Therme to invest EUR 1 mln in astronomical observatory

Therme announced plans to open the first private astronomical observatory in the country. The investment is estimated to amount to EUR 1 million and the building will be named after Romanian astronaut Dumitru Prunariu.

The observatory will have a main building with a planetarium having a 5 meters diameter and a capacity of 20-30 spectators. It will also have a dome with a 4 meter diameter, which will host a Ritchey Chretien telescope, boasting similar capacities to the Hubble telescope (a 500 mm aperture), an exposition area and a boutique for souvenirs and photos.

Next to the main building four domes with diameters of 2.5-3 meters will be built, hosting a variety of astronomy instruments, such as a telescope with an aperture of 180-200 mm, for the study of planets and galaxies, nebulae and other removed celestial objects, a catadioptric telescope (Cassegrain) with an aperture of400 mm for “deep sky” observations (observations of distant celestial objects), a solar telescope with which the sun can be observed and, not least, a Newtonian telescope with an aperture of 400 mm.

“The astronomical observatory will be equipped with devices for professionals, brought in Romania for the first time, but also with telescopes for amateur astronomers and a digital planetarium. The centre will address both specialists in the field who want to do research, universities looking to make scientific observations and amateur astronomers and, not least, children, pupils and students,” a statement by the wellness center shows.

The project is modular, so it will be easily expandable, with future improvements already being planned, such as a radio telescope to study the cloudy sky, several classrooms of study and a ballroom.

Therme Bucharest is the largest spa and wellness center entertainment in Europe, built on a land plot of 250,000 square meters, with a total area of over 30,000 sqm. The investment in Therme Bucharest was done by A-HEAT GROUP AG, a corporation based in Vienna.

Natalia Martian