Blue Mesa Observatory, Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument

Blue Mesa Observatory, also referred to Magdalena Peak Station for the International Planetary Patrol Program, was an astronomical observatory owned and operated by New Mexico State University. It was located on Magdalena Peak in the Sierra de las Uvas of southern New Mexico, approximately 43 kilometers northwest of Las Cruces. Founded in 1967 under the supervision of Clyde Tombaugh, the observatory was closed in 1993. The site and the 30 acres surrounding it were conveyed to the Federal Aviation Administration, which tore down the observatory building and replaced it with a radar installation. ()