Construction of the observatory began in 2014, in the resort town of Nha Trang, and it is one of two observatories to be built in Vietnam, with the other being located in Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park on the outskirts of Hanoi.
The facility in Hanoi is scheduled for completion in 2018.
The Nha Trang Observatory includes a telescope with a diameter of 0.5 metre, a 60-seat planetarium and a space exhibition room covering 200 square metres.
The telescope was manufactured by the Italian company Marcon and is equipped with a camera and spectrum analyser, helping researchers to observe and measure the spectrums of stars.
The planetarium includes a dome-shaped screen onto which films of stars, planets and the sky will be projected, offering visitors astronomical knowledge, such as the changing positions of celestial bodies and the eclipse phenomena, in an intuitive way.
VNSC General Director Pham Anh Tuan said that the Nha Trang Observatory has the mission of conducting basic astrophysical research, disseminating space knowledge to the community, supporting education in astrophysics and cooperating with research groups, both at home and abroad.
The government of Nha Trang has included the observatory as a new destination for visitors traveling to the city.
