Observations of Binary Stars with the 1.3-m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope Using Speckle Interferometry: An Attempt

TL;DR

This study tests the feasibility of using speckle interferometry with the 1.3-m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope to observe binary stars, demonstrating successful data analysis and correction of tracking errors, paving the way for advanced optical interferometry at similar telescopes.

Contribution

It demonstrates the viability of implementing speckle interferometry techniques on the 1.3-m DFOT, including data analysis and error correction, as a foundation for future optical interferometry studies.

Findings

Successful identification and correction of tracking errors.

Validation of speckle interferometry techniques on DFOT.

Motivation for systematic future observations.

Abstract

We present a feasibility study exploring the implementation of optical interferometry and speckle techniques with the 1.3-m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) at ARIES, which is currently dedicated to photometric observations. Using the sCMOS camera as the DFOT backend, we perform interferometric speckle observations of several binary stars. Standard Speckle Interferometry (SI) algorithms are applied to analyze the recorded data. While this study does not aim to achieve the diffraction limit of DFOT or address a full science-driven resolution case, it serves as a crucial testbed for instrumentation, data acquisition, and analysis of Speckles with DFOT. Notably, we successfully identify and correct tracking-related positional errors in the observed binary systems, demonstrating the viability of the approach. These results provide strong motivation for more systematic observations and future implementation of optical interferometry techniques at meter-class telescopes.