Observatory

Building

Observatory
Type	Building
Description	Provides Astronomical Information
Placement Requirement	Can't build on aliens' claims. Can't build in aliens' jurisdiction.
Note
Structural Requirements
Arena	Ok
Auditorium	Ok
Battery	Ok
Commodity Storage	Ok
Field Area	Ok
Generator	No
Guard Post	No
Home, Large	Ok
Home, Medium	Ok
Home, Small	Ok
Livestock	Ok
Lounge Space	Ok
Office Space	1 Office Required
Parking, Ground Vehicles	Ok
Parking, Space Vehicles	Ok
Parking, Water Vehicles	Ok
Parking, Spacecraft	No
Radar	No
Shield Generator	No
Shop Space	Ok
Space Vehicle Launchers	No
Space Vehicle Recovery Systems	No
Store Space	Ok
Surgery Units	No
Transporters	No
Turrets	No
Weapon Bays	No

Observatories are used to gain information about the current solar system, eg. what sort of planets and moon it has. Essentially, it's a navigator station stuck onto a planet.

A semi-cheat method without an observatory:

1. Open the Communication (F3) window
2. On (almost) any channel, click Spacecraft Mission Order
3. Select the order Orbit Planet or Star
4. Look at the list of possible plants in the solar system
5. The Info column clearly state what orbital zone each planet is in

System Survey

Once a city has both an observatory and an airport radar, an automatic system survey is completed of the city's solar system.

See the System Survey page for more information.