• 천문학회지
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• 제54권4호
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• pp.113-119
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• 2021

It is difficult for observers to conduct an optical alignment at an observatory without the assistance of an optical engineer if optomechanical parts are to be replaced at night. We present a practical tilt correction method to obtain the optimal optical alignment condition using the symmetricity of optical aberrations of a wide-field on-axis telescope at night. We conducted coarse tilt correction by visually examining the symmetry of two representative star shapes obtained at two guide chips facing each other, such as east-west or north-south pairs. After coarse correction, we observed four sets of small stamp images using four guide cameras located at each cardinal position by changing the focus positions in 10-㎛ increments and passing through the optimum focus position in the range of ±200 ㎛. The standard deviation of each image, as a function of the focus position, was fitted with a second-order polynomial function to derive the optimal focus position at each cardinal edge. We derived the tilt angles from the slopes converted by the distance and the focus position difference between two paired guide chip combinations such as east-west and north-south. We used this method to collimate the on-axis wide-field telescope KMTNet in Chile after replacing two old focus actuators. The total optical alignment time was less than 30 min. Our method is practical and straightforward for maintaining the optical performance of wide-field telescopes such as KMTNet.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.55-66
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• 2018

The solar magnetic field plays a central role in the field of solar research, both theoretically and practically. Sunspots are an important observational constraint since they are considered a discernable tracer of emerged magnetic flux tubes, providing the longest running records of solar magnetic activity. In this presentation, we first review the statistical properties of the latitudinal distribution of sunspots and discuss their implications. The phase difference between paired wings of the butterfly diagram has been revealed. Sunspots seem to emerge with the exponential distribution on top of slowly varying trends by periods of ~11 years, which is considered multiplicative rather than additive. We also present a concept for the center-of-latitude (COL) and its use. With this, one may sort out a traditional butterfly diagram and find new features. It is found that the centroid of the COL does not migrate monotonically toward the equator, appearing to form an 'active latitude'. Furthermore, distributions of the COL as a function of latitude depend on solar activity and the solar North-South asymmetry. We believe that these findings serve as crucial diagnostic tools for any potential model of the solar dynamo. Finally, we find that as the Sun modulates the amount of observed galactic cosmic ray influx, the solar North-South asymmetry seems to contribute to the relationship between the solar variability and terrestrial climate change.

• 대기
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• 제30권1호
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• pp.1-15
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• 2020

This study analyzed and compared development mechanisms leading to heat waves of 2016 and 2018 in Korea. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis Interim (ERA Interim) dataset and Automated Surface Observing System data are used for synoptic scale analysis. The synoptic conditions are investigated using geopotential height, temperature, equivalent potential temperature, thickness, potential vorticity, omega, outgoing longwave radiation, and blocking index, etc. Heat waves in South Korea occur in relation to Western North Pacific Subtropical High (WNPSH) pressure system which moves northwestward to East Asia during summer season. Especially in 2018, WNPSH intensified due to strong large-scale circulation associated with convective activities in the Philippine Sea, and moved farther north to Korea when compared to 2016. In addition, the Tibetan high near the tropopause settled over Northern China on top of WNPSH creating a very strong anticyclonic structure in the upper-level over the Korean Peninsula. Unlike 2018, WNPSH was weaker and centered over the East China Sea in 2016. Analysis of blocking indices show wide blocking phenomena over the North Pacific and the Eurasian continent during heat wave event in both years. The strong upper-level ridge which was positioned zonally near 60°N, made the WNPSH over the South Korea stagnant in both years. Analysis of heat wave intensity (HWI) and duration (HWD) show that HWI and HWD in 2018 was both strong leading to extreme high temperatures. In 2016 however, HWI was relatively weak compared to HWD. The longevity of HWD is attributed to atmosphere blocking in the surrounding Eurasian continent.

• 천문학회보
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.34.1-34.1
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• 2021

Abell 1240 is a merging galaxy cluster hosting prominent, symmetric double radio relics. To constrain its merging history, we provide the first weak-lensing analysis of the dark matter distribution of the Abell 1240 field with Subaru/Suprime-Cam observations after robustly addressing instrumental systematics. We also investigate the cluster galaxy distributions, combining our new MMT/Hectospec observations and the spectroscopic redshifts from the literature. Both weak-lensing mass reconstruction and galaxy distribution show that Abell 1240 consists of two subclusters stretched north to south between the double radio relics. We quantify the significance of the substructures and present their mass estimates. Finally, we discuss a merging stage of Abell 1240 with the current weak-lensing results and the radio relic priors.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.325-333
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• 2014

We are motivated by both the accumulating evidence for the connection of solar variability to the chemistry of nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere and recent finding that the Galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) influx is associated with the solar north-south asymmetry. We have analyzed the measured pH in precipitation over the 109 stations distributed in the United States. We have found that data of pH in precipitation as a whole appear to be marginally anti-correlated with the solar asymmetry. That is, rain seems to become less acidic when the southern hemisphere of the Sun is more active. The acidity of rain is also found to be correlated with the atmospheric temperature, while not to be correlated with solar activity itself. We have carried on the analysis with two subsamples in which stations located in the east and in the west. We find that the pH data derived from the eastern stations which are possibly polluted by sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides are not correlated with the solar asymmetry, but with the temperature. On the contrary, the pH data obtained from the western stations are found to be marginally anti-correlated with the solar asymmetry. In addition, the pH data obtained from the western stations are found to be correlated with the solar UV radiation. We conclude by briefly pointing out that a role of the solar asymmetry in the process of acidification of rain is to be further examined particularly when the level of pollution by sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides is low.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.257-270
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• 2017

Solar activity is known to be linked to changes in the Earth's weather and climate. Nonetheless, for other types of extreme weather, such as tropical cyclones (TCs), the available evidence is less conclusive. In this study the modulation of TC genesis over the western North Pacific by the solar activity is investigated, in comparison with a large-scale environmental parameter, i.e., El-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). For this purpose, we have obtained the best track data for TCs in the western North Pacific from 1977 to 2016, spanning from the solar cycle 21 to the solar cycle 24. We have confirmed that in the El-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods TCs tend to form in the southeast, reach its maximum strength in the southeast, and end its life as TSs in the northeast, compared with the La-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods. TCs occurring in the El-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods are found to last longer compared with the La-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods. Furthermore, TCs occurring in the El-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods have a lower central pressure at their maximum strength than those occurring in the La-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods. We have found that TCs occurring in the solar maximum periods resemble those in the El-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods in their properties. We have also found that TCs occurring in the solar descending periods somehow resemble those in the El-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods in their properties. To make sure that it is not due to the ENSO effect, we have excluded TCs both in the El-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods and in the La-$Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ periods from the data set and repeated the analysis. In addition to this test, we have also reiterated our analysis twice with TCs whose maximum sustained winds speed exceeds 17 m/s, instead of 33 m/s, as well as TCs designated as a typhoon, which ends up with the same conclusions.

• 천문학회보
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• 제41권1호
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• pp.57.2-57.2
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• 2016

한국천문연구원에서는 남북 천문분야 과학기술협력 활성화를 위하여 전파천문학을 포함하여 몇 몇 천문학 분야에 대한 협력방안을 모색하고 있다. 전파천문학의 경우, 현재 운영중인 한국우주전파관측망(KVN)의 확장을 통한 남북협력 방안을 고려하고 있다. KVN 초기 계획에서는 북한의 평양과 나진-선봉 경제특구 인근에 2기의 전파망원경을 건설하는 것이 고려되었다. 현재 3기의 전파망원경 구성된 KVN에 북한 2기가 추가된다면, 3배 이상의 기선수 증가와 2배의 분해능 향상, 그리고 전체적인 VLBI 감도가 30% 이상 증가할 것으로 예상된다. 특히, KVN의 가장 큰 특징인 고파수 VLBI 관측은 현재 협력 가능한 전파망원경이 거의 전무하기 때문에, 이러한 확장을 통하여 독보적인 전파간섭계 시스템 구축과 함께, 이를 활용한 과학연구에 크게 기여할 수 있을 것으로 생각된다. 본 발표에서는 남북 전파천문학분야 협력의 현실과 미래를 전망해보고, 가능한 방안을 논의하고자 한다.

• 천문학회보
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• 제44권1호
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• pp.60.3-60.3
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• 2019

한국천문연구원에서는 지난 2015년부터 남북한 천문분야 활성화 및 공동연구 기반 마련을 위한 연구를 수행하여 남북한 천문분야 협력 가능한 천문분야를 발굴하고 단계별 추진 방향을 제시하였다. 천문학은 과학기술분야 중 남북한 상호 신뢰 구축과 민족 동질성 회복에 기여할 수 있는 기초 학문으로, 과학기술계에서 남북협력 가능성이 높은 연구 분야로 평가받고 있다. 천문연은 남북 천문분야 학술 교류를 통한 남북한 천문분야 공동 발전, 남한 천문분야 기술이전을 통한 남북 균형 발전, 천문학 연구 범위 확대를 위한 남북한 협력 토대를 마련하기 위해 노력 중이다. 또한, 학술교류를 통한 공동연구 및 학술회의를 추진하고 있다. 그동안 수행했던 남북한 천문분야 협력 현황과 앞으로 방향 등에 대해 발표하고자 한다.

• 천문학회보
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.70.2-70.2
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• 2014

Galaxy clusters, the largest gravitationally bound systems, are an important means to place constraints on cosmological models. Moreover, they are excellent places to test galaxy evolution models in connection to the environments. To this day, massive clusters have been found unexpectedly(Kang & Im 2009, Durret et al. 2011, Tashikawa et al. 2012) and evolution of galaxies in cluster have been still controversial (Elbaz et al. 2007, Cooper et al. 2008, Tran et al. 2009). Finding galaxy cluster candidates in a wide, deep imaging survey data will enable us to solve the such issues of modern extragalactic astronomy. We have used multi-wavelength data from the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey Deep Extragalactic Survey (UKIDSS DXS/J and K bands), Spitzer Wise-area InfraRed Extragalactic survey (SWIRE/two mid-infrared bands), the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PAN-STARRS/ g, r, i, z, y bands) and Infrared Medium-deep Survey(IMS/J band). We report new candidates of galaxy clusters and properties of their member galaxies in one of the wide and deep survey fields ELAIS-N1, European Large Area ISO Survey North1, covering sky area of $8.75deg^2$.

• 한국항해항만학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국항해항만학회 2006년도 International Symposium on GPS/GNSS Vol.2
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• pp.195-198
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• 2006

One of the major sources of error in precise GPS positioning since the turn-off the Selective Availability(SA) is the ionospheric propagation delay. For the last decades, a lot of the ionospheric researches based on a GPS network have been implemented throughout the world. Especially researches of the ionospheric modeling for Wide Area Argumentation System(WAAS) have been undertaken and published. In mid-latitude regions, typical spatial and temporal variations in ionospheric models delay tend to minimal. The developed ionospheric model calls for a 1.25 degree grid at latitudes and a 2.5 degree grid at longitudes. The precise grid TEC estimated by the inversion technique is also compared with global ionosphere maps(GIMs) which have been provided by several analysis centers(ACs). The results of initial investigations into the suitability of the proposed ionospheric modeling scheme in north-east Asia are presented.