2nd BINA Workshop

The Belgo-Indian Network for Astronomy & astrophysics (BINA) is a network fostering collaboration between Belgian and Indian institutes to stimulate research on the solar system, galactic and extragalactic celestial objects based on observations with the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT), the 4.0-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT), and other telescopes of interest.

The 1st BINA Workshop was held in Nainital (India) on 15-18/11/2016 with the aim to establish close interactions between Indian and Belgian astrophysicists and to discuss about the first- and second-generation instruments for these new Indo-Belgian telescopes. It was successfully hosted by the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES).

Now that science observations with the DOT have started, it is the right time to promote "BINA as an expanding international collaboration". The focus of this meeting will therefore rely on three themes:
   (1) Instrumentation of the Indo-Belgian telescopes:
What is the role of these 4-m class telescopes on the international astronomical scene once they are equipped with adequate instruments? Which instruments are presently operational and how well are they performing? Which instruments are currently being developed? Special attention will be given to the status of the high-resolution spectrograph.
   (2) Data & science with the Indo-Belgian telescopes:
Which projects are currently being performed at the DOT? What is the quality of the data? What first scientific results have been obtained? Which other projects with the Indo-Belgian telescopes are planned in the near future?
   (3) Data & science with other telescopes of interest within BINA:
By joining forces, Belgian and Indian astronomers can get access to more telescopes of interest. Which science topics involving both Belgian and Indian partners are addressed based on data collected with these telescopes?
The main goal of this workshop will be to give answers to these questions based on the input from participants.

The 2nd BINA Workshop will be held in Brussels (Belgium) on 09-12/10/2018. It will be hosted by the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB). Scientists working in all astrophysical areas are kindly invited. The detailed outline of the scientific programme will be defined based on the submitted abstracts. Please note that the capacity of the conference room is limited to 50 participants. Therefore, if you consider to attend the 2nd BINA Workshop, we kindly request to send us an expression of interest now (18bina@oma.be) and to register as soon as possible once the registration is open (after the second announcement).