National Solar Observatory, USPS office in Sunspot, NM evacuated for 'safety reasons'

a reply to: Fallingdown

None of those places are anywhere near where this is happening, why would they know any more than any of us here?

a reply to: jadedANDcynical

They were in cloudcroft which is nearby as Texas goes . ( 29 miles )


I'm more than willing to wait for a phone call.


You're welcome to get a hold of someone in sunspot though .

Well, let's see what we have here.
8 tons of Mercury to hold and settle the scope,
FBI presence ( Terrorism?)
Had to move everyone out so fast that they couldn't find enough room for everybody and had to devide them up into two locations?
Three small earthquakes near Socoro NM:
2017-12-11 11:41:24 (UTC), Location 33.962°N 106.780°W Depth 6.3 km
2017-12-12 07:25:07 (UTC) Location 34.102°N 107.097°W Depth 5.0 km
2017-12-01 17:12:00 (UTC) Location 34.296°N 106.802°WDepth 7.0 k

Could the Mercury be leaking?

a reply to: olaru12

I just got a call back from the Cloudcroft radio station and the entire facility is being moved to AZ and Calif. Staff has already moved.

Of course! They just wanted everyone to get a move on. FBI is just helping get everyone settled.

*insert sinister, spooky music here*

a reply to: Fallingdown

The second one was the family dollar and they had no clue it was going on

They have a Family Dollar??? O.O That in itself is amazing.

a reply to: Violater1

8 tons of Mercury to hold and settle the scope,
FBI presence ( Terrorism?)
Had to move everyone out so fast that they couldn't find enough room for everybody and had to devide them up into two locations?

But- there was no one in hazard suits, and I am *sure* a mercury leak would be met with people swarming the area in EVA suits, people leaving in a hurry, and knowing why, The sheriff told exactly why as well- I am sure everyone there knows about the mercury. A whole lot more than caution tape around a stop sign would be used to keep people away, and a LOT further down the road, as well. And, there'd be a lot, lot more than a simple military copter rolling around the sky- there'd be massive amounts of trucks and equipment headed that way.

The problem with sticking any good, rational explanation on it is the ridiculous lack of stuff that'd help explain this in a logical manner. Cloudcroft (I am guessing) would have reported an insane convoy going either thru it or past it on the only road that seems to be in or out of the place, and I am guessing- nothing of the sort. *looks at Google maps* Yeah. They'd see a massive amount of trucks and recovery equipment, just because that's the only way to go. South is Mexico, and well... there's only 3 actual roads- and only 1 would lead from somewhere that'd have anything to clean up a mess like that. One from the west from the AFB and such.

I'd pay good money to sneak in there, or close enough and see what is actually going on. My curiosity's going nuts. The stupid part of the back of my head is screaming "aliens!" so much, my hair (or what's left of it) is poufing out.

More interesting than the usual stuff I see on here. I will follow.

originally posted by: wylekat
a reply to: Violater1



I'd pay good money to sneak in there, or close enough and see what is actually going on.

What's stopping you? With that lax security, that's all it would take you is a little money for the trip.

a reply to: face23785

What's stopping you? With that lax security, that's all it would take you is a little money for the trip.
Well, that's what's stopping me. MONEY. And I'm all the way across the US. By the time I got there, I'd have missed everything anyways, or be caught mid invasion.

I'd suggest *any* ATS members in the general vicinity watch the skies out there. Just gotta wonder at this point- either something landing, or an entire place going up in a nice big mushroom cloud- which I just doubt, but hey.

Any weather/ traffic cams that might be pointed in that direction might also be interesting to watch as well.... Plus weather radar that might catch (or suddenly signal goes away suddenly and inexplicably) anything.

a reply to: putnam6

Ive read that the residencies evacuated belonged to the people who worked at the observatory so... Very strange situation here.

I suppose first guess would be a powdery substance mailed to the observatory or an employee elsewhere. But normally they come right out and say when it is a powdery substance in the mail type threat i thought.

a reply to: Lightdhype

A powdery substance wouldn't have crews hanging off of antennas and towers, tho.

a reply to: wylekat

Good point. Likely we'll never hear the truth if they claim the facility and crew is simply moving elsewhere.

I suppose I could make the drive. Only 7 hours. But i start a new job soon and I would rather not end up on any more lists.

originally posted by: Fallingdown
I called three businesses.

The first one was High Attitude ( Bar restaurant ) they didn't even know it was going on .

The second one was the family dollar and they had no clue it was going on

On the third caller I got a nice lady at Mountain Magic (gift shop) who tried to be informative but only told me things we already knew. But she did take down my number and promised to pass on any information she receives.



Let's see what happens .

Well that actually rules out much.

For one we now know that it is not a big deal to the town.With the rate at which rumors spread in small towns we can figure that no one has been hurt and there is no serious danger.

g14 classified top flight

There were no evacuations but only people and classified equipment moving to a new town.

Now the big question that someone reading this has the answer to but can not say is what is the classified equipment they are keeping from the public?

a reply to: Lightdhype

One thing is bugging the living daylights out of me:

Why ISN'T the FBI trying to cover this up? Why not send the trucks, send the EVA suited people, send everything but the kitchen sink, and then, when everyone's cleared out, bolt the place down, and send everyone they don't need home, stating a 'false alarm', or something that'll take time to fix or clean up? This 'everyone's gotta go away NOW', with no reason, climbing antennas and towers, giving the local law enforcement nothing to work with- not even a half flimsy excuse- it's making me- who couldn't get excited for much past a good meal any more (and even then, we're talking a "Meh. Yay?"), *jumpy*. My anticipation alarm is ringing like a mofo.

a reply to: howtonhawky

All of the places he called were not in the same town, they were in neighboring towns around 30 miles away. There is no reason for any of the folks he spoke with to know anything more than any of us would.

Interestingly enough, Google street view does not go anywhere near this town. 17 miles north and 27 miles south are as close as google street view gets to Sunspot, NM.

a reply to: howtonhawky

Now the big question that someone reading this has the answer to but can not say is what is the classified equipment they are keeping from the public?

It's gotta be epic. And what if it isn't stuff going in...

g14 classified top flight
For the uninformed- a wha? Knowing what little I know about G classifications (I see like G 1-something license plates occasionally for uniformed people at recruiting centers and such), Isn't that like uber military or government official?

This incident started on Thursday morning (9:48 am per Facebook) and folks had enough time to update the observatory Facebook and website pages announcing the indefinite closure (see www.sunspot.solar).

reply to: SeaWorthy

a reply to: wylekat



They will likely wait until the witching hour(12-6) to move the ole smellascope.

originally posted by: DrZrD
This incident started on Thursday morning (9:48 am per Facebook) and folks had enough time to update the observatory Facebook and website pages announcing the indefinite closure (see www.sunspot.solar).

reply to: SeaWorthy

The Post Office personnel were clearly stunned when the Post Office was closed. Clearly this is no normal closing.

She said she cannot comment on the specifics of the security issue.

“The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy who manages the facility is addressing a security issue at this time,” Lifson said. “We have decided to vacate the facility at this time as precautionary measure. It was our decision to evacuate the facility.”

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