Abstract:
"Scientific summary of the first Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy & Astrophysics (BINA) workshop
is presented here. In the workshop, invited talks were supplemented with the contributory talks and poster
paper presentations. The talks presented during the workshop provide latest information on the 3.6-m Devasthal
Optical Telescope (DOT) and 4-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) projects.These observing facilities
are built jointly by the astronomical communities of India and Belgium. In the ILMT, reseachers from
Canada, Poland and Uzbekistan are also actively participating. Preliminary results obtained from the on sky test
indicate that 3.6-m DOT is capable of resolving binary stars separated by ∼ 0.4 arc second. CCD observations
obtained with the telescope indicate that atmospheric conditions at Devasthal are very good for optical observations
and the site can be considered internationally competitive. Buildings and telescope houses constructed
at Devasthal have not deteriorated natural seeing conditions observed at the site ∼ 2 decades ago during 1997-
1999. Pointing and tracking accuracies of the 3.6-m DOT are as per specifications. All these indicate that on
sky performance of the newly installed 3.6-m DOT is better than the specifications prescribed at the time of
placing order. It is therefore capable of providing internationally competitive science with the modern backend
instruments and also have global importance due to their geographical location particularly for the time domain
and multi-wavelength astrophysical studies. A large number of talks and poster papers presented during the
workshop discussed astrophysical potential of the Indian largest size (4 meter class) new technology optical
telescopes located at Devasthal. All these indicate beyond doubt that there are enormous opportunities for the
growth of astronomy in India."
