Charge-coupled device observations of the open cluster NGC 6823 and associated bright nebula NGC 6820: first results and prospects of the Uzbek-Taiwan collaboration at Maidanak.

Preliminary results of broad-band and narrow-band charge-coupled device imaging of the young star cluster NGC 6823 and the associated bright nebula NGC 6820 are reported. The observations were made in August 2001 at Maidanak Observatory (Uzbekistan) as a collaborative initiative between the Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Taiwan, and Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute, Uzbek Academy of Sciences. The two institutes, together with colleagues from Lithuania and Latvia, are working together to modernize and instrument the existing telescope facilities at Maidanak to make use of the excellent astroclimate of the site. As a pilot project, we selected candidate young stars in NGC 6823, based on their 2MASS near-infrared colours and obtained their photometry with Maidanak telescopes. The youth natures of some of these sources were later confirmed by spectra taken by the 2.16 m telescope at Beijing Observatory. This demonstrates that combination of small telescopes and existing databases, such as 2MASS, ROSAT or Chandra, can yield fruitful science. Other Uzbek-Taiwan collaborations are being planned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]