https://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/article218527420.html

The national Sunspot Solar Observatory in an isolated, mountainous region of New Mexico was set to reopen Monday after it was shut down on Sept. 6 with little explanation.

The group that manages the facility announced on the observatory’s Facebook page Sunday that it had been “cooperating with an on-going law enforcement investigation of criminal activity that occurred at Sacramento Peak.”

During that time, said the statement from the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), “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.”

Officials had said very little about why the observatory, near Alamagordo, shut down. Local law enforcement officials said the FBI was involved in the closure — which the feds have not confirmed or denied — and the resulting lack of information led to all kinds of conspiracy theories.