Welcome to Sunspot Solar Observatory. We will begin our tour directly outside the Visitor's Center where I would first like to share with you why it is important to understand our star, the sun. Th...

As you walk down the path to the first telescope, we'll share with you our early history.

There are several reasons why this site was selected for the observatory. They include plenty of sunshin...

And now to your left is the first permanent structure built on-site at Sunspot! This is the Jack Evans Solar Facility, also known as the Big Dome. It was named in honor of the observatory's first d...

While you are at the pine tree, take a moment to look to your left between the Jack Evans Solar Facility and the Dunn Solar Telescope. You should be able to see several white buildings. These build...

Stop here for a moment.

Please feel free to refer to the diagram of the telescope while I talk more to you about how the telescope works. The Dunn Solar Telescope is the world's largest vacuum t...

At the top of the stairs on your left is our scenic overlook of the Tularosa Basin. Please use the handrail to assist you as you ascend up the stairs.

[5 second silence]

The Tularosa Basin co...

Stop here for a moment.

The Hilltop Dome on your left was completed in 1963. At one time, Hilltop housed several telescopes that monitored various aspects of the Sun minute by minute every day....

During its peak, the observatory supported roughly 140 residents. But it didn't start out that way. As the Sunspot community increased, the observatory had to become more accommodating to families....

The first observers at Sunspot lived in these Quonset huts. They are made out of corrugated metal, but they are not very well insulated against the cold. It has been said that warm clothing was dro...

Stop here for a moment.

The first building on your left is The Instrument Development Laboratory or the machine shop. Here new scientific instruments were created for use in the telescopes. The...

Early observations were conducted with just a few telescopes set up and tarps were thrown over them to protect them from the elements. It was quickly discovered that the instruments needed protecti...

Sunspot is reinventing and reinvigorating itself.

Our main focus is conducting studies that measure the sun's daily magnetic field. The sun is not a solid ball, but rather a giant ball of gas. ...

The Sun is the biggest object in our solar system. It drives climate on the planets and is the primary source of energy. The Sun is approximately 865,000 miles across. You can fit 109 Earths across...