YEREVAN. – Armenia will hold an international forum of young astronomers on November 21-25, head of the Observatory Hayk Harutyunyan told the journalists on Saturday.

According to him, 29 young astronomers and 4 instructors will participate in the forum devoted to the 50th anniversary of conquest of space.

“Our aim is to make our observatory an international astronomic centre. However, we have to admit that it is not easy to support the observatory with current investments,” Harutyunyan said.

Astronomer’s salary is very low, on average AMD 50000-60000 ($180-200). “If the state has intention to develop previous achievements referring to fundamental astronomic researches, work of the scientist must adequately be paid as it is done abroad,” he added.

The Observatory is one of the major scientific centers in Armenia, which enjoys support of international investments. According to Armenian Astronomical Society, 14 organizations and funds assisted the Observatory in 2000-2008 among them Armenian National Science and Education Fund (ANSEF). 

However, Harutyunyan stressed that grants cannot fully support financial demands of researches.