• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.81.1-81.1
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• 2016

A total solar eclipse occurs on March 9 along the path through Indonesia and the Pacific. KASI organized an expedition team for total solar eclipse observation. The main purpose of this observation is to test the coronal temperature and outflow velocity diagnostics based on filter observation, which is proposed for the next generation coronagraph. In addition, various white light observations including automatic programmed observation, manual observation, linear polarization, and time-lapse movie will be tried. We report the preliminary result of the expedition.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.53 no.6
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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).

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.29 no.5
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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.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.49.5-50
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• 2018

Korean chronicles have a large amount of observational records over two thousand years. Many historical astronomical records are useful in modern times. In this study, we examined solar eclipses in Goguryeo-bongi(高句麗本紀) by using the modified(newest) nutation value and reviewed the observation area through eclipsing map. There are 11 solar eclipse records in the book. We calculated intersectional visible area with 0.6 eclipsing magnitude using the records of AD116, 124, 149, 158 and 219 and found the observational area of $N40-43^{\circ}$ and $E123-127^{\circ}$, which corresponds to the Liaodong(遼東). We also examined historical Chinese solar eclipse records and compared them with Korean eclipses.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.87-98
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• 2020

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) has been developing a next-generation coronagraph (NGC) in cooperation with NASA to measure the coronal electron density, temperature, and speed simultaneously, using four different optical filters around 400 nm. KASI organized an expedition to demonstrate the coronagraph measurement scheme and the instrumental technology during the 2017 total solar eclipse (TSE) across the USA. The observation site was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA. We built an eclipse observation system, the Diagnostic Coronal Experiment (DICE), composed of two identical telescopes to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. The observation was conducted at four wavelengths and three linear polarization directions in the limited total eclipse time of about 140 seconds. We successfully obtained polarization data for the corona but we were not able to obtain information on the coronal electron temperature and speed due to the low signal-to-noise ratio of the optical system and strong emission from prominences located at the western limb. In this study, we report the development of DICE and the observation results from the eclipse expedition. TSE observation and analysis with our self-developed instrument showed that a coronagraph needs to be designed carefully to achieve its scientific purpose. We gained valuable experience for future follow-up NASA-KASI joint missions: the Balloon-borne Investigation of the Temperature and Speed of Electrons in the Corona (BITSE) and the COronal Diagnostic EXperiment (CODEX).

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.753-755
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• 2015

We had a campaign of observing the annular solar eclipse on 2012 May 21 by naked eye through eclipse eyeglasses to determine the limit line of annularity. As a result, we had about 15,000 reports through our website. In addition there were many observation groups for which about 30,000 people in total participated in the observations. The overall result was that the limit we observed by naked eye through eclipse glasses coincided with a prediction that took into account the lunar limb irregularity within the error of ${\pm}500m$. This error of the limit line location corresponds to about ${\pm}200km$ of the radius of the Sun.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.33-33
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• 2000

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.33-33
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• 2000

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.24.1-24.1
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• 2006

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.75-89
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• 2023

We investigate the astronomical phenomenon records of Sukjong's Chunbang-Ilgi made by Sigangwon (Royal Educational Office of the Crown Prince) at which King Sukjong was the crown prince (i.e., 1667 January 24-1674 September 22). From the daily records of 2,799 days, we extract the astronomical records of 1,443 days and classify them into 14 categories. Then, we group the records of each category into five phenomena (Atmosphere, Eclipse, Daylight Appearance, Apparition, and Appulse) and compare them with the results of modern astronomical computations wherever possible. Except for Atmosphere group comprising records of meteorological events, such as solar halo, lunar halo, and unusual clouds, the significant findings in every other group are as follows: In Eclipse group, the solar eclipse that occurred on 1673 August 12 was unobservable in Korea, which is in contrast to the record of Joseonwangjo-Sillok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty), which states that the sun was in eclipse around sunset time, as observed at Nam mountain. From the lunar eclipse records, we verify that the Joseon court did not change the date of the events observed after midnight. In Daylight Appearance group, we confirm that this phenomenon was observed during the daytime and not during twilight. We further suggest that if observation conditions are met, a celestial body brighter than -2.3 mag could be seen during the daytime with the naked-eye. In Apparition group, we find the possibilities that the Orionid meteor shower had influence on the meteor records and the seasonality on the aurora records. We also find that the Korean records in which the coma of comet C/1668 E1 was located below the horizon were overlooked in previous studies. Finally, we find that the records of Appulse group generally agree with the results of modern calculations. The records of Beom (trespass in literal) and Sik (eating in literal) events show average angular separations of 1.2° and 1.0°, respectively. In conclusion, we believe this work helps study the astronomical records of other logs of Sigangwon, such as Sukjong's Chunbang-Ilgi.