State Road 6563 (NM 6563), also known as the Sunspot Scenic Byway,
is a two-lane
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in
Otero County,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, United States.
Route description
NM 6563 begins at the
National Solar Observatory
The National Solar Observatory (NSO) is a United States public research institute to advance the knowledge of the physics of the Sun. NSO studies the Sun both as an astronomical object and as the dominant external influence on Earth.
NSO is headq ...
at
Sunspot
Sunspots are phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as temporary spots that are darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit convection. Sun ...
in the
Lincoln National Forest
Lincoln National Forest is a unit of the U.S. Forest Service located in southern New Mexico. Established by Presidential Proclamation in 1902 as the Lincoln Forest Reserve, the forest begins near the Texas border and contains lands in parts of ...
. It then travels northward to its northern terminus at
NM 130.
NM 6563 is one of only three four-digit state highways in New Mexico (the others being
NM 1113 and
NM 5001).
It takes its number from the wavelength of the
Hydrogen-alpha spectral line (6563
Å) used by scientists at the observatory to study the solar
chromosphere
A chromosphere ("sphere of color") is the second layer of a star's atmosphere, located above the photosphere and below the solar transition region and corona. The term usually refers to the Sun's chromosphere, but not exclusively.
In the Su ...
and to locate
solar flare
A solar flare is an intense localized eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and other solar phe ...
s on the Sun.
The solar observatory added signs along the highway in 2011 with the names of the planets as part of a 1:250 million model of the distances between planets in the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
.
History
The highway was designated a
National Forest scenic byway on October 6, 1990.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
External links
*{{osmrelation, 1492666, New Mexico State Road 6563
New Mexico Tourism Website
Transportation in Otero County, New Mexico
6563
National Forest Scenic Byways