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

a reply to: caterpillage

Unless there's a press conference coming up for real, this whole thread is going to keep going in circles at this point. I'm not expecting to find any updates worth posting but if I do find something solid I'll post it.

The story is now in full spin mode as its reached MSM around the world, literally everyone is speculating now and its going to muddy the pond even more.

Lets take what we have found, make a report and find a conclusion, that's about all we can do at this point imo until a press conference is held and we can examine that lol.

a reply to: threeeyesopen

I purposely didn't single any one out with that comment though if you feel the need to "have my posts deleted guaranteed" then that is certainly your perogative.

Simply making a statement in general as a caution that it is certainly easy to get swept up in things if one already doesnt have a firm grasp on reality due to some outlying factor such as an imbalance. Had I intended to single any specific user out, I would have done so... Though going so far as singling specifc people out based purely on my own thoughts and not on any present facts would be counterintuitive to my whole point. Just because one believes something to be true does not, in fact, make it true. Having struggled with mental illness/imbalance myself as well as with loved ones, I know how easy it could be for someone in a similar situation to get "caight up" in their thoughts- causing a blur between the lines of what is real and what they hope to be real. Having studied towards a degree in pyschology and sociology , there are also textbook warning signs that stick out. I don't wish to shame anyone or anything like that, simply urging caution out of concern.

Not to mention if that were the case, encouraging that behavior not only could bring harm to that person but also be counterproductive to/derail this thread and it's goals of at least attempting to find out what is/has happened in Sunspot.

Sorry if my comments came across as attacking or anything similar. Rest assured, my comments from here on out will solely relate to the topic.

a reply to: threeeyesopen

I agree - All we can do now is wait for "boots on the ground" reports and keep our eyes to the Sky !

otherwise the below will be more entertaining

a reply to: itswhatev

I just dont want to antagonize an already tough situation going on there. They've sent me more info then was shared on here and I know how quickly this sort of thing can get out of control with the wrong stimulus.

Also if we go off topic too much this thread will get canned and everyones great work with it. Your contributions are much appreciated, just please keep it on the level. I'll try to do the same

ETA: I'm not a psychologist although I have been helping people for many years who have confided unto me. Many people do. As such I do my best to try and help. It may not always be the method used in universities worldwide, but experience counts for something. I'm sure we can understand each other on some level about how important it is to have trust.

a reply to: BlueAjah

Thanks for the update on that!

I find it interesting that the Director threw in the comment about "locking all the doors".

originally posted by: BlueAjah
Update: Authorities not saying a lot as Sunspot Observatory remains closed

Published 8:03 p.m. MT Sept. 13, 2018

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.

“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.”

That rules out the mercury theory, if anyone was still considering that possibility.

interesting- so there were at least 12-15 people evacuated. I'm still curious to know if they were/are "housed" somewhere specifically together, or are just staying with family or friends. Could give us a little more insight. If house together in some type of seclusion would be very interesting, but also brings up who is funding that housing amd where. If allowed to stay with friends/family it would imply it's a much less serious motive for the evac. I doubt we will get clarification on that though until we finally figure out what has actually happened. At some point someone mentioned that after evac no one was "questioned" about any thing, idl of that's been confirmed or not. If they weren't it certainly implies that whatever the situation is, they already know all information about it i would think.

I really hope this doesnt turn into one of those "ATS legend" subjects where we never actually have a finite resolution to lol

a reply to: MetalThunder

Lol well I'm sure someone in this household would find that video exciting

a reply to: threeeyesopen

I hope they do a press conference, but we can still keep an eye on news coming out from those involved. They might leak interesting tidbits.

a reply to: itswhatev

The 12 to 15 were residents in the homes around the observatory.
There were 9 employees and a few people from the post office.
What we don't know is how many employees were also residents.

I know there was an interview with a local teen who said he had a friend who was evacuated. I believe it was a school mate.

a reply to: itswhatev

Talking with one alleged employee on 4chan (which I have reason to believe they are who they say they are due to some unique proof and general expertise), that particular one states they are staying with friends and family. They were telecommuting unsure as to the status of others’ living arrangements.

a reply to: Deetermined

Yes that can prove to be a damning statement in court for those people filmed on premises...

a reply to: BlueAjah

Absolutely, I hope if anyone find info like that they post it here so we can examine it.

a reply to: BlueAjah

Yea, wondering how many of those 12-15 were also employees as it seems most of the residents of Sunspot were there specifically because they were employees. If the employees evac'd amd the residents are two seperate numbers that makes the number of "evacuees" possibly has high as 29. The "12-15" number quoted is so far the highest specific number i've seen printed. So, somewhere between 12-29 people in total. (which is quite a big difference lol) I would lean more towards them staying with friends/family as the logisitics of housing 30 people for a week or more starts getting pretty costly if not absolutely necessary - but it would be nice to have some type of confirmation of that.

a reply to: itswhatev

"At some point someone mentioned that after evac no one was "questioned" about any thing, idl of that's been confirmed or not. If they weren't it certainly implies that whatever the situation is, they already know all information about it i would think."

I find it interesting and just wanted to note could it also not be that maybe it wasn't related to anything they needed to know. It feels as though this is something that was over the astronomers pay grade so to speak. Examining the directors statements he is definitely playing damage control, I'm taking everything he says with a bit of skepticism because in a lot of what he says, hes trying to create a new narrative and timeline of events.

a reply to: Fiscal

That makes sense. Unless some employees have a higher "security clearance" of some type- not sure if any thing like that would be neccesary for a solar observatory- if one is being allowed to stay with family, I'd bet the arrangements are probably the same for all.

From the article that was just posted, I find a particular quote interesting. I’ll preface this by saying that I’m at the point looking into this that I’m even focusing heavily on semantics, so it could very well be nothing, but here’s the quote:

“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.”

To emphasize: “...from AURA who told us to say...”

That phrasing just strikes me as odd. If I were to be talking to an employee at my office and they came up to me and said, “X told me to say,” my next questions would be about what they really think, why they don’t support the idea, and what is their thought on the subject. It’s a phrasing that people typically use to disassociate themselves from the subject.

a reply to: Fiscal

Could you possibly link me that info in a PM? The 4chan stuff, thank you.

a reply to: Fiscal

"It’s a phrasing that people typically use to disassociate themselves from the subject."

This.

He is playing damage control, someone needed to be front and center but he doesnt know whats going on either so every statement that's made which doesnt reflect well on the final version of what happened will be changed or taken out.

a reply to: itswhatev

Yep. The same individual seems to point to that saying that there was nothing really classified or secretive about projects there. Though, to your point, things like that are often ‘need to know’ and maybe this person didn’t.

a reply to: threeeyesopen

I think at this point almost anything is possible. However if there was an incident being investigated in any form I would think questioning staff, even if nothing of use was learned, would be pretty standard protocol. Especually if it was an "event" where they were still trying to gather information about. (Spy, hacking, disgruntled employee, threats, ET,) but to not question them makes me think that whatever it is they(whomever ordered the evac and is investigating) already has a firm grasp of what exactly transpired or what the issue was.

Though absolutely could be wrong. Lol


And as to your earlier reply to me specifically, didnt want to make a seperate post in response that could further move us off topic, but I think we both understand