Astrophysics is a basic science that uses the Universe as a great laboratory to study fundamental physics. Today, Astrophysics not only plays a vital role in broadening the human knowledge of the Universe but also promotes the development of new technologies and other related scientific fields such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Unfortunately, for many reasons, modern Astrophysics in Viet Nam has not been developed for many decades, resulting in a big gap in knowledge between the Vietnamese and the world scientific community. In order to bridge this gap, several astrophysicists from Viet Nam, France, Japan and United States have devoted time and effort in developing Astrophysics in Viet Nam by regularly organizing scientific conferences, workshops and schools on Astrophysics and Cosmology. Among these activities, Rencontres du Vietnam and International University - Vietnam National University in HCM city organized the 2^nd Workshop on Astrophysics and Cosmology, which is considered the 1^st Vietnam School of Astrophysics (VSOA), in 2013 in Quy Nhon with a great success. This year, the 3^rd VSOA on the subject of Planetary Science will be held from 12^th to 18^th July at Quy Nhon University and International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE), Quy Nhon city.

The school will cover the following topics:

• Space Exploration

• Comparative Planetology

• Theory of Planet Formation

• Observations of Planets

The school is financially supported by Rencontres du Vietnam, Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP) and Vietnam National University in HCM city.

Some limited accommodation and funds for local traveling may be available for students from Vietnam and other Asian developing countries.

Invited Speakers:

• Antonella Barucci (Observatoire de Paris, France)

• Marcello Fulchignoni (Observatoire de Paris, France)

• Pin Gao Gu (Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Taiwan)

• Eduardo Martín (Centro de Astrobiologia, Spain)

Vietnam School of Astrophysics Board:

• Jean Thanh Vân Trần (Chair, Rencontres du Vietnam, France)

• Phan Bảo Ngọc (Director, HCM International University - Vietnam National University, Vietnam)

• Nguyễn Trọng Hiền (Scientific Program Advisor, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, USA)

• Pierre Lesaffre (Scientific Program Advisor, École Normale Supérieure de Paris, France)

Local Organizing Committee:

• Nguyễn Thị Diệu Hiền (International University-VNU, HCMC)
• Nguyễn Thị Yến Nhi ( International University-VNU, HCMC)