• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.133-141
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• 2018

We report on our Galactic plane searches for magnetars in the archival Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) data. We summarize the properties of known magnetars and use them to establish a procedure for magnetar searches. The procedure includes four steps: source finding, spectral characterization, optical counterpart checks, and period searches. We searched 1,282 archival CXO observations, found 32,838 X-ray sources, and selected 25 intriguing candidates using the developed procedure. Although we do not firmly identify a magnetar among them, we significantly reduced the number of targets in future magnetar searches to be done with better X-ray telescopes.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.69-74
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• 2010

We present new BVR CCD photometric light curves for the close binary star V445 Cep. A new photometric solution and absolute physical dimensions of the system were derived by applying the Wilson-Devinney program to our observed light curves and radial velocity curves published by Pych et al. The evolutional status of V445 Cep was found to coincide with those of the general low mass ratio contact binary systems.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.175-184
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• 2003

To investigate the SEDs of galaxies considering the dust extinction processes in the galactic disks, we present the population synthesis models for normal galaxies with dusty disks. We use PEGASE (Fioc & Rocca-Volmerange 1997) to model them with standard input parameters for stars and new dust parameters. We find that the model results are strongly dependent on the dust parameters as well as other parameters (e.g. star formation history). We compare the model results with the observations and discuss about the possible explanations. We find that the dust opacity functions derived from studies of asymptotic giant branch stars are useful for modeling a galaxy with a dusty disk.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.173-180
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• 2002

Images taken with the Chandra X-ray telescope have for the the first time revealed the central, wind-driven, hot bubble (Chu et al. 2001), while Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFPC2 images of the Cat's Eye nebula, NGC 6543, show that the temperature of the halo region of angular radius ~ 20", is much higher than that of the inner bright H II region. With the coupling of a photoionization calculation to a hydrodynamic simulation, we predict the observed 〔O III〕 line intensities of the halo region with the same O abundance as in the core H II region: oxygen abundance gradient does not appear to exist in the NGC 6543 inner halo. An interaction between a (leaky) fast stellar wind and halo gas may cause the higher excitation temperatures in the halo region and the inner hot bubble region observed with the Chandra X-ray telescope.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.237-245
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• 2023

Laser communication has been considered as a novel method for earth observation satellites with generation of high data volume. It offers faster data transmission speeds compared to conventional radio frequency (RF) communication due to the short wavelength and narrow beam divergence. However, laser beams are refracted due to atmospheric turbulence between the ground and the satellite. Refracted laser beams, upon reaching the receiver, result in angle-of-arrival (AoA) fluctuation, inducing image dancing and wavefront distortion. These phenomena hinder signal acquisition and lead to signal loss in the course of laser communication. So, precise alignment between the transmitter and receiver is essential to guarantee effective and reliable laser communication, which is achieved by pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) system. In this study, we simulate the effectiveness of tip/tilt compensation for more efficient laser communication in the satellite-ground downlink. By compensating for low-order terms using tip/tilt mirror, we verify the alleviation of AoA fluctuations under both weak and strong atmospheric turbulence conditions. And the performance of tip/tilt correction is analyzed in terms of the AoA fluctuation and collected power on the detector.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.307-314
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• 2013

Infrared optical systems are operated at low temperature and vacuum (LT-V) condition, whereas the assembly and alignment are performed at room temperature and non-vacuum (RT-NV) condition. The differences in temperature and pressure between assembly/alignment environments and operation environment change the physical characteristics of optical and opto-mechanical parts (e.g., thickness, height, length, curvature, and refractive index), and the resultant optical performance changes accordingly. In this study, using input relay optics (IO), among the components of the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) which is an infrared spectrograph, a simulation based on the physical information of this optical system and an actual experiment were performed; and optical performances in the RT-NV, RT-V, and LT-V environments were predicted with an accuracy of $0.014{\pm}0.007{\lambda}$ rms WFE, by developing an adaptive fitting line. The developed adaptive fitting line can quantitatively control assembly and alignment processes below ${\lambda}/70$ rms WFE. Therefore, it is expected that the subsequent processes of assembly, alignment, and performance analysis could not be repeated.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2020

Satellite optical communication has gained significant attention owing to its many quality features (e.g., a larger bandwidth, license free spectrum, higher data rate, and better security) compared to satellite microwave communication. Various experiments have been performed during many space missions to demonstrate and characterize inter-satellite links, downlinks, and uplinks. Korea has also planned to establish an experimental communication system using a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite and the Geochang station as an optical ground station for low Earth orbit (LEO)-to-ground optical relay links. In this study, the performance of inter-satellite communication links and downlinks was investigated for the new Korean experimental communication system in terms of link margin, bit error rate (BER), and channel capacity. In particular, the performance of the inter-satellite links was analyzed based on the receiving apertures and the transmitting power, while that of the downlink was analyzed in terms of atmospheric turbulence conditions and transmitting power. Finally, we discussed two system parameters of receiving aperture and transmitting power to meet the three criteria of link margin, BER, and channel capacity.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2018

Pc1 pulsations are geomagnetic fluctuations in the frequency range of 0.2 to 5 Hz. There have been several observations of Pc1 pulsations in low earth orbit by MAGSAT, DE-2, Viking, Freja, CHAMP, and SWARM satellites. However, there has been a clear limitation in resolving the spatial and temporal variations of the pulsation by using a single-point observation by a single satellite. To overcome such limitations of previous observations, a new space mission was recently initiated, using the concept of multi-satellites, named the Small scale magNetospheric and Ionospheric Plasma Experiments (SNIPE). The SNIPE mission consists of four nanosatellites (~10 kg), which will be launched into a polar orbit at an altitude of 600 km (TBD) in 2020. Four satellites will be deployed in orbit, and the distances between each satellite will be controlled from 10 to 1,000 km by a high-end formation-flying algorithm. One of the possible science targets of the SNIPE mission is observing electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves. In this paper, we report on examples of observations, showing the limitations of previous EMIC observations in low earth orbit, and suggest possibilities to overcome those limitations through a new mission.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 2020

There has been increasing necessity of more precise prediction and measurements of aviation radiation in Korea. For our air crew and passengers' radiation safety, we develop our own radiation prediction model of KREAM. In this paper, we validate the KREAM model based on comparison with Liulin observations. During early three months of this year, we perform total 25 experiments to measure aviation radiation exposure using Liulin-6K in commercial flights. We found that KREAM's result is very well consistent with Liulin observation in general. NAIRAS shows mostly higher results than Liulin observation, while CARI-6M shows generally lower results than the observations. The percent error of KREAM compared with Liulin observation is 10.95%. In contrast, the error for NAIRAS is 43.38% and 22.03% for CARI-6M. We found that the increase of the altitude might cause sudden increase in radiation exposure, especially for the polar route. As more comprehensive and complete analysis is required to validate KREAM's reliability to use for the public service, we plan to expand these radiation measurements with Liulin and Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC) in the near future.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.253-261
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• 2018

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) has been developing the space optical and laser tracking (SOLT) system for space geodesy, space situational awareness, and Korean space missions. The SOLT system comprises satellite laser ranging (SLR), adaptive optics (AO), and debris laser tracking (DLT) systems, which share numerous subsystems, such as an optical telescope and tracking mount. It is designed to be capable of laser ranging up to geosynchronous Earth orbit satellites with a laser retro-reflector array, space objects imaging brighter than magnitude 10, and laser tracking low Earth orbit space debris of uncooperative targets. For the realization of multiple functions in a novel configuration, the SOLT system employs a switching mirror that is installed inside the telescope pedestal and feeds the beam path to each system. The SLR and AO systems have already been established at the Geochang station, whereas the DLT system is currently under development and the AO system is being prepared for testing. In this study, the design and development of the SOLT system are addressed and the SLR data quality is evaluated compared to the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS) tracking stations in terms of single-shot ranging precision. The analysis results indicate that the SLR system has a good ranging performance, to a few millimeters precision. Therefore, it is expected that the SLR system will not only play an important role as a member of the ILRS tracking network, but also contribute to future Korean space missions.