• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.58.2-58.2
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• 2016

The NISS (Near-infrared Imaging Spectrometer for Star formation history) onboard NEXTSat-1 is the near-infrared instrument optimized to the first small satellite of NEXTSat series. The capability of both imaging and low spectral resolution spectroscopy with the Field of View of $2{\times}2deg.$ in the near-infrared range from 0.9 to $3.8{\mu}m$ is a unique function of the NISS. The major scientific mission is to study the cosmic star formation history in local and distant universe. The Flight Model of the NISS is being developed and tested. After an integration into NEXTSat-1, it will be tested under the space environment. The NISS will be launched in 2017 and it will be operated during 2 years. As an extension of the NISS, SPEHREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is the NASA SMEX (SMall EXploration) mission proposed together with KASI (PI Institute: Caltech). It will perform an all-sky near-infrared spectral survey to probe the origin of our Universe; explore the origin and evolution of galaxies, and explore whether planets around other stars could harbor life. The SPHEREx is designed to have wider FoV of $3.5{\times}7deg.$ as well as wider spectral range from 0.7 to $4.8{\mu}m$. After passing the first selection process, SPHEREx is under the Phase-A study. The final selection will be made in the end of 2016. Here, we report the current status of the NISS and SPHEREx missions.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.54.3-54.3
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• 2021

The Coma cluster serves as an ideal laboratory to study the cluster assembly history. It is known as a typical example of relaxed galaxy clusters. However, recent X-ray, radio and optical observations revealed a number of substructures in Coma. The NGC 4839 group is an interesting substucture in the sense that it is overlappled with the X-ray bright component in the south-west region. Recent hydrodynamical simulations in the literature suggest that the NGC 4839 group came from the north-east direction of Coma, passed the apocenter about 1 Gyr ago, and started a second infall to the Coma core recently. Interestingly a number of E+A galaxies are located along the filament connecting the NGC 4839 group and the Coma core. We are surveying a wide area covering the NGC 4839 group to search for globular clusters and use them to investigate any connection between the globular clusters and the merger scenario of the NGC 4839 group. We utilized Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam archival images of two circular fields with diameter ~1.8 deg, covering the Coma core and the NGC 4839 group. We discuss the results with regard to the formation history of the NGC 4839 group.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.359-361
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• 2015

We use the millennium simulation for studying the evolution of groups of galaxies over time. We find fossil and non-fossil groups as well as old and young groups at redshift z = 0 and follow them back in time to investigate the evolution of their parameters, such as mass assembly, luminosity gap and halo mass concentration. We find that fossils assemble a larger fraction of their mass at z = 0 than controls. The magnitude gaps between fossil and non-fossil groups are not the same because of major and minor mergers, in old and young groups as well. We also find that WMAP1 and WMAP7 cosmologies lead to the same evolutionary history for fossil and control groups.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.30.2-30.2
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• 2016

M104 (NGC 4594, the Sombrero) is an intriguing disk galaxy classified as an elliptical galaxy nowadays. It hosts a luminous bulge and a massive disk, but it is still mysterious how M104 acquired such peculiar structures. Globular clusters are an useful tracer to investigate the formation history of early-type galaxies. In this study we present a wide field imaging study of the globular clusters in M104. Using wide ($1^{\circ}{\times}1^{\circ}$) and deep ugi images of M104 obtained with the CFHT/MegaCam observations, we detect a large number of globular clusters. The color distribution of these globular clusters shows that there are two subpopulations: a metal-poor system and a metal-rich system. The radial number density of the metal-poor globular clusters shows a long tail reaching R ~ 30' (~ 80 kpc), indicating clearly the existence of a giant metal-poor halo in M104. This result is consistent with the previous studies on the dual halos of massive early-type galaxies. We will discuss implications of these results in relation with the formation history of M104.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2009.04a
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• pp.37.1-37.1
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• 2009

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.48.4-49
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• 2020

We reconstruct the expansion history of the universe using type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) in a manner independent of any cosmological model assumptions. To do so, we implement a nonparametric iterative smoothing method on the Joint Light-curve Analysis (JLA) data while exploring the SN Ia light-curve hyperparameter space by Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. We test to see how the posteriors of these hyperparameters depend on cosmology, whether using different dark energy models or reconstructions shift these posteriors. Our constraints on the SN Ia light-curve hyperparameters from our model-independent analysis are very consistent with the constraints from using different parameterizations of the equation of state of dark energy, namely the flat ΛCDM cosmology, the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder model, and the Phenomenologically Emergent Dark Energy (PEDE) model. This implies that the distance moduli constructed from the JLA data are mostly independent of the cosmological models. We also studied that the possibility the light-curve parameters evolve with redshift and our results show consistency with no evolution. The reconstructed expansion history of the universe and dark energy properties also seem to be in good agreement with the expectations of the standard ΛCDM model. However, our results also indicate that the data still allow for considerable flexibility in the expansion history of the universe. This work is published in ApJ.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.215-223
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• 2014

In this paper, we report the analysis of Korean historical records on the periodic Halley's comet according to the period (i.e., the Three Kingdoms, Goryeo Dynasty, and Joseon Dynasty) using various sources such as the Samguksagi (The History of the Three Kingdoms), Goryeosa (The History of the Goryeo Dynasty), and Joseonwangjosillok (The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty). With regards to the apparition time of the comet for each return, we referred to the works of Kronk. For the Three Kingdoms period, we could not find any record relevant to Halley's comet from the Samguksagi. Furthermore, we examined the suggestion that the phenomenon of "two Suns" which appeared on April 1, 760 (in a luni-solar calendar), as recorded in the Samgukyusa (The Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms), indicates an instance of the the daytime appearance of Halley's comet. In contrast with the Three Kingdoms period, we found that all returns of Halley's comet are recorded during the Goryeo Dynasty, although others have questioned some accounts. We also found that the appearance of Halley's comet in 1145 is mentioned in a spirit-path stele made in 1178. For the Joseon Dynasty period, we found that all apparitions of the comet are recorded, as with the Goryeo Dynasty, except for the return of 1910, at which time the former dynasty had fallen. In conclusion, we think that this study will be helpful for understanding Korean historical accounts on Halley's comet.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.47.2-47.2
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• 2018

In this talk, we will review extragalactic science cases with NISS and SPHEREx. With its capability to perform a low resolution spectroscopy over a wide area, NISS and SPHEREx can provide valuable information about the evolution of spectral shapes of galaxies in different environments over cosmic history. This talk will focus on the cases for the studies that are closely related to the galaxy evolution and formation.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.75.3-75.3
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• 2016

We present a new survey of nearby galaxies to obtain deep wide-field images of 200 nearby bright galaxies in the southern hemisphere using Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet). We are taking very deep and wide-field images, spending 4.5 hours for the B and R filters for each object. Using this dataset, we will look for diffuse, low-surface brightness structures including outer disks, truncated disks, tidal features and stellar streams, and faint companions. The multicolor data will enable us to estimate the incidence and star formation history of those features. We present an outline of the data reduction pipeline, and preliminary results from the commissioning data.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.58.3-58.3
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• 2020

We present spatial variations of chemical abundances ([Fe/H] and [α/Fe]) in the Galactic disk, using a large number of dwarfs and giants from Large Sky Area Multi-object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST). Specifically, we investigate how the metallicity distribution function (MDF) and the alpha abundance distribution function (ADF) change with the distance from the Galactic center to understand the chemical evolution history of the Galactic disk. We also study the difference (if any) in the MDF and ADF between dwarfs and giants to provide valuable clues to the formation history of the Galactic disk.