A solar observatory near Roswell shut down in mysterious circumstances will reopen, blaming a "security issue" for the closure.
The National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico - just down the road from infamous alleged Roswell UFO crash site - was evacuated and "temporarily" closed last week to both staff and the public as a "precautionary measure".
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Otero County Sheriff Benny House said Black Hawk helicopters were seen above the observatory, which includes a telescope that towers dozens of metres into the sky.
The FBI kept local police in the dark as to the reason for the closure, leading to conspiracy theorists claiming the telescope had spotted signs of extra-terrestrial life.
Director James McAteer told local news station KOB4 "nothing" will be kept secret once the "security concern" is over.
"[The] telescope did not see aliens. All data will be made public in its unaltered form."
Now, the organisation in charge of the observatory has released a vague statement claiming the closure was due to the threat posed by a suspect in a criminal investigation.
"AURA has been co-operating with an on-going law enforcement investigation of criminal activity that occurred at Sacramento Peak," the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) says.
"During this time, 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."
Sunspot Solar Observatory is now returning to regular operations, and has hired a temporary security team to guard the observatory when it reopens.
"We recognise that the lack of communications while the facility was vacated was concerning and frustrating for some," the association said.
"However, our desire to provide additional information had to be balanced against the risk that, if spread at the time, the news would alert the suspect and impede the law enforcement investigation. That was a risk we could not take."
Last week, conspiracy theorists rushed to fill the information gap with wild theories of grand theft, energy weapons testing and experiments in defending against a solar flare that could cripple the world's electrical networks.
Sunspot is about a 200km drive from the spot where a suspected UFO crashed in 1947. The official story is that it was a weather balloon.
Newshub.
