• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.21-55
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• 2015

If the Universe is dominated by cold dark matter and dark energy as in the currently popular ${\Lambda}CDM$ cosmology, it is expected that large scale structures form gradually, with galaxy clusters of mass $M{\geq}10^{14}M_{\odot}$ appearing at around 6 Gyrs after the Big Bang (z ~ 1). Here, we report the discovery of 59 massive structures of galaxies with masses greater than a few times $10^{13}M_{\odot}$ at redshifts between z = 0.6 and 4.5 in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey fields. The massive structures are identified by running top-hat filters on the two dimensional spatial distribution of magnitude-limited samples of galaxies using a combination of spectroscopic and photometric redshifts. We analyze the Millennium simulation data in a similar way to the analysis of the observational data in order to test the ${\Lambda}CDM$ cosmology. We find that there are too many massive structures (M > $7{\times}10^{13}M_{\odot}$) observed at z > 2 in comparison with the simulation predictions by a factor of a few, giving a probability of < 1/2500 of the observed data being consistent with the simulation. Our result suggests that massive structures have emerged early, but the reason for the discrepancy with the simulation is unclear. It could be due to the limitation of the simulation such as the lack of key, unrecognized ingredients (strong non-Gaussianity or other baryonic physics), or simply a difficulty in the halo mass estimation from observation, or a fundamental problem of the ${\Lambda}CDM$ cosmology. On the other hand, the over-abundance of massive structures at high redshifts does not favor heavy neutrino mass of ~ 0.3 eV or larger, as heavy neutrinos make the discrepancy between the observation and the simulation more pronounced by a factor of 3 or more.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.66.2-66.2
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• 2017

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute plans to develop a coronagraph in collaboration with National Aeronautics and Space Administrative (NASA) and install it on the International Space Station (ISS). The coronagraph is an externally occulted one stage coronagraph with a field of view from 2.5 to 15 solar radii. The observation wavelength is approximately 400 nm where strong Fraunhofer absorption lines from the photosphere are scattered by coronal electrons. Photometric filter observation around this band enables the estimation of 2D electron temperature and electron velocity distribution in the corona. Together with the high time cadence (< 12 min) of corona images to determine the geometric and kinematic parameters of coronal mass ejections, the coronagraph will yield the spatial distribution of electron density by measuring the polarized brightness. For the purpose of technical demonstration, we intend to observe the total solar eclipse in 2017 August for the filter system and to perform a stratospheric balloon experiment in 2019 for the engineering model of the coronagraph. The coronagraph is planned to be installed on the ISS in 2021 for addressing a number of questions (e.g. coronal heating and solar wind acceleration) that are both fundamental and practically important in the physics of the solar corona and of the heliosphere.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.313-323
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• 2014

We secured the high dispersion spectra of the symbiotic star CI Cyg. The HI, HeI, and HeII line profiles were analyzed using the relatively long exposure data including 1800 sec (Sep. 12, 1998, phase=0.90), 3600 sec (Aug. 12, 2002, ${\phi}=0.47$), and 1800 sec (Oct. 21, 2009, ${\phi}=0.54$). Although a minor outburst was reported in 2008, our three observation periods were generally known to be quiescent in earlier photometric studies. With the help of hydrodynamic simulations, we identified the two emission zones responsible for the blue- and red-shifted line components: (a) an accretion disk around a hot white dwarf star which consists of the outer cool HeI emission zone and the inner hot HeII emission part, and (b) a high density zone near the inner Lagrangian point responsible for the HeI line flux variation and the broadening of its line profile. The HeII line fluxes indicate that the HeII emission zone of the accretion disk is relatively stable, implying a constant gas inflow from the giant star throughout the quiescent period. The 2002 HeI data showed that the notable mass flow activity through the inner Lagrangian point occurred during this period and its flux intensity became strongest, whereas the HeII line width in the same period indicates that its flow activity forced the accretion disk to expand. The [OIII] lines were observed in 1998 but not detected in 2002 and 2009, implying the disappearance of the low density zone. Based on our kinematical studies upon the line profiles, we conclude that CI Cyg was stable in 1998 among the three observation periods selected in this research.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.464-475
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• 2019

We measured night sky brightness (NSB) over the downtown using a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera combined to a small telescope for educational purpose, considering that most secondary schools are located in urban areas and have limitation in the equipment for astronomical observation. Raw format images from DSLR camera are not affected by various camera settings except for the ISO, and the typical photometric uncertainty including filter transformation is about 0.1 mag. Near the zenith, the NSB of the B, V, and r-band is 17.5, 17.1, and $16.9mag\;arcsec^{-2}$, respectively. The approximate limiting magnitude is derived to be 17.5 mag at B-band and 17 mag at V, r-band. A large scale artificial light close to the observation site is the dominant cause for making observing condition worse, increasing the NSB by $0.6mag\;arcseec^{-2}$ regardless of the altitude and filter.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.45.1-45.1
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• 2015

Galaxy clusters have provided important information to understand the evolution of the universe, since the number density and mass of clusters are tightly related to the cosmological parameters. In addition, galaxy clusters are an excellent laboratory to investigate the galaxy evolution in dense environments. However, finding galaxy clusters at high redshift ($z{\geq}1$) still remains as a main subject in astronomy due to their rareness and difficulty in identifying such objects from optical imaging data alone. Here, we report a spectroscopic follow-up observation of distant galaxy cluster candidates identified by a deep optical-NIR dataset of Infrared Medium-deep Survey. Through the galaxy spectra taken with the IMACS instrument on the Magellan telescope, we confirm at least 3 massive clusters at z~0.92. Interestingly, the maximum spatial separation between these clusters is ~8Mpc, which implies that this system is a new supercluster in the distant universe. We also discuss properties of galaxies in these clusters based on multi-wavelength photometric data.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.78.1-78.1
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• 2013

The hierarchical model of galaxy formation predicts that galaxy halos contain merger relics in the form of long stellar stream. Thus, tidal substructure of stars around globular clusters, such as tidal tails, could be an essential evidence of the merging scenario in the formation of the Galaxy. From April 2010 to December 2012, we obtained $45^{\prime}{\times}45^{\prime}$ wide-field JHKs near-infrared photometric imaging data for about 20 globular clusters in the Milky Way, and examined the stellar density distribution around globular clusters. Here, we introduce the preliminary results of stellar spatial distributions and radial surface density profiles of four globular clusters. In order to minimize the field star contamination and identify the cluster's member candidates stars, we used a statistical filtering algorithm and gave weights on the CMDs of globular clusters. In two-dimensional stellar density maps, we could found tidal stripping structures for some globular clusters. The orientation of tidal substructure seems to associate with the effects of dynamical interactions with the Galaxy and cluster's orbit. Indeed, the radial surface density profile accurately describes this stripping structures as a break in the slope of profile. The observational results could give us further observational evidence of merging scenario of the formation of the Galaxy.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.72.1-72.1
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• 2013

Even though current microlensing follow-up observations focus on high-magnification events due to the high efficiency of planet detection, it is very difficult to do a confident detection of planets in high-magnification events with extremely weak central perturbations (i.e., the fractional deviation is ${\delta}{\leq}0.02$). For the confident detection of planets in the extremely weak central perturbation events, it is needed both the high cadence monitoring and the high photometric accuracy. A next-generation ground-based observation project, KMTNet (Korea Microlensing Telescope Network), satisfies both the conditions. Here we investigate how well planets in high-magnification events with extremely weak central perturbations are detected by KMTNet. First, we determine the probability of occurrence of events with ${\delta}{\leq}0.02$. From this, we find that for ${\leq}100M_E$ planets in the separation of $0.2AU{\leq}d{\leq}20AU$, events with ${\delta}{\leq}0.02$ occur with a frequency of more than 70%, in which d is the projected planet-star separation. Second, we estimate the efficiency of detecting planetary signals in the events with ${\delta}{\leq}0.02$ via KMTNet. We find that for main-sequence and subgiant source stars, ${\geq}1M_E$ planets can be detected more than 50% in a certain range that has the efficiency of ${\geq}10%$ and changes with the planet mass.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2003

Korean Astronomical Data Center (KADC, http://kadc.kao.re.kr) in Korea Astronomy Observatory (KAO) has constructed an archive of Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO) 1.8m telescope data. The archive is consisted of photometric (1KCCD, 2KCCD) and spectroscopic data of 400GB amount for the period of 1997 to 2002,and the first web service is made of the data from 1997 to 2001. In the search page, primary search criterion of object name or coordinates is used. Users can also refine the search criteria using parameters such as observation date, observer(s), data type, and/or instrument. The data identified from the search can be uploaded to the FTP site for further downloading in FITS format. This archive is the first DB of astronomical data made in Korea.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.20 no.1 s.24
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• pp.21-27
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• 2005

We have been performing a wide-field photometric monitoring program, named SPVS (Short-Period Variability Survey), at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO). The observation system consists of a small refracting telescope (D = 155 mm, f = 1050 mm) and a $2k{\times}3k$ CCD Camera. The field of view is $1.0^{\circ}{\times}1.5^{\circ}$. Detection limit is about V = 13 for short-period small amplitude variables such as ${\delta}$ Scuti-type pulsating stars, and about V = 15 for long-period large amplitude variables such as eclipsing binaries and RR Lyrae stars. The instrument is designed to be remote-controlled through internet. The primary purpose of this project is to search for variable objects in bright Galactic open clusters. We present results of test observations conducted towards NGC 7092.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.87.2-87.2
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• 2010

Near-Earth asteroid-comet transition object 4015 Wilson-Harrington is a possible target of the joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Marco Polo sample return mission. 4015 W-H was discovered showing cometary activity by Albert G. Wilson and Robert G. Harrington at Palomar Observatory in 1949. After recovered in 1979, 4015 W-H has been observed at every apparition, it always was seen as a point source. We made time series observations for 4015 W-H using the 1.8m telescope with 2K CCD at Bohyunsan Observatory, on the nights of 2009 November 17-19. The geocentric distance of 4015 H-W was about 0.38 AU at that time. No trace of cometary activity is seen from our images. From the light curve analysis, we find a double-peaked rotational period of 2.2 hours with amplitude of 0.4 magnitude. Our result is much shorter than previous measurements of 3.6 hours (Harris & Young 1983) and 6.1 hours (Osip et al 1995). We will discuss possible origin of the period variations.