No, Sunspot Solar Observatory didn’t see aliens
On September 6, the Sunspot Solar Observatory in New Mexico was evacuated and sealed off without explanation, sparking wild conspiracy theories as to why.
Since it’s an observatory, the favourite theory was that it had spotted aliens and the lock-down was part of a cover-up to prevent public panic.
No, there weren’t aliens: on Sunday, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy announced that it had made the decision to close the observatory in concert with the National Science Foundation, and said the closure was due to an unspecified criminal investigation.
The statement said “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 statement added that the small number of staff at the remote location made protection difficult.
More has now emerged on what happened, with Reuters alleging the FBI was investigating a janitor who it believed used the facility’s Internet service “to send and receive child pornography”.
A local report at KRQE stated the investigators linked uploaded and downloaded child abuse material to the observatory’s IP address, sparking the investigation.
The FBI records included a warrant to search the suspect’s home, Reuters said. ®
Article source: http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/20/no_sunspot_solar_observatory_didnt_see_aliens/