Sunspot is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in the Sacramento Mountains in Otero County

Otero County, New Mexico

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*72.7% White*3.5% Black*6.7% Native American*1.2% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*4.2% Two or more races*11.2% Other races*34.5% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is located within the Lincoln National Forest

Lincoln National Forest

The Lincoln National Forest is a protected national forest in the State of New Mexico in the southwestern United States. It was established in 1902 and covers 1,103,828 acres...

, 18 miles south of Cloudcroft

Cloudcroft, New Mexico

Cloudcroft is a village in Otero County, New Mexico and is within the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 749 at the 2000 census. Despite being located in an otherwise arid region, its extremely high elevation allows for a relatively mild summer that makes it a popular tourist attraction...

. Its elevation is 9200 feet.

It is named after the nearby National Solar Observatory

National Solar Observatory

The mission of the National Solar Observatory is to advance knowledge of the Sun, both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influence on Earth, by providing forefront observational opportunities to the research community...

 on Sacramento Peak. The sole road that drives into Sunspot is New Mexico State Road 6563

New Mexico State Road 6563

State Road 6563, also known as the Sunspot Scenic Byway, is a long two-lane state highway in Otero County, New Mexico, United States.- Route description :...

, named for the brightest wavelength of hydrogen

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...

 emission, H-alpha

H-alpha

H-alpha is a specific red visible spectral line created by hydrogen with a wavelength of 656.28 nm, which occurs when a hydrogen electron falls from its third to second lowest energy level...

. Two other roads in the town are named Penumbral Road and Umbra

Umbra

The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are the names given to three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source. For a point source only the umbra is cast.These names are most often used to refer to the shadows cast by celestial bodies....

l Road, after the parts of a sunspot

Sunspot

Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear visibly as dark spots compared to surrounding regions. They are caused by intense magnetic activity, which inhibits convection by an effect comparable to the eddy current brake, forming areas of reduced surface temperature....

.

See also

• Apache Point Observatory
  Apache Point Observatory
  The Apache Point Observatory is located in the Sacramento Mountains in Sunspot, New Mexico 18 miles south of Cloudcroft. The observatory consists of the Astrophysical Research Consortium's 3.5-meter telescope, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey 2.5-m telescope with a 20" photometric telescope,...