Astronomy is one of the most ancient sciences, and perhaps the most attractive one. The night sky is a source of dreams, stories, romanticism, and myths. Armenia is one of the cradles of ancient science, including the astronomical knowledge. It is believed that the division of the sky into constellations was made few thousand years ago in the Armenian Highland.

Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory is a modern astronomical centre, one of the most famous observatories in the former Soviet Union, as well as the Euro-Asian Continent. The Observatory is also scientific tourism attraction. It was founded in 1946 by outstanding scientist Viktor Ambartsumian. New ideas on birth and evolution of stars and nebulae in stellar associations, activity of galactic nuclei, new theoretical approaches have been developed by him. Stellar associations, numerous active galaxies and quasars, flare and T Tau type stars, Novae and Supernovae, and many other objects have been discovered in Byurakan. The famous Byurakan surveys have been conducted here as well. Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory is actively involved in international collaboration with some hundred observatories from dozens of countries. A number of scientific meetings have been organized here, including the International Astronomical Union 6 Symposia and Colloquia. High politicians, Nobel Prize winners and other outstanding scientists, many other honorable guests have visited Byurakan Observatory. At present, the Observatory has 95 associates, including 45 astronomers. Due to new approaches and seminal scientific results the Byurakan astronomers have achieved high reputation and the Byurakan Observatory is recognized by the scientific community as one of the main centres for astrophysical research. The conceptions and ideas proposed in Byurakan have found their further elaboration in many observatories, the new objects discovered in Byurakan are observed worldwide by famous astrophysicists.