Vietnam’s first astronomical observatory in Hon Chong, Nha Trang (Photo: tuoitre.vn)
Khanh Hoa (VNA) - Vietnam’s first astronomical observatory will be put intooperation in September in the central province of Khanh Hoa.
The ProgressiveCorporation International JSC (AIC) – the contractor of the project - on August18 transferred the observatory to the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC)under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.
VNSC Director AssociateProf. Dr. Pham Anh Tuan said the observatory will serve basic studies onoptical astrophysics, disseminate knowledge of the universe in the community,and support human resource training in astrophysics.
It will alsopromote cooperation with researchers at home and abroad in the field, he added.
With aninvestment of 60 billion VND (2.64 million USD), construction of theobservatory began in 2014 on Hon Chong islet in Nha Trang city.
The observatoryis equipped with a space telescope of 0.5m in diameter inside a dome that is 9min diameter. Once opened to visitors in late September, the dome canaccommodate up to 60 people who can observe space or watch movies aboutplanets, stars and history of the earth.
The observatoryis one of the two observatory projects in Vietnam, costing a total of 120billion VND (5.3 million USD). The other one is under construction at the Hanoi-basedHoa Lac High-Tech Park and is expected to become operational in 2018.-VNA
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Vietnam’s first astronomical observatory in Hon Chong, Nha Trang (Photo: tuoitre.vn) 
