We have performed a detailed analysis of the Czernik 3 (Cz3) open cluster by using deep near-infrared photometry taken with TIRCAM2 on 3.6m Devasthal optical telescope along with the recently available high quality proper motion data from the Gaia DR2 and deep photometric data from Pan-STARRS1. The cluster has a highly elongated morphology with fractal distribution of stars. The core and cluster radii of the cluster are estimated as 0.5 pc and 1.2 pc, respectively. We have identified 45 stars as cluster members using the Gaia proper motion data. The distance and age of the cluster are found to be 3.5 ± 0.9 kpc and $0.9^{+0.3}_{-0.1}$ Gyr, respectively. The slope of the mass function `Γ′ in the cluster region, in the mass range ∼0.95 <M/M⊙<2.2, is found to be −1.01 ± 0.43. The cluster shows the signatures of mass-segregation and is dynamically relaxed (dynamical age=10 Myr). This along with its small size, big tidal radius, low density/large separation of stars, and elongated and distorted morphology, indicate that the Cz3 is a loosely bound disintegrating cluster under the influence of external tidal interactions.

Using our deep optical and near-infrared photometry along with multiwavelength archival data, we here present a detailed study of the Galactic H ii region Sh 2-305, to understand the star/star-cluster formation. On the basis of excess infra-red emission, we have identified 116 young stellar objects (YSOs) within a field of view of ∼ 18 .5 × 18 .5 around Sh 2-305. The average age, mass and extinction (A V ) for this sample of YSOs are 1.8 Myr, 2.9 M and 7.1 mag, respectively. The density distribution of stellar sources along with minimal spanning tree calculations on the location of YSOs reveals at least three stellar sub-clusterings in Sh 2-305. One cluster is seen toward the center (i.e, Mayer 3), while the other two are distributed toward the north and south directions. Two massive O-type stars (VM2 and VM4; ages ∼ 5 Myr) are located at the center of the Sh 2-305 H ii region. The analysis of the infrared and radio maps traces the photon dominant regions (PDRs) in the Sh 2-305. Association of younger generation of stars with the PDRs is also investigated in the Sh 2-305. This result suggests that these two massive stars might have influenced the star formation history in the Sh 2-305. This argument is also supported with the calculation of various pressures driven by massive stars, slope of mass function/K-band luminosity function, star formation efficiency, fraction of Class i sources, and mass of the dense gas toward the sub-clusterings in the Sh 2-305.

The Gaia Alert System issued an alert on 2020 August 28, on Gaia 20eae when its light curve showed a ∼4.25 magnitude outburst. We present multiwavelength photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations of this source since 2020 August and identify it as the newest member of the FUor/EXor family of sources. We find that the present brightening of Gaia 20eae is not due to the dust-clearing event but due to an intrinsic change in the spectral energy distribution. The light curve of Gaia 20eae shows a transition stage during which most of its brightness (∼3.4 mag) has occurred on a short timescale of 34 days with a rise rate of 3 mag/month. Gaia 20eae has now started to decay at a rate of 0.3 mag/month. We have detected a strong P Cygni profile in Hα, which indicates the presence of winds originating from regions close to the accretion. We find signatures of very strong and turbulent outflow and accretion in Gaia 20eae during this outburst phase. We have also detected a redshifted absorption component in all of the Ca ii IR triplet lines consistent with a signature of hot infalling gas in the magnetospheric accretion funnel. This enables us to constrain the viewing angle with respect to the accretion funnel. Our investigation of Gaia 20eae points toward magnetospheric accretion being the phenomenon for the current outburst.

We present multi-epoch deep (∼20 mag) I c band photometric monitoring of the Sh 2-170 star-forming region to understand the variability properties of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars. We report identification of 47 periodic and 24 non-periodic variable stars with periods and amplitudes ranging from ∼4 hrs to 18 days and from ∼0.1 to 2.0 mag, respectively. We have further classified 49 variables as PMS stars (17 Class ii and 32 Class iii) and 17 as main-sequence (MS)/field star variables. A larger fraction of MS/field variables (88%) show periodic variability as compared to the PMS variables (59%). The ages and masses of the PMS variable stars are found to be comparable with those of T-Tauri stars. Their variability amplitudes show an increasing trend with the near-IR/mid-IR excess. The period distribution of the PMS variables shows two peaks, one near ∼1.5 days and the other near ∼4.5 days. It is found that the younger stars with thicker discs and envelopes seem to rotate slower than their older counterparts. These properties of the PMS variables support the disc-locking mechanism. Both the period and amplitude of PMS stars show decrease with increasing mass probably due to the effective dispersal of circumstellar discs in massive stars. Our results favour the notion that cool spots on weak line T-Tauri stars are responsible for most of their variations, while hot spots on classical T-Tauri stars resulting from variable mass accretion from an inner disc contribute to their larger amplitudes and irregular behaviours.

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We present a multiwavelength study of the H ii region Sh 2-301 (S301) using deep optical data, near-infrared data, radio continuum data, and other archival data at longer wavelengths. A cluster of young stellar objects (YSOs) is identified in the northeast (NE) direction of S301. The Hα and radio continuum images trace the distribution of the ionized gas surrounding a massive star, ALS 207, and the S301 H ii region is bounded by an arc-like structure of gas and dust emission in the southeastern direction. The northwestern part of S301 seems to be devoid of gas and dust emission, while the presence of molecular material between the NE cluster and the central massive star ALS 207 is found. The distribution of warm dust emission, ionized gas, and neutral hydrogen together suggests a blistered morphology of the S301 H ii region powered by ALS 207, which appears to be located near the edge of the cloud. The location of the NE cluster embedded in the cold molecular cloud is found opposite to the blistered morphology. There is a noticeable age difference investigated between the massive star and the NE cluster. This age difference, pressure calculation, photodissociation regions, and the distribution of YSOs favor the positive feedback of the massive star ALS 207 in S301. On a wider scale of S301, the H ii region and the young stellar cluster are depicted toward the central region of a hub-filamentary system, which is evident in the infrared images.

We report on 26 lunar occultation events observed in the context of a program started at Devasthal in 2017. In addition to the customary observations with the 1.3-m telescope, we report here also the first attempts performed with the TIRCAM2 camera at the 3.6-m DOT telescope in the near-IR. The results consist in the first-time angular diameters for two late-type giants, in a measurement of the well-known AGB pulsating variable SW Vir, and in the measurement of eight small separation binaries one of which is detected for the first time (HR 1860). We also measured the wider binaries SAO 94431 and 55 Tau (twice). The remaining sources were found to be unresolved with upper limits as small as 1 milliarcsecond. We plan to develop further the high-speed capability of the TIRCAM2 instrument, so as to include in our program also more near-infrared, highly extincted sources.

We present the design and performance of the TANSPEC, a medium-resolution 0.55–2.5 μm cryogenic spectrometer and imager, now in operation at the 3.6 m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT), Nainital, India. The TANSPEC provides three modes of operation, which include photometry with broad- and narrowband filters, spectroscopy with short slits of 20″ length and different widths (from 0.″5 to 4.″0) in cross-dispersed mode at a resolving power R of ∼2750, and spectroscopy with long slits of 60″ length and different widths (from 0.″5 to 4.″0) in prism mode at a resolving power R of ∼100–350. TANSPEC’s imager mode provides a field of view of 60″ × 60″ with a plate scale of 0.″245 pixel−1 on the 3.6 m DOT. The TANSPEC was successfully commissioned during 2019 April–May, and the subsequent characterization and astronomical observations are presented here. The TANSPEC was made available to the worldwide astronomical community for science observations from 2020 October.