• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.85.1-85.1
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• 2017

We develop a coronagraph to measure the coronal electron density, temperature, and speed by observing the linearly polarized brightness of solar corona with 4 different wavelengths. Through the total solar eclipse on 21 August 2017, we test an operating software of a prototype coronagraph working with two sub-systems of two motorized filter wheels and a CCD camera that are controlled by a portable embedded computer. A Core Flight System (CFS) is a reusable software framework and set of reusable software applications which take advantage of a rich heritage of successful space mission of NASA. We use the CFS software framework to develop the operating software that can control the two sub-systems asynchronously in an observation scenario and communicate with a remote computer about commands, housekeeping data through Ethernet. The software works successfully and obtains about 160 images of 12 filter sets (4 bandpass filters and 3 polarization angles) during the total phase of the total solar eclipse. For the future, we can improve the software reliability by testing the software with a sufficient number of test cases using a testing framework COSMOS. The software will be integrated into the coronagraph for balloon-borne experiments in 2019.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.66.3-66.3
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• 2017

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) is developing a coronagraph in collaboration with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which will be installed on the International Space Station (ISS). The coronagraph can measure speed and temperature by using four filters approximately 400 nm and polarization filter in three different angles, differently with older coronagraphs. For the successful mission, it has development and experiment progress in three phases; total solar eclipse experiment in 2017, balloon experiment in 2019, and the ISS installation in 2021. As a first experiment, we developed a coronagraph without an occulter named with Diagnostic Coronagraph Experiment (DICE) for experiment for filter system and imaging sensor. We designed optics with a field of view from 2.5 to 15 solar radii. It has four filters approximately 400 nm and polarizer to measure speed and velocity of the solar corona. For the selection of filter or polarization angle, it has two mechanism parts; filter wheel assembly and a polarizer wheel assembly. Especially we used Core Flight System (CFS) platform which was developed by NASA, when we develop the coronagraph operation software. It provides us stability, reusability, and compatibility.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.69.2-69.2
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• 2020

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) is developing a coronagraph to measure the coronal electron density, temperature, and speed utilizing spectral change of the K-corona around 400 nm. However, near UV light is more affected by atmospheric effect on the ground than visible light. For the total solar eclipse on July 2 2019, KASI organized an expedition team to test the possibility of the similar measurement scheme in the visible light. The observation site was in Las Flores, San Juan, Argentina. We built an imaging spectrograph using micro lenslet array and grism, named Coronal Integral Field Spectrograph (CorIFS). In addition, images of white light corona, wide field background, and all sky were taken with various camera settings. We present the preliminary results of the expedition.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.382-385
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• 2004

Communication Ocean Meteorological Satellite (COMS) for the hybrid mission of meteorological observation, ocean monitoring, and telecommunication service is planned to be launched onto Geostationary Earth Orbit in 2008 according to the Korea national space program. A feasibility study on the solar constraint in the operation of the COMS meteorological imager (MI) is performed using the GOES imager hardware operation characteristics. The Earth observation areas of the MI are introduced and the observation time of the MI observation area is calculated. The sun light can enter into the MI optical system around the local midnight and impinge on the performance of the MI. The solar eclipse viewed from the satellite occurs near local midnight around the equinox. This study discusses the restriction of imaging operation time that should be considered in order to avoid the solar intrusion about local midnight and to keep acceptable image quality for the MI observation areas. This study could be useful to build the operation concept of the MI during the development of the MI.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.42.2-42.2
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• 2019

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 using four different filters around 400 nm. To demonstrate technology for the measurement through the 2017 total solar eclipse across the USA, KASI organized an expedition team to demonstrate the coronagraph measurement scheme and the instrumental technology. The observation site was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA. We built an eclipse observation system, so-called Diagnostic Coronal Experiment (DICE), which is composed of two identical telescopes to improve a signal to noise ratio. The observation was conducted with 4 wavelengths and 3 linear polarization directions according to the planned schedule in a limited total eclipse time of about 140 seconds.Polarization information of corona from the data was successfully obtained but we failed to get the coronal electron temperature and speed information due to a low signal-to-noise ratio of the optical system. In this study, we report the development of DICE and observation results. TSE observation and analysis by using our own developed instrument gave an important lesson that a coronagraph should be carefully designed to archive the scientific purpose. This experience through TSE observation will be very useful for a success of NASA-KASI joint missions called the Balloon-borne Investigation of the Temperature and Speed of Electrons in the Corona (BITSE) and COronal Diagnostic EXperiment (CODEX).

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 2008

It has been considered that 'exhausted eclipses' (日食旣) were total eclipses. However, modern precise calculations show that a significant fraction of such records are not realized to be total. Thus we doubt that the two concepts are equivalent. Here we investigate the meaning of 'exhausted eclipses' in the east-Asian history. We first find that eclipses of magnitude greater than 0.8 were regarded as 'exhausted eclipses' by a Korean astronomer of the 18th-century Choson dynasty. His notion was based upon the definition of 'exhausted eclipses' in the ephemerides of pre-modern Chinese dynasties. According to those ephemerides, the 'exhausted eclipses', whose magnitude is greater than 0.8, have the first contact at the western part of the solar disk and the fourth contact at the eastern part of the solar disk. A simple geometrical calculation shows that such cases really occur when the magnitude of eclipse is greater than 0.7. We pointed out that such an ancient definition might not be impractical for ancient astronomers, because the uncertainty of eclipse magnitude estimated by ancient Chinese ephemerides was 10% and the human sight has a spatial resolution of 1.2 arcmin, which is approximately one twentieth of the Sun's angular diameter.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.67.2-67.2
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• 2017

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) plans to develop a coronagraph to measure the coronal electron density, temperature, and speed using four different filters around 400 nm, where strong Fraunhofer lines from the photosphere are scattered by coronal electrons. During the total solar eclipse occurring on August 21 across USA, KASI will organize an expedition team to demonstrate the coronagraph measurement scheme and the instrumental technology. The observation site is in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA. We plan to build two coronagraphs without occulter to improve signal to noise ratio. In addition, images of white light corona, wide field background, and all sky are planned to be taken with DSLR cameras. We will present the preliminary results of the expedition.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2001.07a
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• pp.81-84
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• 2001

In the power system of a satellite, solar array and a battery have directly impact on the life time of the satellite, and their stable operation is decided by whether their states are in the steady state operation or not. In this study, solar array capacity and battery characteristics of proposed communication satellite are designed and simulation is conducted according to the operation mode. Each operation mode is classified as the normal and worst case modes, respectively. The normal mode is analyzed under daylight and the eclipse with the EHT burn, and the worst case modes which have solar cell circuit failure, and battery cell failure are analyzed too.

• Journal of Satellite, Information and Communications
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.67-71
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• 2017

A solar array is main electrical energy source for Low-Earth-Orbit(LEO) satellite. The solar array cannot generate electrical energy during eclipse period, a battery supply electrical energy to the satellite. The electrical power of the solar array is changed in accordance with operating voltage and the solar array has the maximum power point. The solar array regulator makes the solar array supply electrical energy to the satellite and charge the battery. The solar array is connected to the solar array regulator input and the battery is connected to the solar array regulator output. The solar array regulator consists 2 of 3 hot redundant. One solar array regulator contains 3 DC-DC converters, and the solar array regulator operates stably even if the failure occur in one DC-DC converter. In this paper, the solar array regulator, the battery and the solar array operation is analyzed when the failure occur in one DC-DC converter.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.57.4-57.4
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• 2015

Light bending by gravity was the key prediction of general relativity. Solar eclipse expedition of 1919 provided the observational support for the theory of general relativity. Diverse gravitational lensing, i.e., light bending, phenomena have been speculated and predicted by general relativity and ultimately discovered many years later. Gravitationally lensed quasars, luminous arcs, weak lensing, and microlensing have provided invaluable information about the distribution of matter, especially of dark matter, and the cosmology. Gravitational lensing is one of the most spectacular manifestation of general relativity and will remain as an extremely useful astrophysical tools in the future.