It's also worth noting that the video reminds us that there is a large water tower at the site (see 11:17) that could offer an ideal and unassuming location for placing sensors to monitor the activities that go on in, above, and around the valley below—many of which are classified. One area that is not seen in the video is the small rough-field landing strip that is nestled below the summit but is also a part of the facility. It's unclear when the airfield was last used, but judging by its size, it could only accommodate bush planes and helicopters.

The landing strip is on the western edge of the property, below the summit. An access road leads there from the north part of the complex. Sunspot was originally a USAF installation.

The video was shot on September 13th, 2018, but on Sept. 14 The Washington Post reported that a pair of guards, from Red Rock Security & Patrol, based in Las Cruces, New Mexico, more than 60 miles to the southwest, were stationed at the entrance to the enclave. They said that had no information on what was going on and were on orders to only allow the observatory’s “director and an assistant” past.

It is not clear who hired them, but the nature of their instructions would imply that AURA had arranged from the security detail. The Post said that there had been no other signs of law enforcement in the area, which reinforces the general state of affairs we can see in the video above, taken on the day before.

The Washington Post, talking to James McAteer, a professor at New Mexico State University and director of the Sunspot Solar Observatory consortium writes: