New Mexico residents push to save nearly 80-year-old Sunspot Solar Observatory as demolition nears

New Mexico residents push to save nearly 80-year-old Sunspot Solar Observatory as demolition nears

The Sunspot Solar Observatory, pictured in 2022, is slated for demolition after liquid mercury leaked from the main telescope. (Courtesy of New Mexico State University and Josh Bachman)A coalition of New Mexico residents are pushing to save the nearly 80-year-old Sunspot Solar Observatory in the Sacramento Mountains near Alamogordo, after the National Science Foundation announced its plans to demolish the site. The U.S. Air Force in 1947 announc…