Sunspot, New Mexico facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sunspot, New Mexico
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Sunspot Visitor's Center and Museum
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 Sunspot, New Mexico
Location in New Mexico
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| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| County | Otero |
| Elevation | 9,186 ft (2,800 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| Zip code |
88349
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| Area code(s) | 575 |
| GNIS feature ID | 936625 |
Sunspot is a small, unincorporated community located high in the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico, United States. An unincorporated community is a place that doesn't have its own local government, like a town or city. It's found within the Lincoln National Forest in Otero County.
Sunspot is about 18 miles (29 km) south of Cloudcroft. It sits at a high elevation of 9,186 feet (2,800 meters) above sea level. This community is famous for being home to two important places for studying space: the Sunspot Solar Observatory and the Apache Point Observatory.
The land where Sunspot is located is leased by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from the U.S. Forest Service. The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) helps manage and run the observatories. Both the telescopes and the site are open to visitors. You can take guided tours on weekends or explore a self-guided trail around the telescope and a viewpoint called White Sands overlook on other days.
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History of Sunspot
Sunspot is nestled within the Lincoln National Forest. This forest is a natural home for many different plants and animals. You can find over 200 types of birds here, along with animals like mule deer.
The community got its name because of the National Solar Observatory located on Sacramento Peak. The observatory studies the sun, including its sunspots. The director of the observatory at the time, John Wainwright Evans, played a big role in choosing the name.
The road that leads to Sunspot from Cloudcroft is called New Mexico State Road 6563. This road's number, 6563, is special! It's named after a very bright wavelength of light called H-alpha, which comes from hydrogen. This scenic road also has signs that show how far away the planets are from the sun, scaled to their distance from Sunspot.
Temporary Closure and Reopening
In September 2018, the AURA organization temporarily closed the Sunspot site. This was done for safety reasons. Because the reason for the closure was not immediately clear, many people started to guess what was happening. Some of these ideas included stories about aliens or secret government operations. However, these stories were not true.
A local TV station even broadcast a call from someone pretending to be an employee, but this was later found to be faked by the reporter. On September 17, 2018, AURA reopened Sunspot. The closure was due to a situation involving a person who worked at the Apache Point Observatory. Once the situation was resolved and the area was safe, Sunspot was able to welcome visitors again.
The Future of Sunspot
In September 2018, a magazine called Wired published an article about the observatory. It mentioned that the future of the site was being discussed. The National Science Foundation (NSF) looked at several options for what to do with Sunspot.
In the end, the NSF decided to keep Sunspot open and operating. They chose to continue working with New Mexico State University to make sure the important research done there can continue.
Education in Sunspot
Children living in Sunspot attend schools that are part of the Cloudcroft Municipal Schools district.
Images for kids
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Sunspot Visitor's Center and Museum
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Apache Point Observatory, 2010
