Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to a “hands-on online workshop on TOPCAT” led by Mark Taylor (University of Bristol, UK) on January 15, 2026, 6.00 PM IST.

This workshop is organised by a global network of ~95 Indian astronomers based around the world, formed to foster interaction and skill-sharing within our community (Webpage: https://indianastronomers.github.io). As part of this initiative, we are hosting a series of workshops, lectures, and hands-on sessions focused on widely used astronomical tools and techniques.

We are grateful to Mark Taylor, the core developer of TOPCAT, for agreeing to lead this session. During the first hour, Mark will introduce TOPCAT and guide participants through installation and basic usage. The session will then expand on TOPCAT’s core features for visualizing and analyzing astronomical catalogs, including Virtual Observatory access (Cone Search, TAP), table manipulation, and cross-matching, illustrated through live demonstrations. Time will also be reserved at the end for questions and discussion. We will also work on a few hands-on examples that are most relevant to our needs.

This workshop will be useful for graduate students, early post-doctoral fellows, researchers, and anyone who plans to work with or already works with astronomical datasets and catalogues.

Topic: Hands-on workshop on TOPCAT
Date: January 15, 2026
Time: ⁠6:00 PM IST / 12:30 PM GMT / 9:30 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

The registered participants limit is reached. Hence, the meeting link is removed based on a request from the co-ordinator.

To help us plan effectively, we kindly request that interested participants complete the Google form by January 12, 2026. This will enable Mark to provide hands-on materials, tailor the session to the audience, and assist us in managing attendance. Participation is limited to 300 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

Google Form: https://forms.gle/EbMdxQ3LVrRVX2NZ6

Thank you very much for your interest. We look forward to seeing you on January 15th.

With Regards,
Dr. Ranjan Kumar