• 천문학회지
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• 제29권spc1호
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• pp.443-444
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• 1996

From 146 B.C. to A.D. 1760, 363 sets of cometary observations have been recorded in Chinese Ancient Records of Celestial Phenomena. The positions of all recorded comets, or their paths, on the sky are compared. Taking into account the perturbations of all nine planets and using the numerical method of N-body problem, the orbits of well-recorded comets are calculated. Identification of a periodic comet is presented.

• 천문학회지
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.29-36
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• 1968

1. 28 candidates of novae and supernovae were selected from ancient Korean observational records. 2. 4 Supernovae were confirmed. 3. 1 guest star was suspected as the original explosion of Cas A. 4. 9 asterisked positions were suggested for further study in the hope of finding additional supernovae-radio sources.

• 천문학회지
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• 제29권spc1호
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• pp.439-440
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• 1996

The Chinese ancient accounts of timing observations of 48 lunar eclipses and the secular variation of the Earth's spin speed are discussed. A series of ${\Delta}$T expressing the secular deceleration of the Earth's rotation was obtained. The average increase rate of length of the day is about 1.5 milliseconds per century.

• 천문학회지
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.35-40
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• 1979

Astronomical records in the days of King Jeongjo of Yi dynasty, 1777-1800, are examined for solar and lunar eclipses, meteors and comets. The books used for this investigation are Sung Jeong Won Il Gi, which are the original daily records written in the court. The records found in these Sung Jeong Won Il Gi are tabulated according to the four astronomical phenomena above, and they were cross checked with the records in the book, Jung Bo Mun Heon Bi Go. Although Jung Bo Mun Heon Bi Go has most frequently been used as the original records to those who work for the ancient Korean records, the inaccuracy and the deficiency are found.

• 천문학회지
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• 제53권6호
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• pp.125-138
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• 2020

We determine the observing sites for eclipses of large magnitude recorded in ancient Chinese chronicles from 200 BCE to 900 CE, by adopting the difference between terrestrial time and universal time, ΔT, given by Morrison & Stephenson (2004). The records of solar eclipses with large magnitude are divided into four groups in accordance with the historical variations of the capital cities of ancient Chinese dynasties. We determine areas in which all the eclipses in each group, with an eclipse magnitude larger than a certain threshold value, could be observed. We find that these areas coincide with the historical capitals, which agrees with the general idea that the solar eclipses were observed at the capital of each dynasty. This result also verifies the ΔT values during the period from 100 BCE to 400 CE, during which historical records of eclipses are so rare that the ΔT values can only be obtained by interpolating the long-term data. Moreover, we show that the eclipses described by the term Ji in East-Asian history are not all total eclipses; their mean magnitude is 0.96 ± 0.04. We find that complementary expressions, such as dark daytime and appearance of stars during the eclipse, strengthen the possibility that eclipses described by the term Ji were total. We also provide quantitative definitions for expressions such as 'being not complete and like a hook', 'being almost complete', 'visibility of stars during the eclipse', and 'darkness during an eclipse.' The literal meanings of these expressions are in agreement with the recent physical modeling of sky brightness during total eclipses provided by Können & Hinz (2008).

• 한국지구과학회지
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• 제29권5호
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• pp.408-418
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• 2008

In this study, solar eclipse records were investigated during the Three Kingdoms era of ancient Korea using astronomical calculations and numerical simulations. Under the condition that the solar eclipses were actually observed at the well known capitals of the Three Kingdoms, I investigated the probabilities that the optimal observation areas of the Early Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje records would appear around Chinese continent. I found higher probabilities than those suggested by Park and La (1994), although the numerical values are still low, especially in the case of the Early Silla records. On the other hand, the probability that the optimal observation area of the Later Silla records will be present around South Korea is only 13.6%, although the area shows a good match with the known capital. I also analyzed the number distribution of the eclipse records for the Three Kingdoms (except for the latter Silla's) according to the observers' locations: at the optimal observation areas and at the known capitals. And then I compared with the number distribution of all eclipses observable from those locations. From the $\chi^2$-test, I found that the Goguryeo and Baekje records had better representation of their population distributions at the latter regions ($\chi^2$=27.93 and 205.5) than at the former ones ($\chi^2$=34.19 and 211.5). Therefore, it is difficult to conclude that the observers' locations during the Three Kingdoms period were either near China, as suggested by Park and La, or in the Korean peninsula, solely based on these results. It is thus recommended that more studies are required to confirm the real observers' locations during the Three Kingdoms era.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• 제36권4호
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• pp.252-263
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• 2019

Objectives : This research aimed to 1) analyze the true meanings of the chapter, 'Wigi Haeng (Wei Qi Xing), the movement of guard qi' in Youngchu (Ling Shu) from the point of view of ancient Chinese Astronomy, 2) calculate the speed of Wigi over 24 Chinese seasons, 3) analyze the true meaning of daytime and nighttime in the chapter. Methods : 1) The chapter 'Wigi Haeng' was analyzed using concepts of ancient Chinese astronomy, 2) the records of angular distances of 28 constellations in the Book of Han (Han Shu) were used to analyze the meanings, and 3) the records of lengths of daytime and nighttime in the Book of Hou Han (Hou Han Shu) were used to calculate the speed of Wigi. Results : 1) The author of the chapter 'Wigi Haeng' did not consider the irregularity in the angular distances of the 28 Chinese constellations (Su). 2) The commentary in the Huangjenaegyong Taeso (Huang Di Nei Jing Tai Su) about the constellations in the chapter is correct. 3) The speed of Wigi changes in daytime and nighttime depending on the seasons. 4) When the speed of Wigi increases in daytime, the speed in nighttime decreases, and vice versa. 5) The beginning of daytime in 'Wigi Haeng' is not the time of sunrise but the time of dawn (2.5 Gak before sunrise). The nighttime ends 2.5 Gak after sunset. Conclusions : 1) The chapter 'Wigi Haeng' demonstrates the ancient astronomical point of view on the universe and the movement of Wigi. The speed of Wigi is variable. 2) This chapter does not address the irregularity in the angular distances of the 28 Su. 3) More research is needed on the meaning of daytime and nighttime in 'Wigi Haeng'.

• 천문학논총
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.65-71
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• 2008

It has been considered that 'exhausted eclipses' (日食旣) were total eclipses. However, modern precise calculations show that a significant fraction of such records are not realized to be total. Thus we doubt that the two concepts are equivalent. Here we investigate the meaning of 'exhausted eclipses' in the east-Asian history. We first find that eclipses of magnitude greater than 0.8 were regarded as 'exhausted eclipses' by a Korean astronomer of the 18th-century Choson dynasty. His notion was based upon the definition of 'exhausted eclipses' in the ephemerides of pre-modern Chinese dynasties. According to those ephemerides, the 'exhausted eclipses', whose magnitude is greater than 0.8, have the first contact at the western part of the solar disk and the fourth contact at the eastern part of the solar disk. A simple geometrical calculation shows that such cases really occur when the magnitude of eclipse is greater than 0.7. We pointed out that such an ancient definition might not be impractical for ancient astronomers, because the uncertainty of eclipse magnitude estimated by ancient Chinese ephemerides was 10% and the human sight has a spatial resolution of 1.2 arcmin, which is approximately one twentieth of the Sun's angular diameter.

• 천문학논총
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.129-137
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• 1999

We arranged ancient Korean calendar during Koryo dynasty (A.D. 918-1392) according to Julian calendar. We used two representative history books, Koryo-sa (高麗史) and Koryo-sa Jeolyo (高麗史節要), which contain thea stronomical and the historical records chronologically. We found all 19,727 ganji dates(日辰) and 102 misrecoreded ganji dates in two books. Most of the data are arranged based on those two books, and doubtful data are identified using the eclipse, historical events and lunar phase calculations etc. Although Korea, China, and Japan were using basically the same calendar since ancient times, their calendars show some significant disagreement. We found that arranged chronological tables during Koryo dynasty were, in some cases, different from those of China and Japan.

• 천문학논총
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.129-139
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• 2010

The Cowherd Star and the Weaving Maid Star have been famous stars in East Asian countries. Nowadays Altair is defined to be the Cowherd Star in public materials including science books, mass media, public outreach programs, and movies played in public planetariums and science museums. However, in astronomical books and star-charts in history, the Cowherd Big Star (牽牛大星) has been known to be Dabih or $\beta$ Cap in the constellation Capricorn, and the asterism Cowherd consists of six stars including Dabih. Since the same title is given to the different objects simultaneously, considerable misunderstanding and confusion among the public have occurred. In this paper we consider this problem in two aspects. One aspect is which star has been defined to be the Cowherd Star in ancient literatures; the other is which stars were regarded as the Cowherd or the Cowherd Star in the historical records of occultation or conjunction in History of Koryo, Annals of the Choson Dynasty, and Daily Records of Royal Secretariat of the Choson Dynasty. As a result, we see that Altair has been regarded as the Cowherd Star in folklore and literature, but Dabih has been defined to be the Cowherd Big Star in astronomical works. An explanation proposed by previous researchers on the reason why such double meanings have been appeared is introduced. In the explanation, the fact that the Altair was defined as the Cowherd Star in ancient times had not been handed over properly, and the name of Cowherd was later put to the Dabih and its surrounding five stars to form one of 28 lunar lodges. Based upon these facts, we suggest the following ideas: (1) Altair should be introduced to be the Cowherd Star in public-friendly programs, and Dabih should be noticed to be the Cowherd Big Star in the field of history of astronomy. Dabih should be added as the astronomical Cowherd Big Star in academic books such as a dictionary of astronomical terminology. (2) The Korean pronunciation for Altair should be al-tear instead of al-tairu in accordance with the definition in the astronomical terminology dictionary compiled by the Korean Astronomical Society.