An observatory in New Mexico has been unexpectedly closed due to an unnamed "security issue," prompting evacuations and a visit from the FBI. The Sunspot Observatory is now currently closed to both staff and the public, with no word on why or when it will be open again. “We have decided to vacate the facility at this time as precautionary measure,” said spokesperson Shari Lifson to the Alomogordo Daily News. “The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy who manages the facility is addressing a security issue at this time.” This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Lifson said that the facility was first evacuated on September 6 and has remained closed since then. According to Lifson, the observatory has no date for reopening yet. As part of the investigation into the security issue, the observatory has contacted the FBI, which has been reported on the scene with multiple agents and a Blackhawk helicopter. According to local sheriff Benny House, the agency has been working with local law enforcement but refuses to share any details. “The FBI is refusing to tell us what’s going on,” said House. “We’ve got people up there that requested us to standby while they evacuate it. Nobody would really elaborate on any of the circumstances as to why.” “We have decided to vacate the facility at this time as precautionary measure" The sheriff speculated that the evacuation could be due to some kind of threat made against the facility or its staff, but expressed confusion as to why local police would be left out of the loop. “If that’s the case, why didn’t they call us and let us deal with it?” he said. “I don’t know why the FBI would get involved so quick and not tell us anything.” Another possibility could be some sort of hazardous chemical leak or other natural danger, but again there’s no reason for the FBI to keep everyone in the dark. Whatever the reason, the scientists are forced to postpone their research while the FBI’s investigation continues. Source: Alomogordo Daily News [Related: Why the FBI Mysteriously Closed That New Mexico Observatory] This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<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<doc-sep>
.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... The truth is out there – but nobody will go on the record about it. Rumors are swirling and authorities are tight-lipped following the evacuation of an observatory in southwest New Mexico last week. The National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, near Alamogordo, was evacuated last Thursday, along with a nearby post office, and has remained closed since without explanation. According to the facility’s website, the observatory and surrounding area are closed until further notice “due to unforeseen circumstances.” ADVERTISEMENTSkip ................................................................ “The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy is addressing a security issue … and has decided to temporarily vacate the facility as a precautionary measure,” AURA spokeswoman Shari Lifson said in a statement. “We have no further comment at this time.” In the Lincoln National Forest, the observatory has been involved in solar research since 1947. Since the closure, the news has spread nationwide with headlines like “I’m Definitely Not Saying It’s Aliens,” and lighting up internet message boards with fervor and speculation. Lifson said AURA is working with the proper authorities, but would not name them. The closure even caught Otero County Sheriff Benny House by surprise. “Some folks that work at the laboratory called us, asked us if we could send a deputy to stand by while they were evacuating,” House said during a phone interview Wednesday. “All the employees were packing up and leaving.” House said they didn’t get any more answers at the observatory, but staff members told deputies the FBI had been there. “Nobody would give us any information on what was going on,” House said, before the phone call cut out and repeated attempts to reach him again were unsuccessful. FBI spokesman Frank Fisher would not confirm or deny the agency’s involvement but referred all questions to AURA. U.S. Postal Service spokesman Rod Spurgeon called the situation “strange” after authorities walked into the nearby post office without warning and told the clerk to evacuate. “I wasn’t present … so I’m not sure which law enforcement agency told us to evacuate,” Spurgeon said. He said no timeline was given on when the office would be able to reopen. Spurgeon said he is waiting on a call, but doesn’t know from whom as he has not heard from any authorities or agency. “It’s shrouded in mystery,” he said. An employee at the nearby Apache Point Observatory said they are also in the dark. “We know about as little as anybody,” the employee said. The employee said people in the area have seen unknown authorities hovering in helicopters and driving up in vehicles. “Nobody would know who they are – you stop them and they won’t tell you anyway,” he said. The employee said there is not enough information to “worry about it,” but the mystery continues to deepen among locals. “That’s what happens when you do something and don’t tell anybody why,” he said.