• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.49.1-49.1
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• 2017

Comets are one of the most primordial solar system objects that hold the information of the early days of solar system formation inside their nuclei. Orbiting the Sun, they spew such ancient materials that have been buried for many years, creating dust and gas comae. Cometary dust grains absorb and scatter sunlight radiating the continuous light, while gas molecules form the line emissions. Eachof the comets has its own light patterns, which depends on the physical and chemical properties of the dust and gas components. In this regard, spectropolarimetrycan be a powerful tool to study the properties of cometary constituents free from contamination of each other. This methodology offers a series of information on the polarization degrees of the dust and gas components as well as on wavelength dependence of the polarization degree and polarization angle of cometary dust simultaneously. Herein, we will report the results of the spectropolarimetric study of comet 2P/Encke, which is one of the well-known objects for its shortest orbital period and its prominent aging signals. We performed a spectropolarimetric observation of comet 2P/Encke in its inbound orbit using the Higashi-Hiroshima Optical and Near-Infrared Camera (HONIR) at the Higashi-Hiroshima Observatory, Japan, on UT 2017 February 21 at high phase angle of =75.7 deg. Ourstudy of this interesting comet is the first and only one done through spectropolarimetry in a referred publication. We will discuss the most recent polarimetric results of our study in terms of 2P/Encke' scurrent evolutionary status.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2013

Human spaceflight experience in extra-vehicular activity (EVA) is limited to two regimes: the micro-gravity environment of Earth orbit, and the lunar surface environment at one-sixth of Earth's gravity. Future human missions to low-gravity bodies, including asteroids, comets, and the moons of Mars, will require EVA techniques that are beyond the current experience base. In order to develop robust approaches for exploring these small bodies, the dynamics associated with human exploration on low-gravity surface must be characterized. This paper examines the translational and rotational motion of an astronaut on the surface of a small body, and it is shown that the low-gravity environment will pose challenges to the surface mobility of an astronaut, unless new tools and EVA techniques are developed. Possibilities for addressing these challenges are explored, and utilization of the International Space Station to test operational concepts and hardware in preparation for a low-gravity surface EVA is discussed.

• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 1997

The single cell gel electrophoressis(SCGE) assay, also known as the comet assay, is a rapid, simple, visual and sensitive technique for measuring and analysing DNA breakage in mammalian cells. The SCGE or comet assay is a promising test for the detection of DNA damage and repair in individnal cells. It has widespread potential applications in DNA damage and repair studies, genotoxicity testing and biomonitoring. In this microgel electrophoresis technique, cells are embedded in agarose gel on microscope slides, iysed and electrophoresed under alkaline conditions. Cells with increased DNA damage display increased migration of DNA from the nucleus towards the anode. The length of DNA migration indicates the amount of DNA breakage in the cell. The comet assay is also capable of identifying apoptotic cells which contain highly fragmented DNA. Here we review the development of the SCGE assay, existing protocols for the detection and analysis of comets, the relevant underlying principles determining the behaviour of DNA and the potential applications of the technique.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.59.3-59.3
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• 2015

National Youth Space Center will complete installation of the NYSC 1m Telescope in this year. Before completion of the telescope, we present the software design of JTCS, and the preliminary result of tracking performance by JTCS and mount of the telescope. JTCS currently uses commercial software of the Sky X, for the real-time coordinates of various objects, such as asteroids, comets, and even satellites. In order to guarantee flexibility in CCD detectors, the MaxIm DL software was adopted and JTCS provides auto-guiding and scheduled image-taking with MaxIm DL. We are now stabilizing the telescope mount and JTCS with long-exposure tests, and gathering the preliminary data of tracking performance.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.55-57
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• 2017

Presently, the number of known asteroids is more than 710,000. Knowledge of size and albedo is essential in many aspects of asteroid research, such as the chemical composition and mineralogy, the size-frequency distribution of dynamical families, and the relationship between small bodies in the outer solar system or comets. Recently, based on the infrared all-sky survey data obtained by IRAS, AKARI, and WISE, the large asteroid catalogs containing size and albedo data have been constructed. In this paper, we discuss the compositional distribution in the main belt regions based on the compiled data on size, albedo, and separately obtained taxonomic type information.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.43-59
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• 2002

There has been a long debate whether the Sun revolves the Earth or the Earth revolves the Sun. Also, students are very interested in the solar systems, which means the entire system of planets, satellites, minor planets, comets, and meteoroids that orbit the sun. However, students are not sure about them. New models which enhance teaming about them are strongly needed. This study is intended to develop the new models on the solar systems and to investigate how the preservice elementary teachers' concepts are affected by them. Subjects are 20 preservice elementary teachers, One instrument including 11 items is used. Data are collected before using the new models and after using them through the tests. As a result, learning through the new models has a positive effects on the preservice elementary teachers' concepts on the solar system.

• International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics Korean Journal of Geophysical Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.6-23
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• 1994

A disconnection event (DE) of the cometary plasma tail is one of most spectacular phenomena observed in comets. Yet, for years it has remained one of the great unsolved problems I astronomy and space physics. The solar wind is thought to play a major role in the creation of comet plasma tail (type Ⅰ) disconnection events. The goal of this paper is to present a mechanism that explains the disconnection event in terms of the local conditions at the comet. Comparison of the solar wind conditions and 16 DEs in Halley's comet shows that DEs are associated primarily with crossings of the heliospheric sector boundary and apparently not with any other properties of the solar wind, such as a high speed stream[Yi et al., 1994]. A 3-dimensional resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulation in this paper supports this association by showing that only front-side magnetic reconnection between the reversed interplanetary magnetic fields that exist when a comet crosses the heliospheric sector boundary [Niedner and Brandt, 1978] could reproduce the morphology of a DE, including ray formation [Brandt, 1982].

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.29 no.spc1
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• pp.351-354
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• 1996

In this paper it is explained how most of asteroids can avoid very close approach to Jupiter, to the earth for earth orbit crossing asteroids, and to Neptune for Kuiper-belt asteroids by mechanisms which work also for Neptune-Pluto system. In fact the mutual distance of the planets cannot become very small as the critical argument librates around $180^{\circ}$ because of 2:3 mean motion resonance and the argument of perihelion of Pluto librates around $90^{\circ}$. And it is found that among nearly 40 Kuiper-belt asteroids discovered in recent years $40\%$ have orbits similar to Pluto. For main-belt asteroids the distribution with respect to the semi-major axes has peculiar characteristics and the author tries to explain how their peaks and gaps are created. It is also found that $30\%$ of 80 earth orbit crossing asteroids which have minimum perihelion distances less than 1.04AU have no chance to collide with the earth. Still $30\%$ of them have a few probability to collide with the earth as they have dynamical characteristics of short-periodic comets.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.111-166
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• 1994

I have developed a UV and visible spectroscopic database (UVSD) for atoms and molecules, which are found in interstellar medium, stars, galaxies, and in the atmospheres of the earth, planets, satellites, and comets. This UV and visible database, which is machine-readable, consists of three different sub-databases depending upon the characteristics of the sub-databases: (A) atomic and molecular line listings from laboratory observations or theoretical studies; (B) absorption spectra measured in laboratories; and (C) solar UV, visible, and infrared spectral atlases. The UVSD is in a very initial stage of development compared with other well organized and established infrared and microwave databases. In order to make a good quality and complete database, substantial efforts should be made for the acquisition of scattered important data from laboratories or institutions, and then the acquired heterogeneous data should be peer-reviewed and standardized.

• International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics Korean Journal of Geophysical Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.12-17
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• 1995

Space explorations by spacecraft have detected the solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), whose existences had been suggested to explain the narrow comet plasma tail formation before the space age. Thereafter, a global magnetic structure seperating the opposite polarity regions of IMF in the heliosphere was discovered (Wilcox and Ness, 1965). It is called helispheric current sheet (HCS). Comets have been proved as the useful heliospheric probes. Recently, another capability of comet as a probe of HCS was suggested by Yi (1994). In the process of comet plasma tail disconnection events (EDs) showing the ray folding and main tail severance between the folding rays (Brandt, 1982), the folding rays preceding DE might be the visualization of HCS draped around comet, In order to test this new idea, the association of comet Halley 16 DEs with comet crossings of HCS confirmed by spacecraft observations at the time of comet Halley apparition 1985~1986 was investigated.