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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA solar observatory in New Mexico is evacuated for a week and the FBI is investigating.
SUNSPOT, N.M. At a small solar observatory tucked away in the woods of a national forest here, scientists and other personnel were commanded last week to leave at once. A week later, the facility remains vacant, and no one is willing to say why.
On Friday, the entrance to the National Solar Observatory was blocked by yellow crime scene tape and two security guards, who said even they had been kept in the dark ... and that only the director and an assistant were allowed in. There was no obvious sign of law enforcement activity. We dont know anything. Were just as curious as anyone else, one guard said.
A spokeswoman for the nonprofit group that runs the facility said the organization was addressing a security issue, but offered no additional information ... She said Friday that the facility will remain closed until further notice. Neither the FBI which was spotted on the premises around the time of the evacuation nor those who worked at the facility would tell local law enforcement what had happened, said Otero County Sheriff Benny House.
House, the sheriff, said that just before 10 a.m. Sept. 6, staffers at the Sunspot facility called to report that they were evacuating the building and asked if deputies could assist. He said a sergeant and a deputy were dispatched and told upon arrival that the FBI had been there earlier. But neither staff nor the bureau would explain why the facility had to be vacated, House said.
Unlike some of New Mexicos other research facilities, the solar observatory in Sunspot is not usually shrouded in such secrecy. The facility in the Lincoln National Forest in the southern part of the state is open to the public, and the scientists who work there offer guided tours of the site, said James McAteer, a professor at New Mexico State University and director of the Sunspot Solar Observatory consortium.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/a-solar-observatory-in-new-mexico-is-evacuated-for-a-week-and-the-fbi-is-investigating-no-one-will-say-why/2018/09/14/ea006a96-b78b-11e8-a2c5-3187f427e253_story.html?utm_term=.2df40d44cf3e
gordianot
(15,242 posts)joshcryer
(62,276 posts)Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)Story needs more development.
I will need to check back.
PatSeg
(47,564 posts)jpak
(41,758 posts)Lochloosa
(16,067 posts)JHB
(37,161 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)Sneederbunk
(14,298 posts)Tavarious Jackson
(1,595 posts)dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Since observatories share data all the time.
Historic NY
(37,452 posts)you-tube has several videos of people wandering through the grounds unchallenged. They report entire houses were cleaned out...
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)The place was open to the public previously.
Historic NY
(37,452 posts)[link:
|]lunatica
(53,410 posts)Historic NY
(37,452 posts)its posted on you tube somewhere.
rusty fender
(3,428 posts)that some nearby civilian residents have been forced out of their homes as well. Very strange, indeed
Historic NY
(37,452 posts)unprotected its more than peculiar its mighty perculiar
lunatica
(53,410 posts)The flimsy tape barrier wouldnt stop anyone willing to put their life on the line.
Historic NY
(37,452 posts)they wander around unimpeded, even the sheriff left them, they did find unlocked doors. Strange indeed.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)rusty fender
(3,428 posts)but nothing about hazmat, etc.
grantcart
(53,061 posts)Anyone picked up by the FBI don't say anything, better call Saul
Quixote1818
(28,958 posts)roamer65
(36,747 posts)If you dont know what a Carrington event is, look up the the Carrington event of 1859.
Ilsa
(61,697 posts)"underground" if we are days or hours away from the storm? Wouldn't we be warned to prevent panic?
AllaN01Bear
(18,338 posts)as i thought was another crackpot channel. meanwhhile the real crackpot is still in office . hmm, scratches head.