Sunspot Solar Observatory

For more than half a century, Sunspot Solar Observatory has served as a premier solar research facility available to scientists in the United States and abroad. Our humble beginnings started in a 1951 Sears Roebuck agriculture storage shed, which was modified to use as a telescope dome (the Grain Bin Dome) and just a handful of people. Over the course of the years, the site grew to include four other observing facilities and a community of approximately 150 people. As of 2016, New Mexico State University oversees operations of the Visitor Center and leads a university-based consortium. The Sunspot Visitor Center has a museum which provides visitors with information about solar astronomy and the telescopes located at the site. The consortium is able to use the Dunn Solar telescope to enhance our understanding of the sun and as a training ground for the next generation of solar researchers.