New Mexico State Road 6563

State Road 6563 (NM 6563), also known as the Sunspot Scenic Byway,^[2] is a 15.530-mile-long (24.993 km) two-lane state highway in Otero County, New Mexico, United States.

State Road 6563
Sunspot Scenic Byway
NM 6563 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NMDOT
Length	15.530 mi[1] (24.993 km)
Major junctions
South end	Sacramento Peak National Solar Observatory
North end	NM 130 near Cloudcroft
Location
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
Counties	Otero
Highway system
New Mexico State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← NM 5001 → NM 1

View exiting Sunspot, New Mexico

Route description

NM 6563 begins at the National Solar Observatory at Sunspot in the Lincoln National Forest. It then travels northward to its northern terminus at NM 130.^[3]

NM 6563 is one of only three four-digit state highways in New Mexico (the others being NM 1113 and NM 5001).^[1] 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 and to locate solar flares on the Sun.^[4]

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.^[5]

History

The highway was designated a National Forest scenic byway on October 6, 1990.^[6]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Otero County.

Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Sunspot	0.000	0.000	Sacramento Peak National Solar Observatory	Southern terminus
​	15.530	24.993	NM 130 (Cox Canyon Highway) – Cloudcroft, Mayhill	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• U.S. Roads portal