An FBI investigation into child pornography caused the peculiar closure of a New Mexico solar observatory earlier this month, according to the news agency Reuters.
The Sunspot Solar Observatory, which sits high up on southern New Mexico's Sacramento Peak, was shuttered from Sept. 6 through Sept. 16 because of a "security issue" that, until now, had remained mysterious. The lack of information spawned a rash of rumors, which ran the gamut from an alien-life detection to espionage activity.
But the truth is out there at last. Reuters got ahold of federal court documents, which revealed that the FBI was investigating the apparent use of Sunspot Wi-Fi to download and distribute child pornography. [The World's Biggest Telescopes: How They Stack Up]
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