Sunspot is an unincorporated community in the Sacramento Mountains in the Lincoln National Forest in Otero County, New Mexico, United States,[1][2] about 18 miles (29 km) south of Cloudcroft.

[3] The site of Sunspot is leased by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from the US Forest Service (USFS), and is operated and maintained by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.

Sunspot is an unincorporated community located the Lincoln National Forest which has a diverse range of native flora and fauna including more than 200 species of birds, as well as mule deer.

[6] This prompted the formation of multiple conspiracy theories, including presence of aliens, military intelligence operations, impending solar storms, and FBI raids.

[10] Later, court documents reported that the closure was due to threats from the Apache Point Observatory janitor who was subsequently the center of a federal investigation.