Việt Nam will open its first ever astronomical observatory in Nha Trang next March, according to the Viêt Nam National Satellite Centre (VNSC).

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First space observatory to open in Nha Trang

December 20, 2016 - 18:00

Việt Nam will open its first ever astronomical observatory in Nha Trang next March, according to the Viêt Nam National Satellite Centre (VNSC).

The first ever observatory in Hòn Chồng, Nha Trang City, Khánh Hòa Province is planned to open for public in March, 2017. — Photo tuoitre.vn
Viet Nam News

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will open its first ever astronomical observatory in Nha Trang next March, according to the Viêt Nam National Satellite Centre (VNSC).

The observatory is built on a rocky area called Hòn Chồng in Khánh Hòa Province’s Nha Trang City. It is in the finishing stage and will be ready by the Tết holiday (Lunar New Year) in late January for a pilot run before the official opening scheduled in March next year.

VNSC Director Phạm Anh Tuấn said a space telescope, 0.5m in diameter, will be installed inside a dome that is 9m in diameter. The dome can accommodate up to 60 people who come to observe space or watch movies about planets, stars and the history of the Earth.

The Hòn Chồng observatory is one of the two observatory projects in Việt Nam, costing a total of VNĐ120 billion (US$5.3 million). The other one was under construction inside the Việt Nam Space Museum in Hà Nội’s Hòa Lạc High-Tech Park.

Both the observatory and the museum will open for visitors in mid 2018.

The two observatories and the museum are part of the VNSC project – the largest national scientific project in the country, so far, with investment reaching $600 million.  VNS

 

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