The future of a solar observatory built in 1947 and located some 20 miles to the southeast of Alamogordo, high in the Sacramento Mountains, remains very much in doubt as plans for its eventual demolition have been announced.
With its official address at 3001 Visitor Center Road in the unincorporated community of Sunspot, the Sunspot Solar Observatory has been jointly operated by New Mexico State University and the U.S. National Solar Observatory.
Named for the wavelength of red-orange light associated with images of the sun, the observatory from the start has been dedicated to the study of sunspots and flares and was initially funded by the U.S. Air Force. In the 1970s, the National Science Foundation took over operations of the facility.
The observatory has housed what is known as the Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope, which, according to a website maintained by the National Solar Observatory, was “once the finest telescope of its kind in the world.”
Earlier this year, an amount of liquid mercury was discovered on the platform inside the observatory tower, prompting the swift closure of both the observatory and nearby visitors center. In a statement, the National Science Foundation said that U.S. Forest Service requested the removal of all mercury and the remediation of the site.
The decision to ultimately demolish the facility, the National Science Foundation also stated, was in response to “the environmental and safety risks of retaining mercury within an aging structure and consideration of environmental impacts and measures to mitigate them.”
The NSF also said that it would forestall any demolition work “from March 1 through September 30, which is when the spotted owl and northern goshawk may be breeding and rearing young.”
In response, a group called Friends of Sunspot has been formed with the goal of holding off demolition plans. Noting that the observatory has been “part of New Mexico’s scientific, cultural, and educational landscape for generations,” the group has suggested that the four telescope domes in the observatory could be rebuilt and modernized.
The Sunspot Friends group also maintains that the facility “has the potential to remain a place where cutting-edge solar physics is done, where students from local and rural communities can enter the scientific pipeline, and where new partnerships can shape the future of ground-based space science in New Mexico.”
Dave Dooling, former Sunspot education officer, told the publication Source NM that efforts are underway to reach out to local leaders in the hope of coming up with an alternative to the demolition plan. “We’re going to keep pushing until the wrecking ball starts swinging,” he remarked.
For now, there are no immediate plans to demolish the observatory, Cassandra Eichner, a media affairs officer with the NSF, told the Alamogordo Town News two weeks ago.
Instead, added Eichner, the NSF is “focused on safely addressing the mercury contained within the telescope and conducting market research and acquisition planning for future requirements at the site, such as maintenance.”
July 9, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of New Mexico State University
