Advocate Pushes to Save Sunspot's Dunn Solar Telescope as Demolition Nears

SUNSPOT, N.M. —  In an interview with Alamogordo Town News streaming editions Anthony Lucero, Science Reporter Dave Dooling diacussew Sunspot options, facts about the Dunn demolition, what’s ahead and what could be.

Demolition crews are preparing to take down the Dunn Solar Telescope, the tall, obelisk-like landmark visible from across the Tularosa Basin. Some community members are asking federal officials to pause and consider another path.

"The national resource is about to go away, and we'd really like to save it," said Dave Dooling, who lived in the mountaintop village of Sunspot for nine years and later handled education and outreach for the National Science Foundation's solar telescope in Hawaii.

A mercury leak and a demolition contract

According to Dooling, trouble began on January 5, when liquid mercury leaked from one of the main bearings that allow the telescope to rotate. About 186 pounds escaped, roughly six quarts, out of the 18,000 pounds held in the bearing. Operations were shut down immediately, the area was sealed off, and a follow-up contract of about $3 million paid for draining the mercury. That work was completed in August.

The contractor's report concluded that decades of microscopic leaks and vapor may have compromised the building's metal structure and concrete. It recommended demolishing the entire telescope for safety. The same company has since received a contract worth nearly $10 million for the demolition, which runs through the end of March next year. Dooling said crews are expected on site soon to survey the facility, stage equipment, and plan where the debris will go.

Mercury is highly toxic. Inhaled vapor can travel directly into the nervous system and cause permanent damage. Dooling stressed, however, that the leak posed virtually no risk to Otero County residents. "It was all contained inside the Dunn Solar Telescope building, and that was sealed off immediately," he said, adding that workers wore proper hazmat gear.

"Still doing front-line observations"

The Dunn has operated since 1969. Sunspot Observatory, under various names, dates to 1947. Dooling said the telescope was still producing research-quality work before the leak. Queen's University Belfast had recently installed a new instrument worth several million dollars. It was eventually meant to go to a two-meter telescope in India. Other experimental instruments were also in use. Advocates hope that equipment can be removed and sent to other observatories rather than lost.

Dooling rejects the idea that the telescope is beyond saving. He said the building could be remediated, with its surfaces sealed and any remaining mercury removed or isolated. It could then be repurposed as a museum with hands-on optics exhibits, or even returned to operation.

He noted that the NSF acknowledged in 2016 that the Dunn would be an ideal site for training graduate students. The 4-meter Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on Maui is too busy to pause for training, and its instrument room is a clean room that requires full "bunny suits." At the Dunn, by contrast, visitors could walk onto the observing platform and watch scientists at work.

A vision for astrotourism

Management at Sunspot is layered. The U.S. Forest Service owns the land, and the NSF owns the facilities. Operations have passed from the U.S. Air Force to the National Solar Observatory and now to New Mexico State University.

Dooling said the Forest Service has sounded interested in reusing the site. Sunspot still has 16 redwood family homes, a visitor center, a community center with a small commercial kitchen, and a dormitory. The sites of 21 former prefab houses, since donated to Habitat for Humanity and similar groups, still have driveways and utility connections.

That infrastructure, he said, could support high-end bed-and-breakfast rentals and a full-hookup RV park aimed at amateur astronomers. Many of them spend tens of thousands of dollars on equipment and seek out dark skies. At 9,200 feet in the Lincoln National Forest, with Apache Point Observatory next door, Sunspot offers thin air, little turbulence, and minimal light from nearby cities.

"The people who are attracted to the woods for observing the stars are also interested in the forests themselves," Dooling said. He described astronomy and forest science education as "a one-two punch" for tourism.

Why solar research matters

Sunspot began during and after World War II as one of the first space weather forecasting stations. Military planners had learned that solar activity could disrupt radio and radar. Today, Dooling said, space weather affects satellite communications, power grids, and airline crews on polar routes, who face higher radiation exposure during solar storms. He pointed to March 1989, when a geomagnetic storm collapsed the Hydro-Québec power grid.

"Also, the Sun is the nearest star," he said. Studying it helps scientists understand other stars, and vice versa.

How to get involved

Dooling urges residents to contact their members of Congress and state legislators. He has also written to state agencies and the governor's office, with limited response so far.

"If the National Science Foundation would just pause for a bit and listen with their heart as well as their head," he said, "there's just a tremendous amount of possibilities."

Hear the complete uninterrupted interview with Dave Dooling: https://youtu.be/5Dr6B4y-v8Q?is=GiGCQTeTQBLCGRHU

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