“Sunspot apologizes for the continued closure of the facilities,” a statement on the observatory’s Facebook page said on Sunday. “The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) is addressing a security issue at the National Solar Observatory facility at Sacramento Peak, New Mexico and has decided to temporarily vacate the facility as a precautionary measure..
One person wrote on public talk board 4Chan: “Forums are talking about it being a ‘super-flare’ strong enough to turn the surface of the planet into an uninhabitable wasteland.
“Either we’ll have a press conference this week, or rich people are going to start ‘disappearing’ quietly.”
Another person added: “A big enough solar flare from our sun could wipe us out. Probably just as likely as an asteroid.”
