On October 5th, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey was dedicated at the Apache Point Observatory near Sunspot. People from all over the world came to the dedication of this world-class scientific project that started operating in 1998. Many visitors to the Cloudcroft area don't realize that we are a unique area for scientific discovery. Other visitors from all over the world don't realize there is a beautiful mountain community near their premier scientific establishments.
Observatories are vital to our economy and community.
Not only are these people part of our community and economy, but their work is very important and cutting-edge, scientifically. They have found 20,000 quasars so far. The quality of the digital images has shown scientists that, due to the extent of dark matter halos of galaxies, galaxies actually contain more than twice as much mass as previously believed. The survey is also yielding a lot of solitary brown dwarfs, faint objects that are too massive to be classed as planets but not large enough to burn as stars. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is the most ambitious astronomical survey ever undertaken.