• 천문학회지
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.135-139
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• 1993

Events of eclipses as well as other major astronomical events observable in the eastern sector of Asian continent are computed and checked with astronomical records of antiquity. Particular attention was given to two types of the events recorded in remaining records of Dangun Chosun Period (DCP): (1) concentration of major planets near the constellation of Nu-Sung $(\beta\;Aries)$ and (2) a large ebb-tide. We find them most likely to have occurred in real time. i.e., when the positions of the sun, moon, and planets happen to be aligned in the most appropriate position. For solar eclipses data, however, we find among 10 solar eclipse events recorded, only 6 of them are correct up to months, implying its statistical significance is no less insignificant. We therefore conclude that the remaining history books of DCP indeed contains important astronomical records, thereby the real antiquity of the records of DCP cannot be disproved.

• 천문학논총
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• 제27권5호
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• pp.411-418
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• 2012

We study the correlation between distributions of astronomical records and historical events using historical meteor (shower) records. In Korean chronicles, planets and meteor (shower) records are the most abundant astronomical phenomena. And they represent a general tendency of the number distribution of whole astronomical observations. We examine the correlation for the number distribution between meteors (showers) and planets during A.D. 1200-1700 and find that both records have a similar distribution. We classify historical events into three grades according to the social impact, and investigate the correlation between distributions of meteor (shower) records with social events, such as, new king's accession to the throne, foreign invasions, and domestic turmoils. From the statistical analysis, we cannot find any correlation between the meteor (shower) records and the political events. Therefore, we conclude that Korean historical records have not been influenced by the political events. We also examine the correlation between Chinese and Japanese meteor (shower) records and political events for A.D. 1200-1700, respectively, but cannot find any correlations between them.

• 천문학회지
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• 제56권1호
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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.

• 천문학회지
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.35-40
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• 1979

Astronomical records in the days of King Jeongjo of Yi dynasty, 1777-1800, are examined for solar and lunar eclipses, meteors and comets. The books used for this investigation are Sung Jeong Won Il Gi, which are the original daily records written in the court. The records found in these Sung Jeong Won Il Gi are tabulated according to the four astronomical phenomena above, and they were cross checked with the records in the book, Jung Bo Mun Heon Bi Go. Although Jung Bo Mun Heon Bi Go has most frequently been used as the original records to those who work for the ancient Korean records, the inaccuracy and the deficiency are found.

• 한국우주과학회:학술대회논문집(한국우주과학회보)
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• 한국우주과학회 2008년도 한국우주과학회보 제17권2호
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• pp.38.2-38.2
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• 2008

In Korean historical documents, there are a great number of the records for various astronomical events. In particular, historical documents of the Joseon dynasty also have the records containing observational data by an astronomical instrument. However, a quantitative analysis for the accuracy of observational values have never been studied, although there are some studies on the truth of the records themselves. Hence, we investigated observation errors during the period of the Joseon dynasty from the records of Joseon-Wang-Jo-Sil-Lok (the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty) and Seung-Jeong-Won-Il-Gi (Daily Records of the Royal Secretariat). We used the records of the Mars, supernova 1604, and Halley's Comet, and found that observational values before the Hideyoshi invasions in 1592 are relatively more accurate than those after then. However, because the number of cases used in this study is small, we think that more studies are needed to confirm our results. Nonetheless, we reckon our work will be of service to understand astronomical records of the Joseon dynasty.

• 천문학논총
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.17-27
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• 2014

We report the results of our study for ascertaining whether Ganui-dae built in the Josen Dynasty actually performed an astronomical role or not. The Ganui-dae was the first astronomical structure built as a part of the state astronomical undertakings by King Se-Jong. Our analysis was based on the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. At first we extracted the records regarding Ganui-dae from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and then classified them under six heads according to their astronomical meaning and historical significance. From this analysis we found that the Ganui-dae performed the actual astronomical role. In addition, the provisional offices and peoples mentioned in the records show the astronomical correlation. Generally, when taking into account the functional side of the records, the Ganui-dae was related with the observation. Therefore, the Ganui-dae was the space for the astronomical activity. In conclusion, the Ganui-dae was built for the purpose of the astronomical activity.

• 천문학논총
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.59-79
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• 2022

We investigated the records of astronomical phenomena in the Hyeonjong-Donggung-Ilgi written by the educational office for a crown prince, Sigang-won, during the time of a crown prince of the king Hyeonjong (i.e., from 1649 to 1659). Of the total of 3,625 days, 3,044 astronomical accounts were compiled from astronomical records of 2,003 days. We classified these astronomical accounts into 16 items, grouped into five categories, and statistically analyzed each group. In our analysis, the accounts for atmos-pheric optical phenomena equates to 57.9% of the total, and for celestial phenomena visible during the daytime the percentage is 17.3%. The records related to the approach between two objects such as planets, moon, and stars account for 3.3%, and solar or lunar eclipses take up 0.6%. The ratio of accounts regarding meteor, comet, and fire light (火光) stand at 13.8%, 0.30%, and 6.8%, respectively. Sunny days account for 71.1% of all days per year during this period. We determined that the distribution of the fire light by month is similar to that of the solar halo. We also found that the astronomical records from the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty correspond to only 30% of those of the Hyeonjong-Donggung-Ilgi for the same period. In particular, the phenomena of celestial objects occurring outside the atmosphere are transmitted to the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty in a higher proportion than the phenomena inside the air. It is therefore necessary to use a historical diary like a Donggung-Ilgi to interpret the phenomena in the air such as atmospheric optical events, meteor, and fire light.

• 천문학논총
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.121-128
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• 2004

We have constructed a database of Korean historical astronomical records. The database contains observational data recorded from BC 2183 to AD 1910. We have also built a webpage for searching through the database based on the following criteria: (1) dynasties (2) astronomical phenomena (3) reigning kings (4) references (5) keywords. Users may select two or more dynasties to search through the database for a certain phenomena, and compare data with those of other dynasties. The queried data can be primarily sorted by one critetion, and secondarily sorted by another, each in ascending or descending order. The search results give dates both in Solar and Lunisolar calendars, years and dates in Sexagenary cycle, dynasties, reigning kings, astronomical phenomena, and references. The database and webpage were constructed under the research project of the Korean Astronomical Data Center (KADC, http://kadc.kao.re.kr) in Korea Astronomy Observatory (KAO).

• 천문학회보
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• 제43권2호
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• pp.49.3-50
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• 2018

Korea has kept its records of astronomical phenomena since around 2,000 years ago. However, the contents and scope of relevant service have been limited for researchers who need those records due to lack of complete data collection. In this regard, it is necessary to establish efficient collection and management systems of Korean astronomical records by utilizing an environment that is easily accessible. This study is intended to complete the development of a testbed system that allows researchers to systematically input and validate, in a Web environment, multiple astronomical records among the historical documents until Modern Joseon after the Three Kingdoms Period. Recognition of the pre-translated data and tables in advance is followed by its storage in the database built on the Web. Then, data validation is implemented by providing a retrieval service according to a specific form to only a finite number of researchers who have access authority. This study is targeted at a testbed system that takes around three months to be completely developed. The completed testbed system is expected to allow internal and external researchers of an organization to easily access the service on the Web. This will ensure that the accuracy of the data can be verified mutually and help identify areas of service improvement. The opinions collected regarding service improvement will be reflected in the future system. Eventually, domestic astronomical records will subsequently be able to be utilized internationally through the multilingual service.

• 천문학회보
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• 제43권1호
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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.