Look to the stars: Space observatory opens in Nha Trang

The Vietnam National Satellite Centre has announced it will open the country's first space observatory in the central resort town of Nha Trang late next month, giving students and tourists a perfect view of the sky.

The observatory is being constructed at Hon Chong, a coastal point along Pham Van Dong Street, with a 0.5-meter telescope.

An observatory dome of nine meters in diameter, which can hold 60 people at a time, is expected to be a big draw for star gazers on special occasions such as during eclipses or meteor showers.

The National Satellite Centre, which oversees the construction, said Hon Chong is a popular tourist spot in Nha Trang and one of the best places to watch the stars in Vietnam.

It is one of two observatories under construction in the country with an estimated cost of around US$5.27 million. The other in Hanoi is scheduled to open in mid-2018.