• Title/Summary/Keyword: eclipses

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THE NEED OF DISTANCE LEARNING FOR ASTRONOMY DEVELOPMENT IN INDONESIA

  • YAMANI, AVIVAH;MALASAN, HAKIM L.
    • Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.30 no.2
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    • pp.715-718
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    • 2015
  • Astronomy is a popular topic for the public in term of astronomical phenomenon such as occultations, solar and lunar eclipses or meteor showers. In term of education, astronomy also is popular as one of the world Science Olympiads. Social media, as the new trend in communicating and connecting people, plays a significant role in increasing the size of the astronomy community. Beyond IYA 2009, more and more astronomy activities have been done in many places in Indonesia. New astronomy communities have been formed in several cities and public engagement is also high in social media especially on Facebook and Twitter. In this paper, we will discuss the lesson learned from astronomy outreach achievements in Indonesia and the need for citizen science projects as a distance learning tool for the public as part of astronomy development in Indonesia. We argue and propose that this project will be also important up to a regional scope.

OBSERVATIONS OF THE ANNULAR ECLIPSE ON 2012 MAY 21 BY THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN JAPAN

  • SOMA, MITSURU
    • 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.

LIGHT CURVE VARIATIONS OF AR LACERTAE

  • Nha, Il-Seong
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.8 no.2
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    • pp.149-158
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    • 1991
  • Sixteen unitary Light curves of AR Lac in B and V are made at Yonsei University Observatory in the period of 1980-1988. Some overview findings of light variations are made. (1) The light variation outside eclipse follow none of the wave migration patterns reported by previous investigators. (2) Complicated shapes outside eclipse are apparently much reduced in the light curves of 1983-1984. This suggests than, in the future, AR Lac has a chance to attain a normal state with no complicated interactions. (3) The depths of the primary and the secondary mid-eclipses are changing year-to-year. (4) The K0 star, the larger component, has brightened by $0.^m$ 14 in V, while the G2 star has shown a fluctuation of about $0.^m$05 in V. (5) The B-V values at primary mid-eclipse have no correlation with the depth variations. (6) Independently of the increase of maximum brightness, the B-V colors in the non-eclipsed phases changed slightly over the years.

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Pre-Service Teachers' Understandings on Earth Science Concept needed for an Integrated Approach: Exploring Mental Models about Eclipse Phenomena by Analyzing Phenomenological Primitives and Facets (통합적 접근이 필요한 지구과학 개념에 대한 예비 교사의 이해: 현상론적 초안과 국면 분석을 통한 식 현상에 대한 정신모형 탐색)

  • Lee, Ki-Young
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.352-362
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    • 2008
  • This study explored pre-service teachers' mental models about eclipse phenomena to investigate their understandings on the earth science concept needed f3r an integrated approach. We conducted in-depth interviews with two different contexts on 30 secondary and 36 primary pre-service teachers participants, and analyzed phenomenological primitives (p-prims) and facets of causal explanations about eclipses. Based on this study, we identified four different levels of mental models about eclipses. Four mental models were categorized as (1) Screening model, (2) Orbital plane model, (3) Hybrid model, and (4) Shadow cast model. Screening model is a flawed mental model, orbital plane model is an incomplete correct mental model, and shadow cast model is a scientifically correct mental model. Hybrid model, composite of two or more mental models, use multiple mental models simultaneously. Orbital plane model was the most widespread mental model in secondary pre-service teachers group, whereas screening model was used frequently in primary group. It was found that the level of mental model could be determined by the level of facet and p-prims. We confirmed context sensitivity of the mental models and perceived the necessity of integrated approaches to promote progression of mental models. Implications of our findings for enhancing pre-service science teachers' topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) associated with eclipse phenomena are also discussed here.

An Orbital Stability Study of the Proposed Companions of SW Lyncis

  • Hinse, T.C.;Horner, Jonathan;Wittenmyer, Robert A.
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.187-197
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    • 2014
  • We have investigated the dynamical stability of the proposed companions orbiting the Algol type short-period eclipsing binary SW Lyncis (Kim et al. 2010). The two candidate companions are of stellar to substellar nature, and were inferred from timing measurements of the system's primary and secondary eclipses. We applied well-tested numerical techniques to accurately integrate the orbits of the two companions and to test for chaotic dynamical behavior. We carried out the stability analysis within a systematic parameter survey varying both the geometries and orientation of the orbits of the companions, as well as their masses. In all our numerical integrations we found that the proposed SW Lyn multi-body system is highly unstable on time-scales on the order of 1000 years. Our results cast doubt on the interpretation that the timing variations are caused by two companions. This work demonstrates that a straightforward dynamical analysis can help to test whether a best-fit companion-based model is a physically viable explanation for measured eclipse timing variations. We conclude that dynamical considerations reveal that the proposed SW Lyncis multi-body system most likely does not exist or the companions have significantly different orbital properties from those conjectured in Kim et al. (2010).

PHOTOELECTRIC OBSERVATIONS OF EPSILON AURIGAE FROM 1982 TO 1985 (Epsilon Aurigae의 1982~85년 광전 관측)

  • 김영수
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.6 no.2
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    • pp.127-135
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    • 1989
  • The UBV observations of Epsilon Aurigae from April 1982 to May 1985 had been made at Yonsei University Observatory. The light curves drawn from the observational data are combined with other light curves which are well fitted. In these light curves, secondary light variations, flare activity, mid-eclipse light brightening, and others are checked precisely. Contact times and time of mid-eclipse are determined and compared with the values which were presented on the other papers. Compared with previous eclipses, it is noted that the duration of totality is gradually contracted and the duration of total eclipse is gradually enlarged. Though these phenomena are applied to the disk model which has been more accepted than any other models, those are not explained explicitly. So, a new model, comet model, is suggested and is found to make a neat description to the phenomena revealed on the light curves.

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Using Light Travel Time Effect to Detect Circumbinary Planets with Ground-Based Telescopes

  • Hinse, Tobias Cornelius
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.37 no.2
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    • pp.109.1-109.1
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    • 2012
  • In the past few years, two-planet circumbinary systems (e.g., HW Vir, NN Ser, DP Leo and HU Aqr) have been detected around short-period eclipsing binaries using ground-based telescopes. The existence of these planets has been inferred by interpreting the O-C variations of the mid-eclipse times. We have tested the orbital stability of these systems and propose to use Light Travel Time Effect (LITE) to detect such circumbinary planets from the ground. We generated synthetically the LITE signal of a two-planet circumbinary system with the aim to apply an analytic LITE model to recover the underlying synthetic system. To mimic a degree of realism inherent to ground-based observations, we added to the synthetic LITE data white noise with a Gaussian distribution and sampled the synthetic LITE signal randomly. We successfully recovered the original system demonstrating that two-planet circumbinary systems can be detected using ground-based telescopes, provided the timing measurements of the mid-eclipses are sufficiently accurate and the observing baseline is long enough to ensure a sufficient coverage of all involved periods. We used HU Aqr as a test system and applied our model to its proposed planetary bodies considering near-circular orbits. We present the results of our calculations and discuss the LITE-detectability of a HU Aqr-like system.

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A Deep Space Orbit Determination Software: Overview and Event Prediction Capability

  • Kim, Youngkwang;Park, Sang-Young;Lee, Eunji;Kim, Minsik
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.139-151
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    • 2017
  • This paper presents an overview of deep space orbit determination software (DSODS), as well as validation and verification results on its event prediction capabilities. DSODS was developed in the MATLAB object-oriented programming environment to support the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) mission. DSODS has three major capabilities: celestial event prediction for spacecraft, orbit determination with deep space network (DSN) tracking data, and DSN tracking data simulation. To achieve its functionality requirements, DSODS consists of four modules: orbit propagation (OP), event prediction (EP), data simulation (DS), and orbit determination (OD) modules. This paper explains the highest-level data flows between modules in event prediction, orbit determination, and tracking data simulation processes. Furthermore, to address the event prediction capability of DSODS, this paper introduces OP and EP modules. The role of the OP module is to handle time and coordinate system conversions, to propagate spacecraft trajectories, and to handle the ephemerides of spacecraft and celestial bodies. Currently, the OP module utilizes the General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) as a third-party software component for high-fidelity deep space propagation, as well as time and coordinate system conversions. The role of the EP module is to predict celestial events, including eclipses, and ground station visibilities, and this paper presents the functionality requirements of the EP module. The validation and verification results show that, for most cases, event prediction errors were less than 10 millisec when compared with flight proven mission analysis tools such as GMAT and Systems Tool Kit (STK). Thus, we conclude that DSODS is capable of predicting events for the KPLO in real mission applications.

Period Study and Light Curve Synthesis of BD Andromedae

  • Kim, Chun-Hwey;Song, Mi-Hwa;Yoon, Joh-Na;Han, Wong-Yong;Choi, Young-Joon
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.36 no.2
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    • pp.141.1-141.1
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    • 2011
  • New CCD BVR light curves of BD And are presented. Our light curves with nearly equal depths for both primary and secondary eclipses show well-defined photometric waves outside eclipse for all of BVR bandpasses. The orbital period is greatly revised as $0.^d92580519$ which is twice longer than that known previously. Sixteen timings from our observations and thirteen ones from the SuperWASP measurements were calculated. All available timings over 76 years, including ours, were analyzed to figure out the dynamical behavior of the system. It was found that the recent CCD O-C residuals varied in a cyclical way with a period of $9.^y18$ and a semi-amplitude of $0.^d0046$. The secondary period of $9.^y18$ is the most shortest one among those which have been ever found in the short period RS CVn binary stars. The periodic variation most likely arises from the light-travel time effect due to a low-mass ($m_3{\sim}0.88\;M_{\odot}$) tertiary companion moving in an orbit with an large eccentricity ($e_3$=0.70) and a low inclination ($i_3{\sim}28^{\circ}$). The Applegate mechanism could not operate properly in both components because the model parameters require too much large luminosity changes of ${\Delta}L/L_{p,s}$ > 10. The new light curves were synthesized using the 2003 version of Wilson-Divinney code. It was found useful to model two huge spots on the surface of the hotter star and a third-light in order to minimize the residuals from the observations. Astronomical basic parameters were deduced from our photometric solution.

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MAGNETIC CVs AS A BRIGHT REPRESENTATIVE OF CLOSE BINARIES

  • QIAN, S.-B.;HAN, Z.-T.;ZHU, L.-Y.;LIAO, W.-P.;LAJUS, E. FERNANDEZ;ZEJDA, M.;LIU, L.;SOONTHORNTHUM, B.;ZHOU, X.
    • Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.30 no.2
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    • pp.175-178
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    • 2015
  • Due to the lack of an accretion disk in a polar (magnetic cataclysmic variable, MCV), the material transferred from the secondary is directly accreted onto the white dwarf, forming an accretion stream and a hot spot on the white-dwarf component. During the eclipses, different light components can be isolated. Therefore, the monitoring of eclipsing polars could provide valuable information on several modern astrophysical problems, e.g., CVs as planetary hosting stars, mass transfer and mass accretion in CVs, and the magnetic activity of the most rapidly rotating cool dwarfs. In the past five years, we have monitored about 10 eclipsing polars (e.g., DP Leo and HU Aqr) using several 2-m class telescopes and about 100 eclipse profiles were obtained. In this paper, we will introduce the progress of our research group at YNOs. The first direct evidence of variable mass transfer in a CV is obtained and we show that it is the dark-spot activity that causes the mass transfer in CVs. Magnetic activity cycles of the cool secondary were detected and we show that the variable mass transfer is not caused by magnetic activity cycles. These results will shed light on the structure and evolution of close binary stars (e.g., CVs and Algols).