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Thread: Sunspot Observatory closed due to security issue

  1. #31
    Concerned citizens need to take matters into their own hands and begin staring at the sun for long periods each day in order to perform the observations that the government doesn't want them to do.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    Pinochet is the model
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    Liberty preserving authoritarianism.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    Enforced internal open borders was one of the worst elements of the Constitution.



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  3. #32

    Sunspot Solar Observatory is transitioning back to regular operations as of September 17th

    http://aura-astronomy.org/news/news.asp?newsID=389

    September 16, 2018

    On September 6th, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) made the decision to temporarily vacate the Sunspot Solar Observatory at Sacramento Peak, New Mexico as a precautionary measure while addressing a security issue. The facility closed down in an orderly fashion and is now re-opening. The residents that vacated their homes will be returning to the site, and all employees will return to work this week.

    AURA has been cooperating with an on-going law enforcement investigation of criminal activity that occurred at Sacramento Peak. During this time, we became concerned that a suspect in the investigation potentially posed a threat to the safety of local staff and residents. For this reason, AURA temporarily vacated the facility and ceased science activities at this location.

    The decision to vacate was based on the logistical challenges associated with protecting personnel at such a remote location, and the need for expeditious response to the potential threat. AURA determined that moving the small number of on-site staff and residents off the mountain was the most prudent and effective action to ensure their safety.

    In light of recent developments in the investigation, we have determined there is no risk to staff, and Sunspot Solar Observatory is transitioning back to regular operations as of September 17th. Given the significant amount of publicity the temporary closure has generated, and the consequent expectation of an unusual number of visitors to the site, we are temporarily engaging a security service while the facility returns to a normal working environment.

    We recognize that the lack of communications while the facility was vacated was concerning and frustrating for some. However, our desire to provide additional information had to be balanced against the risk that, if spread at the time, the news would alert the suspect and impede the law enforcement investigation. That was a risk we could not take.

    About Sunspot Solar Observatory

    Since late 2017, the Sunspot Solar Observatory Consortium has run the Sunspot Visitors Center as well as daily research activities for the solar community with the Dunn Solar Telescope, in collaboration with The National Solar Observatory (NSO.) AURA, through NSO, continues to manage the site. There are approximately nine New Mexico State University and AURA staff employed at the observatory.

    Sunspot Solar Observatory was established on Sacramento Peak in 1947, and is based in Sunspot, NM, in the United States. Sunspot is an unincorporated community in the Sacramento Mountains in Otero County. Named after the nearby solar observatory, Sunspot is located within the Lincoln National Forest, 18 miles south of Cloudcroft, at an elevation of 9200 feet (2800 m).

    NSO operated the Dunn Solar Telescope at the observatory from 1969 to 2017, managed by AURA under an agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). Beginning in 2016, the New Mexico State University initiated a drive funded by NSF to upgrade and update the Sunspot facility, through a newly-formed Sunspot Solar Observatory Consortium. All observational data is sent to New Mexico State University servers and research from the data is performed nationwide.

    The National Solar Observatory (NSO) is the national center for ground-based solar physics in the United States and is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation Division of Astronomical Sciences.

    The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.

    About AURA

    The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is a consortium of 46 US institutions and 4 international affiliates that operates world-class astronomical observatories. AURA’s role is to establish, nurture, and promote public observatories and facilities that advance innovative astronomical research. In addition, AURA is deeply committed to public and educational outreach, and to diversity throughout the astronomical and scientific workforce. AURA carries out its role through its astronomical facilities.

    Contact:
    Shari Lifson
    AURA Corporate Communications Coordinator
    Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy
    slifson@aura-astronomy.org | +1 (202) 769-5232
    www.aura-astronomy.org

    Follow AURA on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AURADC
    and Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/AURAastronomy/



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  5. #33
    More vague nonsense that doesn't explain anything.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  6. #34
    https://www.ktsm.com/news/local/el-p...nts/1460386237
    Child pornography reason behind Sunspot Observatory closure, according to court documents

    A federal search warrant reveals that Sunspot Solar Observatory was shut down as FBI agents conducted computer forensic searches for child pornography.
    The source of child pornography was traced to an IP address used at the observatory and a source within the building observed a computer with "not good" images on it, the warrant states.
    An investigation by the FBI revealed that a janitor is the main suspect in the search, however he has not been charged with a crime even though his name in on the warrant.
    The warrant states the suspect would use the observatory Wifi and a personal laptop to download the child pornography.
    A limited number of people have access to the observatory from dusk until dawn, which helped narrow their search.
    The observatory in the mountains of southern New Mexico had been closed since Sept. 6 because of an undisclosed security concern, but reopened on Monday.
    tough to believe...

  7. #35
    Quote Originally Posted by specsaregood View Post
    Well , if you want to blame the janitor would you not let him continue while you try and catch him ?
    Do something Danke

  8. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by specsaregood View Post
    And that required the Post Office to be shut down because..........
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  9. #37
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    And that required the Post Office to be shut down because..........
    And houses on the property vacated . Postal Employees sent home and given no reason . Mail moved to another post office .
    Do something Danke

  10. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by oyarde View Post
    And houses on the property vacated . Postal Employees sent home and given no reason . Mail moved to another post office .
    clearly, this janitor was the madman behind an international child porn mail order program, based in the middle of nowhere, US.

  11. #39

    Sheriff slams FBI's handling of observatory closure: 'It's chicken ... '

    https://www.kvia.com/news/new-mexico...ken-/796397199

    Sep 17, 2018

    SUNSPOT, New Mexico - Otero County Sheriff Benny House told ABC-7's New Mexico Mobile Newsroom Monday he was infuriated at the way the FBI handled the sudden and mysterious closure of the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico.

    "I think it's chicken $#@! the way the FBI handled it. I have a responsibility to protect my citizens," said House, "I think it's paramount that we know what the threat is so we can provide safety."

    The observatory is located 17 miles from Cloudcroft, New Mexico. The facility, and the Sunspot Post Office, located on observatory property, were suddenly closed on Thursday September 6, 2018. The staff at the post office was relocated to the post office in Cloudcroft during the closure.

    On Sunday, September 16, 2018, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) announced it was reopening the facilities.

    AURA, the agency that runs the observatory, said in a news release the observatory was closed as a precautionary measure while the FBI investigated suspected criminal activity. "During this time, we became concerned that a suspect in the investigation potentially posed a threat to the safety of local staff and residents. For this reason, AURA temporarily vacated the facility and ceased science activities at this location. The decision to vacate was based on the logistical challenges associated with protecting personnel at such a remote location, and the need for expeditious response to the potential threat," AURA said in a news release.

    ABC-7 has reached out to AURA and the FBI for additional information on the alleged criminal activity and the suspect in question. AURA has still not returned any of the numerous phone calls made.

    Frank Fisher, the New Mexico FBI Public Affairs Officer, Albuquerque Division, did return one of our phone calls today. In the very brief call, he declined to answer any of the questions that we asked regarding the 'dangerous suspect', and would not respond to the Otero County Sheriffs statements regarding the FBI investigation. Fisher told us to refer back to the AURA statement, and quickly hung up the phone.

    During the closure, ABC-7 reached out to professors at NMSU, who conduct research at the facility, and the U.S. Postal Service. Both said they were not told why the observatory was closed.

    Sheriff House told ABC-7 he had not seen AURA's news release until an ABC-7 reporter showed it to him.

    House is demanding answers. "Is there a bomb threat? Is there an active shooter? Is it chemical? We need to know so we know what kind of man power to send up there, and with out knowing, it's dangerous for everybody," House said, "We have a duty to protect and we can't protect them if we don't know what is going on."

    House said he reached out to the FBI repeatedly and was kept in the dark. "We've asked and asked (the FBI) and they will not tell us anything," the sheriff said.

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