Apache Point manager believes Sunspot can still shine

Mark Klaene is not sitting back and waiting for the National Science Foundation to decide the fate of the Sacramento Peak Observatory at Sunspot just 16 miles southwest of Cloudcroft.

Klaene who is the Apache Point Observatory Operations Manager is trying to put together a proposal to keep the SPO visitor center open, host star parties and use the facility for educational research.

“I want to turn that visitor center into a huge tourist attraction,” Klaene said. “I want to turn it into a nighttime visitor center. I want to do star parties.”

He said he was at a star party at McDonald Observatory northwest of Fort Davis, Texas.

“In the middle of nowhere and 2 1/2 hours from El Paso, Texas, it was a rainy Tuesday night with school still in session and 400 people showed up for it,” Klaene said. “This close to El Paso and Ruidoso if I can put a program together with a quality presentation and staff, there’s no reason I couldn’t get 300 or 400 tourist and do it a couple nights a year. Every one of those tourists will spend money here. I think it’s possible. I think I can do it.”

Recently the National Science Foundation has moved most of their operations from Sunspot and other observatories nationwide to Boulder, Colorado. NSF is trying to cut spending in their budget. NSF is also building one of the most powerful telescopes atop the Haleakala Crater in Maui, Hawaii. The Haleakala telescope is estimated to cost about $30 million a year to run.

Klaene said he believes Sunspot is an important teaching facility.

“I can’t build a new one but I can sure use the one that’s there,” he said. “Most of these jobs we’ve lost or are losing at Sunspot are career professional jobs. Many of them are scientists, their spouses are scientists and their children are amazingly smart. Many spouses volunteered and taught at Cloudcroft and other schools. There all gone.”

Klaene said Sunspot has a volunteer fire department with equipment at the Sacramento Peak Observatory.

“We had apparatus at the Timberon Fire,” he said. “If we loss that we loss Timberon’s nearest mutual aid for any kind of emergency. The nearest mutual aid is Cloudcroft that’s an hour away.”

Klaene has been working at Apache Point Observatory since 1992, which sits next to the Sacramento Peak Observatory at Sunspot.

“If we loss Sunspot it shows a reduction in our science and research support,” he said. At a time when science, technology, engineering and mathematics are supposed to be the focal point of all our educational systems. STEM is the magical word. We’re taking away jobs these children can look and say I would like to do that. We keep take away things they can come and see how it’s being used.”

Klaene said he believes the educational loss is huge at a very bad time and the history of Sunspot.

“The main telescope built in the 1960 is 200 feet in the ground,” he said. “It’s a great engineering feat. There’s a sign at the visitors center with all the names of children born at Sunspot. This was a remote outpost. It’s a huge part of New Mexico history. I think that would be a terrible loss. Not only the loss of the telescope but the people could be described as modern day pioneers.”