered no further information. The Sunpspot facility is a part of the National Solar Observatory and AURA maintains it. More:Is this a UFO flying over North Carolina? No, Goodyear blimp says: 'That's definitely us' More:Alien abduction: 45 years after alleged UFO encounter, Mississippi man breaks his silence “Last Thursday, we got a phone call in the morning from AURA who told us to say that they were temporarily evacuating the site and asked us to evacuate our people,” Sunspot Solar Observatory Director R.T. James McAteer said. “So, I called our people up and asked them to leave in a very sensible and calm manner and locked everything up. We’ve been out of there since Thursday morning.” McAteer is a professor of astronomy at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, about an hour and a half to the west of the observatory. The observatory is located high in Sacramento Mountains. The closest city is Alamogordo, at the base of the Sacramentos — about 15 miles as the crow flies, but nearly an hour's drive time away. The Sunspot Solar Observatory is run by a consortium of universities that provide funding to operate the telescope and adjoining visitor’s center, McAteer said. “Those are the two building where we have our employees at in Sunspot: the telescope and the visitor’s center,” McAteer said. Which means that they are responsible for the guided tours and scientific data, he said. NMSU's four employees at Sunspot were evacuated Sept. 6, as were five or six employees of AURA. The U.S. Postal Service, which operates the Sunspot Post Office, evacuated its employees, though McAteer said he did not know how many people worked at the facility. There were also about 12 to 15 residents who were evacuated, McAteer said. “The whole site was evacuated,” McAteer said. The Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope, that McAteer and his team operate, rotates on a mercury float bearing at the top of the tower. The mercury was not the reason for the closure, McAteer said. More:Mysterious radio signal from space? Astronomers aren’t sure of origins More:7 'alien sightings' for World UFO Day “There’s no mercury incident. That’s a completely different set of protocols that would not have involved them locking all the doors,” McAteer said. “We have a very regular maintenance routine. There is no cause for concern there.” There's been no word whether, or if, evacuations will be lifted. The observatory posted this message to its website and social media platforms: "On Thursday Sept 6, AURA made the decision to temporarily close Sunspot. The Sunspot Solar Observatory continues to work closely with AURA in order to allow for us to reopen as soon as possible. With the excitement this closure has generated, we hope you will come and visit us when we do reopen, and see for yourself the services we provide for science and public outreach in heliophysics. If you have any questions about the science we perform at the telescope, or about the outreach we provide through our Visitors Center, please contact our Director, Dr McAteer at mcateer@nmsu.edu". Follow Nicole Maxwell on Twitter: @nicmaxreporter