• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.279-290
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• 2013

Due to the continuous space development by mankind, the number of space objects including space debris in orbits around the Earth has increased, and accordingly, difficulties of space development and activities are expected in the near future. In this study, among the stages for space debris removal, the implementation of a vision-based approach technique for approaching space debris from a far-range rendezvous state to a proximity state, and the ground test performance results were described. For the vision-based object tracking, the CAM-shift algorithm with high speed and strong performance, and the Kalman filter were combined and utilized. For measuring the distance to a tracking object, a stereo camera was used. For the construction of a low-cost space environment simulation test bed, a sun simulator was used, and in the case of the platform for approaching, a two-dimensional mobile robot was used. The tracking status was examined while changing the position of the sun simulator, and the results indicated that the CAM-shift showed a tracking rate of about 87% and the relative distance could be measured down to 0.9 m. In addition, considerations for future space environment simulation tests were proposed.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.235-244
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• 2019

We present the results of near-infrared imaging observations of the galaxy overdensity around the z = 1.44 radio-loud active galactic nucleus (AGN) 6CE1100+3505, which was carried out with the purpose of sampling the redshifted Hα emission from the actively star-forming galaxies that could constitute the overdensity. The existence of the structure around this AGN was spectroscopically confirmed by previous grism observations which are however limited to the central region. Using the CH4Off narrow/medium-band and H broad band filters in the Wide Infrared Camera (WIRCam) on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), we constructed a sample of objects that show a flux excess in the CH4Off band due to line emission. The emission line flux is ~ 4.9 × 10^-16 erg s^-1 cm^-2, corresponding to a star formation rate (SFR) of ~ 50 M_⊙ yr^-1 for galaxies at redshifts z ~ 1.4. None of the galaxies with medium-band flux excess is located within 1 Mpc from the central AGN, and there is no evidence that the selected galaxies are associated with the proposed cluster. Along with the star formation quenching near the center that was found from the previous grism observations, the lack of extreme starbursts in the structure suggests that at z ~ 1.4, overdense regions are no longer favorable locations for vigorous star formation.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.393-408
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• 2005

We developed and compared two automatic algorithms for moving object detections in the YSTAR-NEOPAT sky survey program. One method, called starlist comparison method, is to identify moving object candidates by comparing the photometry data tables from successive images. Another method, called image subtraction method, is to identify the candidates by subtracting one image from another which isolates sources moving against background stars. The efficiency and accuracy of these algorithms have been tested using actual survey data from the YSTAR-NEOPAT telescope system. For the detected candidates, we performed eyeball inspection of animated images to confirm validity of asteroid detections. Main conclusions include followings. First, the optical distortion in the YSTAR-NEOPAT wide-field images can be properly corrected by comparison with USNO-B1.0 catalog and the astrometric accuracy can be preserved at around 1.5 arcsec. Secondly, image subtraction provides more robust and accurate detection of moving objects. For two different thresholds of 2.0 and $4.0\sigma$, image subtraction method uncovered 34 and 12 candidates and most of them are confirmed to be real. Starlist comparison method detected many more candidates, 60 and 6 for each threshold level, but nearly half of them turned out to be false detections.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.56.3-57
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• 2015

As of early 2015, more than 12,000 Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) have been catalogued by the Minor Planet Center, however their observational properties such as broadband colors and rotational periods are known only for a small fraction of the population. Thanks to time series observations with the KMTNet, orbits, optical sizes (and albedo), spin states and three dimensional shapes of asteroids and comets including NEOs will be systematically investigated and archived for the first time. Based on SDSS and BVRI colors, their approximate surface mineralogy will also be characterized. This so-called DEEP-South (Deep Ecliptic Patrol of the Southern Sky) project will provide a prompt solution to the demand from the scientific community to bridge the gaps in global sky coverage with a coordinated use of the network of ground-based telescopes in the southern hemisphere. We will soon finish implementing dedicated software subsystem consisted of automated observation scheduler and data pipeline for the sake of increased discovery rate, rapid follow-up, timely phase coverage, and efficient data analysis. We will give a brief introduction to test runs conducted at CTIO with the first KMTNet telescope in February and March 2015 and experimental data processing. Preliminary scientific results will also be presented.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.77-81
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• 2017

A wide spectral coverage from near-infrared (NIR) to far-infrared (FIR) of AKARI both for imaging and spectroscopy enables us to efficiently study the emission from gas and dust in the interstellar medium (ISM). In particular, the Infrared Camera (IRC) onboard AKARI offers a unique opportunity to carry out sensitive spectroscopy in the NIR ($2-5{\mu}m$) for the first time from a spaceborn telescope. This spectral range contains a number of important dust bands and gas lines, such as the aromatic and aliphatic emission bands at 3.3 and $3.4-3.5{\mu}m$, $H_2O$ and $CO_2$ ices at 3.0 and $4.3{\mu}m$, CO, $H_2$, and H I gas emission lines. In this paper we concentrate on the aromatic and aliphatic emission and ice absorption features. The balance between dust supply and destruction suggests significant dust processing taking place as well as dust formation in the ISM. Detailed analysis of the aromatic and aliphatic bands of AKARI observations for a number of H ii regions and H ii region-like objects suggests processing of carbonaceous dust in the ISM. The ice formation process can also be studied with IRC NIR spectroscopy efficiently. In this review, dust processing in the ISM divulged by recent analysis of AKARI data is discussed.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.122.2-122.2
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• 2011

For more than a decade, NEA (Near-Earth Asteroid) survey teams equipped with 1 meter-class telescopes discovered thousands of NEAs in the northern sky. As of August 2011, some 8,200 NEAs have been cataloged, yet only five percent of them has been investigated for their physical and chemical properties. In order to improve current situation, we propose a deep ecliptic survey utilizing KMTNet, for detection and characterization of NEAs in the southern sky. Thanks to the wide-field capability (four square degrees) of the telescopes, we will be able to considerably expand the search volume carrying out precision photometry down to 21.5th magnitude. We plan to focus our survey on opposition and two "sweet spots" in the ecliptic belt. Since SDSS colors characterize mineralogical properties of NEAs, g', r', i', z' filters will be employed. Based on the round-the-clock observation, we will study their rotational properties; for multiple systems, mass, density and other physical parameters can be obtained. We plan to maintain a dedicated database of the physical and mineralogical properties of NEAs. With this archive, it is expected that our understanding on the population will see a drastic change. We also plan to participate in the GAIA Follow-Up Network for ground based observation of the Solar System Objects (GAIA-FUN-SSO). The follow- up astrometry will be performed upon alerts issued by the GAIA-FUN-SSO Central Node in France.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.129-142
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• 2018

The DEEP-South (the Deep Ecliptic Patrol of the Southern Sky) photometric census of small Solar System bodies produces massive time-series data of variable, transient or moving objects as a by-product. To fully investigate unexplored variable phenomena, we present an application of multi-aperture photometry and FastBit indexing techniques for faster access to a portion of the DEEP-South year-one data. Our new pipeline is designed to perform automated point source detection, robust high-precision photometry and calibration of non-crowded fields which have overlap with previously surveyed areas. In this paper, we show some examples of catalog-based variability searches to find new variable stars and to recover targeted asteroids. We discover 21 new periodic variables with period ranging between 0.1 and 31 days, including four eclipsing binary systems (detached, over-contact, and ellipsoidal variables), one white dwarf/M dwarf pair candidate, and rotating variable stars. We also recover astrometry (< ${\pm}1-2$ arcsec level accuracy) and photometry of two targeted near-earth asteroids, 2006 DZ169 and 1996 SK, along with the small- (~0.12 mag) and relatively large-amplitude (~0.5 mag) variations of their dominant rotational signals in R-band.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.80.1-80.1
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• 2019

Photometric investigations of asteroids allow us to determine their rotation states and shape models (Apostolovska et al. 2014). Our main target, asteroid (2078) Nanking's perihelion distance (q) is 1.480 AU, which belongs to the Mars-crossing asteroid (1.3 < q < 1.66 AU). Mars-crossing asteroids are objects that cross the orbit of Mars and regarded as one of the primary sources of near-Earth asteroids due to the unstable nature of their orbits. We present the analysis of the spin parameters and 3D shape model of (2078) Nanking. We conducted Cousins_R-band time-series photometry of this asteroid from November 26, 2014 to January 17, 2015 at the Sobaeksan Optical Astronomy Observatory (SOAO) and for 25 nights from March to April 2016 using the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) to reconstruct its physical model with our dense photometric datasets. Using the lightcurve inversion method (Kaasalainen & Torppa 2001; Kaasalainen et al. 2001), we determine the pole orientation and shape model of this object based on our lightcurves along with the archival data obtained from the literatures. We derived rotational period of 6.461 h, the preliminary ecliptic longitude (${\lambda}_p$) and latitude (${\beta}_p$) of its pole as ${\lambda}_p{\sim}8^{\circ}$ and ${\beta}_p{\sim}-52^{\circ}$ which indicates a retrograde rotation of the body. From the apparent W UMa-shaped lightcurve and its location in the rotation frequency-amplitude plot of Sheppard and Jewitt (2004), we suspect the contact binary nature of the body (Choi 2016).

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2022

In this paper, we described the development of a drag augmentation device for nanosatellite. Recently, space industry has entered the New Space era, and barriers to entry into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for artificial objects such as small rockets and nanosatellite mega constellations have been significantly lowered. As a result, the number of space debris is increasing exponentially, and it is approaching as a major threat to satellite currently in operation as well as satellites to be launched in near future. To prevent this, international organizations like Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) have been proposed space debris mitigation guidelines. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) conducted KARI Rendezvous & Docking demonstration SATellite (KARDSAT) project, the first nanosatellites for rendezvous and docking technology demonstration in Korea, and we also developed drag augmentation device for KARDSAT Target nanosatellite that complied with the international guideline of post-mission disposal.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.105-121
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• 2020

There has been a lot of controversy over the claim that ancient characters were engraved on a stone plane collected near the Samsin Mountain in Hadong-gun, and that it was used as an altar based on the contents on the stone. The importance of the role of geoscience in prehistoric petroglyph research was presented through analysis and comparison with representative domestic petroglyphs. First, by examining the geological formation process of the collected stone objects, it proved that prehistoric actions were not applied. Second, as a result of comparative analysis from the viewpoints of human geography and topography with representative petroglyphs in Korea, it is unreasonable to argue that the stone was made for an altar. Third, it is considered that among the ancient characters under debate, the straight line indicates a cleavage of carbonate minerals, and the curved shape results from the growth of lichens. Finally, we propose that reproducing the lines found on the stone was impossible by using ancient techniques, and that there was no trace of any artificial actions applied to the spots considered to be curved characters. As shown in such research cases, the results of petroglyph research will have high reliability, if research by experts in each field continues after the geoscientific basis is secured. In this respect, the contribution of Earth science to cultural assets and archeology is expected to increase in the future.