• Atmosphere
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.243-256
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• 2011

This paper presents the development of new algorithm for identifying and tracking the convective cells in three dimensional reflectivity fields in Cartesian coordinates. First, the radar volume data in spherical coordinate system has been converted into Cartesian coordinate system by the bilinear interpolation. The three-dimensional convective cell has then been identified as a group of spatially consecutive grid points using reflectivity and volume thresholds. The tracking algorithm utilizes a fuzzy logic with four membership functions and their weights. The four fuzzy parameters of speed, area change ratio, reflectivity change ratio, and axis transformation ratio have been newly defined. In order to make their membership functions, the normalized frequency distributions are calculated using the pairs of manually matched cells in the consecutive radar reflectivity fields. The algorithms have been verified for two convective events in summer season. Results show that the algorithms have properly identified storm cells and tracked the same cells successively. The developed algorithms may provide useful short-term forecasting or nowcasting capability of convective storm cells and provide the statistical characteristics of severe weather.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.67.2-67.2
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• 2020

Not only the magnitude of the mirror surface error, the pattern matters as it produces certain aberrations. In particular, the surface error of the freeform mirrors, which are optimized to eliminate specific aberrations, might show much higher sensitivity in optical performance. Therefore, we analyze the mirror surface error with Zernike polynomials with the goal of generating a realistic error surface. We investigate the surface error of the freeform mirror fabricated by diamond turning machine to analyze the realistic tendency of the error. The surface error with 0.22 ㎛ root-mean-square value is fitted to the Zernike terms using the incremental fitting method, which increases the number of the fitting coefficients through steps. Furthermore, optical performance via surface error pattern based on Zernike terms is studied to see the influences of each term. With this study, realistic error surface generation may allow higher accuracy not only for the feasibility test but also for all tests and predictions using optical simulations.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.205-212
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• 2010

To better understand the physical processes that maintain the high-latitude lower thermospheric dynamics, we have identified relative contributions of the momentum forcing and the heating to the high-latitude lower thermospheric winds depending on the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and altitude. For this study, we performed a term analysis of the potential vorticity equation for the high-latitude neutral wind field in the lower thermosphere during the southern summertime for different IMF conditions, with the aid of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Thermosphere-Ionosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (NCAR-TIEGCM). Difference potential vorticity forcing and heating terms, obtained by subtracting values with zero IMF from those with non-zero IMF, are influenced by the IMF conditions. The difference forcing is more significant for strong IMF $B_y$ condition than for strong IMF $B_z$ condition. For negative or positive $B_y$ conditions, the difference forcings in the polar cap are larger by a factor of about 2 than those in the auroral region. The difference heating is the most significant for negative IMF $B_z$ condition, and the difference heatings in the auroral region are larger by a factor of about 1.5 than those in the polar cap region. The magnitudes of the difference forcing and heating decrease rapidly with descending altitudes. It is confirmed that the contribution of the forcing to the high-latitude lower thermospheric dynamics is stronger than the contribution of the heating to it. Especially, it is obvious that the contribution of the forcing to the dynamics is much larger in the polar cap region than in the auroral region and at higher altitude than at lower altitude. It is evident that when $B_z$ is negative condition the contribution of the forcing is the lowest and the contribution of the heating is the highest among the different IMF conditions.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.161-174
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• 2009

Observation of standard stars is of crucial importance in stellar photometry. We have studied the standard transformation relations of the UBV RI CCD photometric system at the Maidanak Astronomical Observatory in Uzbekistan. All observations were made with the AZT-22 1.5m telescope, SITe 2k CCD or Fairchild 486 CCD, and standard Bessell UBV RI filters from 2003 August to 2007 September. We observed many standard stars around the celestial equator observed by SAAO astronomers. The atmospheric extinction coefficients, photometric zero points, and time variation of photometric zero points of each night were determined. Secondary extinction coefficients and photometric zero points were very stable, while primary extinction coefficients showed a distinct seasonal variation. We also determined the transformation coefficients for each filter. For B, V, R, and I filters, the transformation to the SAAO standard system could be achieved with a straight line or a combination of two straight lines. However, in the case of the U filter and Fairchild 486 CCD combination, a significant non-linear correction term - related to the size of Balmer jump or the strength of the Balmer lines - of up to 0:08 mags was required. We found that our data matched well the SAAO photometry in V, B - V, V - I, and R - I. But in U - B, the difference in zero point was about 3.6 mmag and the scatter was about 0.02 mag. We attribute the relatively large scatter in U -B to the larger error in U of the SAAO photometry. We confirm the mostly small differences between the SAAO standard UBV RI system and the Landolt standard system. We also attempted to interpret the seasonal variation of the atmospheric extinction coefficients in the context of scattering sources in the earth's atmosphere.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.257-265
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• 2015

We present results of long-term multi-wavelength polarization observations of the powerful blazar 3C 279 after its γ-ray flare on 2013 December 20. We followed up this flare with single-dish polarization observations using two 21-m telescopes of the Korean VLBI Network. Observations carried out weekly from 2013 December 25 to 2015 January 11, at 22 GHz, 43 GHz, 86 GHz simultaneously, as part of the Monitoring Of GAmma-ray Bright AGN (MOGABA) program. We measured 3C 279 total flux densities of 22–34 Jy at 22 GHz, 15–28 Jy (43 GHz), and 10–21 Jy (86 GHz), showing mild variability of ≤ 50 % over the period of our observations. The spectral index between 22 GHz and 86 GHz ranged from −0.13 to −0.36. Linear polarization angles were 27°–38°, 30°–42°, and 33°–50° at 22 GHz, 43 GHz, and 86 GHz, respectively. The degree of linear polarization was in the range of 6–12 %, and slightly decreased with time at all frequencies. We investigated Faraday rotation and depolarization of the polarized emission at 22–86 GHz, and found Faraday rotation measures (RM) of −300 to −1200 rad m⁻² between 22 GHz and 43 GHz, and −800 to −5100 rad m⁻² between 43 GHz and 86 GHz. The RM values follow a power law with a mean power law index a of 2.2, implying that the polarized emission at these frequencies travels through a Faraday screen in or near the jet. We conclude that the regions emitting polarized radio emission may be different from the region responsible for the 2013 December γ-ray flare and are maintained by the dominant magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of the radio jet at milliarcsecond scales.

• Atmosphere
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.307-320
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• 2013

We performed comprehensive quality control for eddy-covariance measurements from 3 farmland sites and 1 industrial site adjacent to Nakdong river. The quality control program is based on Foken and Wichura (1996) and Vicker and Mahrt (1997) and we added criteria for trend and standard deviation for scalar variables and modified criteria for non-stationarity condition of Foken and Wichura (1996) to consider random error of fluxes. The classification of data quality is designed for the raw data and the processed flux data, separately. Use of added criteria efficiently reduces the number of outlier for water vapor and $CO_2$ fluxes and use of modified criteria for non-stationarity reduces the number of outlier for scalar fluxes and increases the number of data with accepted quality for further work. Energy balance ratio is higher in farmlands than industrial site, which is due to neglect of heat storage term in industrial site. Among farmland sites, C4 site shows higher energy balance ratio than other sites. This is due to more homogeneous surface of C4 site than other farmland sites. However, energy balance ratio is very low or even negative at night. Mismatch between the flux footprint and the other energy component footprint over the heterogeneous surface is main cause for energy imbalance at night. Other possible causes are also discussed.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.152.1-152.1
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• 2011

We report preliminary results of long-slit near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy of Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) with moderate resolution of R ~ 2400. We obtained Jshort (1.04-1.26 micron) and Ks (2.02-2.31 micron) band spectra of 4 LBVs and 3 LBV candidates in Southern hemisphere using IRIS2, infrared imager and spectrograph, mounted on the 4-m Anglo-Australian Telescope. All targets are fairly bright in NIR so that we can obtain high signal-to-noise ratio for clear line detection and modeling. They are also widely distributed in the HR diagram so that we can compare the spectral properties of LBVs in different temperature and luminosity ranges. Among them, we present the results of two well-known LBVs AG Car and HR Car. Their spectra show similar properties with hydrogen, He I, and metallic lines such as Fe II and Mg II, most of them in emission. We discuss, in particular, the He I 1.083 micron lines formed in stellar wind because these two LBVs show large variation in their He I line intensities, compared to previous studies. Since the He I 1.083 line is known to be anticorrelated with the photometric variation of LBVs, strong line intensities with P-Cygni profiles in both stars indicate that they are now near the visual minimum phase. We model the obtained spectra using non-LTE atmosphere code CMFGEN of Hillier (1998) to derive stellar parameters such as wind velocity and mass loss rate, and discuss the long-term variability of stellar parameters of these LBVs. deduced from our otometric solution.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2020

We report a calendar sheet for the 31st year of the reign of King Gojong (1894) (hereafter, calendar sheet 1894) in Korea, which calendrical data in a single page. This calendar sheet 1894 is composed of 14 rows by 14 columns (about 190 cells), and various calendrical data are recorded such as the sexagenary circle of the first day in each month, 24 solar terms, full moon day. In this paper, we compare calendrical data of 1894 calendar sheet with those of the almanac based on the Shixian calendar (hereafter, annual almanac) of the same year. Our findings are as follows. First, we find that the year is expressed using the reign-year of the king of the Joseon dynasty differently from using the reign-style of China in the annual almanac those times. Other calendar days of this calendar sheet are the same as those of the annual almanac in term of lunar dates, 24 solar terms, sexagenary days and so forth. Second, we find that the calendar sheet 1894 contains memorial days for 64 lineally ancestors of the Joseon royal family. These royal memorial days appears in the annual almanac two years later (i.e., 1896). Third, as the most distinctive feature, we find that the symbol of 工 kept every two cells. It was found that the cells can be filled with three days as the maximum number of days and then are labelled the same symbol 工 every second cell. This feature allows us to get the first year in which this kind of calendar sheet was published. It is conjectured one of 11 years, such as 1845, 1846, 1847, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879 or 1880. We also think that the format of the calendar sheet 1894 has influenced on the Daehan-Minryeok (Korean civil calendar sheet) of 1920.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.65.1-65.1
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• 2016

We present results of long-term multi-wavelength polarization observations of the powerful blazar 3C 279 after its ${\gamma}$-ray flare on 2013 December 20. We followed up this flare by means of single-dish polarization observations with two 21-m telescopes of the Korean VLBI Network, carried out weekly from 2013 December 25 to January 11, and at 22, 43, and 86 GHz, simultaneously. These observations were part of the Monitoring Of GAmma-ray Bright AGNs (MOGABA) program. We Measured 3C 279 total flux densities at 22, 43, and 86 GHz, showing a mild variability of a factor of ${\leq}50%$ over the period of our observations. The spectral index ranged from -0.13 to -0.36 at between 22 and 86 GHz. The degree of linear polarization was in the range of 6 ~ 12 %, and slightly decreased with time at all frequencies. We found Faraday rotation measures (RM) of -300 to $-1200rad\;m^{-2}$ between 22 and 43 GHz, and -800 to $-5100rad\;m^{-2}$ between 43 and 86 GHz. The RM values follow a power law ${\mid}RM{\mid}{\propto}{\nu}^{\alpha}$, with a mean ${\alpha}$ of 2.2, implying that the polarized emission at these frequencies travels through a Faraday screen in or near the jet. We conclude that the regions emitting polarized radio emission may be different from the region responsible for the 2013 December ${\gamma}$-ray flare, and that these regions are maintained by the dominant magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of the radio jet at milliarcsecond scales.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.241-246
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• 2013

We have investigated drought periodicities occurred in Seoul to find out any indication of relationship between drought in Korea and solar activities. It is motivated, in view of solar-terrestrial connection, to search for an example of extreme weather condition controlled by solar activity. The periodicity of drought in Seoul has been re-examined using the wavelet transform technique as the consensus is not achieved yet. The reason we have chosen Seoul is because daily precipitation was recorded for longer than 200 years, which meets our requirement that analyses of drought frequency demand long-term historical data to ensure reliable estimates. We have examined three types of time series of the Effective Drought Index (EDI). We have directly analyzed EDI time series in the first place. And we have constructed and analyzed time series of histogram in which the number of days whose EDI is less than -1.5 for a given month of the year is given as a function of time, and one in which the number of occasions where EDI values of three consecutive days are all less than -1.5 is given as a function of time. All the time series data sets we analyzed are periodic. Apart from the annual cycle due to seasonal variations, periodicities shorter than the 11 year sunspot cycle, ~ 3, ~ 4, ~ 6 years, have been confirmed. Periodicities to which theses short periodicities (shorter than Hale period) may be corresponding are not yet known. Longer periodicities possibly related to Gleissberg cycles, ~ 55, ~ 120 years, can be also seen. However, periodicity comparable to the 11 year solar cycle seems absent in both EDI and the constructed data sets.