The Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory, or Byurakan Observatory () is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Armenian Academy of Sciences. It is located on the slope of Mount Aragats in the village of Byurakan in Armenia.
History
Founded in 1946 by Viktor Hambardzumyan, it was one of the main astronomy centers of the USSR. The buildings were designed by architect Samvel Safarian. The hotel, central building and structures are for astronomical instruments. The observatory has discovered special star clusters — stellar associations (1947), looked for emission line and ultraviolet excess galaxies, and quasars as well.