FAQ'S
You've got questions, the Observatory has answers!
We have assembled the most common inquiries regarding the buildings, visiting and other topics.
The Visitor Center is open 7 days a week from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm during our peak season. During our off-season, the Visitor Center and observatory grounds close early. Please call ahead to verify business hours.
The tour schedule is as follows:
- Weekdays: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from Noon to 2 pm.
- Weekend Tours: 1st weekend of every month (Saturday & Sunday) Noon to 2 pm.
Disclaimer: We do not guarantee observations will be conducted at the time of your tour. Tours may be canceled due to inclement weather.
The Visitor Center has a museum with exhibits, a gift shop, a vending machine, and public restrooms. The center is wheelchair accessible. When in use, the last actively used telescope - Dunn Solar Telescope - is open to the public on select days, at select times. Please call the Visitor Center at 575-434-7190 for more information.
We have a small, main visitor parking lot. It can accommodate buses and RVs, but parking is first-come, first-served and may not be able to accommodate larger vehicles on busier days.
Sunspot Solar Observatory welcomes service animals and recognizes the important role they play in many of our visitors’ lives. Service animals are those who have been individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. Leashed pets are welcome to walk the grounds but they are not allowed inside any of our buildings.
That depends on the group! Some will stop by for an hour or so to take a tour or see the grounds. According to our Google profile, the average stay time is about 2 hours.
Currently, only the Visitor Center and the Dunn Solar Telescope are open to the public. During business hours, guest may enjoy all the Visitor Center has to offer and walk our grounds. The Dunn, which is a working telescope, is open to the public on select days, at select times. Ask the Visitor Center for telescope visiting hours.
We study activity on the surface of the Sun - our nearest star, and a fairly active one! Solar weather can affect life here on Earth and our work in the Dunn has opened our eyes to the critical role of magnetism in making the Sun behave the way it does. By seeing magnetism, it is now possible to track the evolution of magnetic features, large and small, over days and months, and discover how it affects us here on Earth. The sun can cause blackouts, radio outages, and even the loss of orbiting satellites.
When we are observing, a live image of the Sun will be projected into the telescope lobby. If you do not see an image on the monitor, the telescope is not observing or operating that day. This could be for several reasons, but is most likely due to cloud cover.
Unfortunately no - it isn't that kind of telescope. We don't even look through it. We do have digital cameras that route to monitor the features of the sun being monitored.
You are free and encouraged to take pictures anywhere on site, except inside the observation room of the Dunn Solar Telescope. The cameras we use to study the Sun operate on the same basic principles as the camera in your phone, but ours are far more sensitive. Camera flash has the potential to ruin the current set of observations being recorded. When in doubt, ask a staff member first.
We are in a very remote location. Cell reception is fairly patchy at Sunspot. Usually, you can get enough reception for calls/text/Internet browsing from the scenic overlook.
Not a faster way, no. The only other roads are unmaintained dirt roads. These routes are not recommended. They are frequently impassable, not paved, and extremely remote routes. Depending on your GPS, you may be routed through Karr Canyon Road. Karr Canyon is a nearly impassable dirt road. Please see our "Visit" page for detailed directions.
On average, we receive about 69 inches/1.75 meters of snow over the course of a full winter. However, the last several years have been uncharacteristically dry, with very little snowfall. This dearth of snow has affected much of the Western and Southwestern United States.
9,200 feet/2,800 meters above sea level! At this altitude, air pressure is only 72% of what it is at sea level, and the effective oxygen concentration (how much oxygen you can get in a breath) is also only about 70% of what it is at sea level. It is most certainly a noticeable difference!