​French-Vietnamese astronomer dies of Covid-19

The General Union of Vietnamese in France confirmed the news on Wednesday, and Rieu's funeral was held privately in compliance with pandemic prevention regulations.

Professor Nguyen Quang Rieu in 2018. Photo courtesy of Ho Chi Minh City Amateur Astronomy Club.

Rieu was born in Hai Phong in northern Vietnam and went to France at the age of 18 to study at Sorbonne University.

He obtained a doctorate and tenure as a professor at Sorbonne, and went on to become research director of the Paris Observatory.

He was research director emeritus at The French National Center for Scientific Research, one of the world's leading research institutions.

In 1973 he was granted an award by the French Academy of Sciences for detecting and locating the explosion in the Cygnus constellation (Cygnus X3).

He published over 150 papers in astrophysics in renowned journals.

He had the reputation of enthusiastically supporting young Vietnamese astronomers until his death.