• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.57.1-57.1
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• 2010

The SPICA (SPace Infrared Telescope for Cosmology & Astrophysics) is a next generation infrared space telescope being prepared by JAXA, ESA and other international collaborators. We propose to develop FPC (Focal Plane Camera) consisting of two near-infrared cameras: FPC-G (I band) for focal plane guidance and FPC-S (0.7 - 5 um) for a back-up of FPC-G and a NIR instrument for scientific observations. In this talk, we introduce the requirement and the design concept of the FPC as well as the development strategy of the project.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.52.1-52.1
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• 2010

The Japanese infrared (IR) space mission AKARI monitored the brightness in the fields very close to the north ecliptic pole (NEP) with nine wavebands in Infrared Camera (IRC), which cover the wavelength range from 2 to $24{\mu}m$. We reduced the NEP monitor observations and examined the smoothness of the sky background brightness. Our analysis shows that the background brightness is smooth over a frame of about $10'\times10'$ within about 0.1% deviation in mid-IR. Because the zodiacal light (ZL) and emission (ZE) dominate the diffuse sky brightness in the near- and mid-IR wavelengths, the background brightness varies with season through a year. We tried sinusoidal fittings to the observed NEP background brightness. The fitting analysis shows that the sine function is successful in describing the seasonal variation of the ZL and ZE within 2% deviations from the observed brightness, especially for the 15, 18, and $24{\mu}m$ bands, within 0.3%. These results will provide limits and caveats for the studies of the cosmic infrared background radiation.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.443-445
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• 2015

We provide results of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic observations of 83 nearby (0.002< z <0.48) and bright (K <14 mag) type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs). For the observations, we used the Infrared Camera (IRC) on AKARI allowing us to obtain the spectrum in the rarely studied spectral range of $2.5-5.0{\mu}m$. The $2.5-5.0{\mu}m$ spectral region suffers less dust extinction than ultra violet (UV) or optical wavelength ranges, and contains several important emission lines such as $Br{\beta}$ ($2.63{\mu}m$), $Br{\alpha}$ ($4.05{\mu}m$), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH; $3.3{\mu}m$). The sample is selected from the bright quasar surveys of Palomar Green and SNUQSO, and AGNs with black hole (BH) masses estimated from reverberation mapping method. We measure the Brackett line properties for 11 AGNs, which enable us to derive BH mass estimators and investigate circum-nuclear environments. Moreover, we perform spectral modeling to fit the hot and warm dust components by adding photometric data from SDSS, 2MASS, WISE, and ISO to the AKARI spectra, and estimate hot and warm dust temperatures of ~1100K and ~220 K, respectively.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.297-298
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• 2012

ANIR (Atacama Near InfraRed camera) is a near infrared camera for the University of Tokyo Atacama 1m telescope, installed at the summit of Co. Chajnantor (5,640 m altitude) in northern Chile. The high altitude and extremely low water vapor (PWV = 0.5 mm) of the site enable us to perform observation of hydrogen $Pa{\alpha}$ emission line at $1.8751{\mu}m$. Since its first light observation in June 2009, we have been carrying out a $Pa{\alpha}$ narrow-band imaging survey of nearby luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), and have obtained $Pa{\alpha}$ for 38 nearby LIRGs listed in AKARI/FIS-PSC at the velocity of recession between 2,800 km/s and 8,100 km/s. LIRGs are affected by a large amount of dust extinction ($A_V$~ 3 mag), produced by their active star formation activities. Because $Pa{\alpha}$ is the strongest hydrogen recombination line in the infrared wavelength ranges, it is a good and direct tracer of dust-enshrouded star forming regions, and enables us to probe the star formation activities in LIRGs. We find that LIRGs have two star-forming modes. The origin of the two modes probably come from differences between merging stage and/or star-forming process.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.225-231
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• 2015

Improving current pasture productivity by precision management requires practical tools to collect site specific pasture biomass data. Recent developments in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology provide cost effective and real time applications for site specific data collection. For the mapping of herbage biomass (BM) on a hill pasture, we tested a UAV system with digital cameras (visible and near-infrared (NIR) camera). The field measurements were conducted on the grazing hill pasture at Hanwoo Improvement Office, Seosan City, Chungcheongnam-do Province, Korea on May 17 and June 27, 2014. Plant samples were obtained from 28 sites. A UAV system was used to obtain aerial photos from a height of approximately 50 m (approximately 30 cm spatial resolution). Normalized digital number (DN) values of Red and NIR channels were extracted from the aerial photos and a normalized differential vegetation index using DN ($NDVI_{dn}$) was calculated. The results show that the correlation coefficient between BM and $NDVI_{dn}$ was 0.88. For the precision management of hilly grazing pastures, UAV monitoring systems can be a quick and cost effective tool to obtain site-specific herbage BM data.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.269-270
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• 2015

We carried out near-IR photometric and optical spectroscopic observations of V582 Aur, which is a FU Orionis type object, to investigate any periodic and/or aperiodic variations. We obtained light curves on the scale of a night and a year, in J, H and Ks bands with KASINICS (KASI Near Infrared Camera System) attached to the BOAO (Bohyun-san Optical Astronomy Observatory) 1.8-m reflector in Youngcheon, South Korea and examined photometric variations on the two time scales. So far we have not found any periodic brightness variations on the scale of a night. On the other hand, we have found that there seems to be a periodic brightness variation with a period of approximately 45 days. In addition, high-resolution optical spectroscopic observations of V582 Aur were performed from February 2013 to May 2014 with the high-resolution echelle spectrograph BOES attached to the BOAO 1.8-m reflector. We analyzed several spectral lines to understand the physical state of V582 Aur. The P Cyg profiles are clearly shown in the $H{\alpha}$ line and Na I D line.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.71.3-71.3
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• 2015

Deep UBVI and $H{\alpha}$ photometry of the ${\eta}$ Carina nebula, one of the brightest nebulae on the sky, was obtained with the CTIO 4m telescope and MOSAIC II CCD Camera to determine the initial mass function down to low-mass (~1 M¤) stars. We modified the spatial variation coefficients in transformation relations of the MOSAIC II CCD. From the cross-identification of optical sources with previous surveys in X-ray, near-infrared, and mid-infrared, a clear PMS sequence is revealed in the optical color-magnitude diagrams down to V=23 mag. Our previous SSO 1m UBVI data for Trumpler 14 (Tr 14) and Trumpler 16 (Tr 16) region, and additional SSO 1m UBVI data for Trumpler 15 (Tr 15) region were combined with the CTIO 4m data to re-examine the reddening law and distance of the young open clusters in the ${\eta}$ Carina nebula. From the new photometric data for Tr 15 region, we report that RV[=AV/E(B-V)], the total-to-selective extinction ratio, decreases from southern part of the nebula (Tr 14 and Tr 16) to northern part (Tr 15) in our field of view.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.91.2-91.2
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• 2014

A near infrared wide-band high resolution spectrograph, immersion grating infrared spectrometer (IGRINS) has been jointly developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute and the University of Texas at Austin. The compact white-pupil design of the instrument optics includes five cryogenic flat mirrors including a slit mirror, an input fold mirror, a dichroic mirror, and H&K camera fold mirrors. In this study, we introduce the optomechanical mount designs of the five cryogenic mirrors. In order to meet the structural stability and thermal requirements of the mount models, we conducted the design work with the aid of 3-dimensional computer modeling and the finite element analysis (FEA) method. We also present the actual fabricated parts and assemblies of the mounts and mirrors as well as their CAD models.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.114.1-114.1
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• 2011

We present the near-infrared spectra (2.5-5.0 um) of shocked $H_2$ gas, observed with the InfraRed Camera onboard the satellite AKARI. Two supernova remnants, IC 443 and HB 21, were observed, and they all showed the ortho-to-para ratios (OPRs) of less than 3.0: 2.1-2.2 for IC 443 and 1.6-1.8 for HB 21. These non-equilibrium OPRs are first reported at E(v,J) > 7000 K, as far as we are aware of. Based on our previous study, we try to interpret that the non-equilibrium OPRs originate from dissociative J-shocks. Dissociative J-shocks mainly generate infrared H2 emissions from their $H_2$ reformation zone, and the OPR of 3.0 are expected for the reformed $H_2$ from the theoretical study. This is contradictory to our observational results. We propose other possible origins of the non-equilibrium OPRs, such as, abnormal $H_2$ reformation, partially dissociative J-shocks, etc.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.48.2-48.2
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• 2013

We present the near-infrared spectra (2.5-5.0 um) of shocked $H_2$ gas, observed with the Infrared Camera onboard the satellite AKARI. Two supernova remnants, IC 443 and HB 21, were observed. IC 443 shows a hint of non-equilibrium ortho-to-para ratio (OPR): 2.4 (-0.2, +0.3). HB 21 also shows an indication of a potential non-equilibrium OPR: 1.8-2.0. These non-equilibrium OPRs are first reported for shocked $H_2$ gas at E(v,J) > 7000 K, as far as we are aware. We concluded that the non-equilibrium OPR probably originates from dissociative J-shocks, considering several factors such as the shock combination requirement, the line ratios, and the possibility that $H_2$ gas can form on grains with a non-equilibrium OPR. The difference in the collision energy of H atoms on grain surfaces would give rise to the observed difference between the OPRs of IC 443 and HB 21, if dissociative J-shocks are responsible for the $H_2$ emission. Our study suggests that shocked-then-cooled $H_2$ gas may play as a heat reservoir with the non-equilibrium OPR.