• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.1-10
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• 2010

The distance distribution in our planetary system has been a controversial matter. Two kinds of important issues on Titius-Bode's relation have been discussed up to now: one is if there is a simple mathematical relation between distances of natural bodies orbiting a central body, and the other is if there is any physical basis for such a relation. We have examined, by applying it to exo-planetary systems, whether Titius-Bode's relation is exclusively applicable to our solar system. We study, with the $X^2$ test, the distribution of period ratios of two planets in multiple planet systems by comparing it with that derived from not only Titius-Bode's relation but also other forms of it. The $X^2$ value between the distribution of the orbital period derived from Titius-Bode's relation and that observed in our Solar system is 12.28 (dof=18) with high probability, i.e., 83.3 %. The value of $X^2$ and probability resulted from Titius-Bode's relation and observed exo-planetary systems are 21.38 (dof=26) and 72.2 %, respectively. Modified forms we adopted seem also to agree with the planetary system as favorably as Titius-Bode's relation does. As a result, one cannot rule out the possibility that the distribution of the ratio of orbiting periods in multiple planet systems is consistent with that derived from Titius-Bode's relation. Having speculated Titius-Bode's relation could be valid in exo-planetary systems, we tentatively conclude it is unlikely that Titius-Bode's relation explains the distance distribution in our planetary system due to chance. Finally, we point out implications of our finding.

• 천문학회보
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.36.2-36.2
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• 2010

CQUEAN (Camera fo QUasars in EArly uNiverse) is a newly developed camera by CEOU for the 2.1m telescope at the McDonald Observatory, Texas, USA. We report the early science results from the commissioning run of CQUEAN which include the observations of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows and quasars at z ~ 5.5. Although the data were originally taken to test the instrument performance, the results are already very encouraging. We uncovered GRB afterglows at z = 0.8 - 1.4, with our data being used for the international collaboration research to understand the nature of GRBs. The unique filter sets we employed are providing the data which are effective for selecting quasars at z ~ 5.5. The special aspects of CQUEAN - high sensitivity at 0.8-1.1 ${\mu}m$ and fast readouts - will allow us to produce many interesting through surveys of high redshift quasars and fast follow-up of transient objects such as GRBs and exoplanets in future.

• 천문학회보
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.48.1-48.1
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• 2010

Four of nine exoplanets found by microlensing were detected by the resonant caustic, which represents the merging of the planetary and central caustics at the position when the projected separation of a host star and a bounded planet is s~1. One of the resonant caustic lensing events, OGLE-2005-BLG-169, was a caustic-crossing high-magnification event with A_max ~800 and the source star was much smaller than the caustic, nevertheless the perturbation was not obviously apparent on the light curve of the event. In this paper, we investigate the perturbation pattern of the resonant caustic to understand why the perturbations induced by the caustic do not leave strong traces on the light curves of high-magnification events despite a small source/caustic size ratio. From this study, we find that the regions with small magnification excess around the center of the resonant caustic are rather widely formed, and the event passing the small-excess region produces a high-magnification event with a weak perturbation that is small relative to the amplification caused by the star and thus does not noticeably appear on the light curve of the event. We also find that the positive excess of the inside edge of the resonant caustic and the negative excess inside the caustic become stronger and wider as q increases, and thus the resonant caustic-crossing high-magnification events with the weak perturbation occur in the range of q $\leq$ 10-4. We determine the probability of the occurrence of events with the small excess $|\varepsilon|{\leq}3%$ in high-magnification events induced by a resonant caustic. As a result, we find that for the Earth-mass planets with a separation of ~2.5 AU the resonant caustic high-magnification events with the weak perturbation can occur with a significant frequen.

• 천문학회보
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• 제43권1호
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• pp.64.4-65
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• 2018

We present a study of citizen science performed at Korean Minjok Leadership Academy (KMLA). The importance of citizen involvements in scientific studies has been increasing, with remarkable results and performances. For instance, the discovery of an impact scar near Jupiter's south polar region (A. Wesley, 2009) led to an international campaign of professional observations to understand the asteroidal collision responsible for the scar. Citizen science at KMLA has been and will be mainly conducted by members of the astronomical observation club 'Apple-Pie' through amateur telescopes. Members of 'Apple-Pie' are specialized in various fields related to astronomy, from planetary science to cosmology. The spectrum not only includes fields that are directly related to astronomy but also fields such as computer science and astrophotography. The scheduled construction of a new observatory will further enable students to participate in higher level projects such as planetary monitoring over long timescales and the observation and detection of solar system bodies and exoplanets. In addition, a new supervisor with expertise and research experience in galactic astronomy, planetary science, and meteorology has joined the school faculty. He will supplement students with fundamental theoretical backgrounds and essential research techniques to enhance astronomical research at KMLA. KMLA's ultimate goal is to deploy a remote-controlled observatory available to aspiring scientists around the world to create a network of citizen science system. The prime observational conditions of KMLA and the willingness of the students and faculty members will provide a competitive edge for KMLA over other similar institutes in Korea.

• 천문학회보
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• 제37권2호
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• pp.142.1-142.1
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• 2012

During the photometric runs of the eclipsing binary V432 Per in 2006, we serendipitously discovered peculiar light variations of GSC 2855-0585 that imaged on the same target field. Its brightness decreased about 0.02 mag for about 0.15 days in all B, V, and R bands. The depth, duration, and box-shaped light curves are very similar to those of typical transiting exoplanets. We gathered the time-series data of GSC 2855-0585 from the SuperWASP public archive and detected the same light variations with a period of about 2.406 days. The period and transitlike features were confirmed by photometric follow-up observations at a predicted epoch in 2010 November. In order to estimate the mass of the companion that produced the light variations, we obtained 10 high-resolution spectra with different orbital phases in 2010 November and 2011 October-December. The radial velocities showed large variations of about 44 km/s. It indicates that the transitlike light variations do not originate from a transiting exoplanet, but from the single-lined spectroscopic eclipsing binary with a cool dwarf companion. Using the photometric and spectroscopic data, we estimated the physical parameters of the eclipsing binary GSC 2855-0585, such as orbital period, effective temperature, surface gravity, and mass.

• 천문학회보
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• 제44권1호
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• pp.61.3-61.3
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• 2019

We report the status of KMTNet (Korea Microlensing Telescope Network) microlensing. From KMTNet event-finder, we are annually detecting over 2500 microlensing events. In 2018, we have carried out a real-time alert for only the Northern bulge fields. It was very helpful to select Spitzer targets. Thanks to the real-time alert, KMT-only events for which OGLE and MOA could not detect have been largely increased. The KMTNet event-finder and alert-finder algorithms are being upgraded every year. From these, we found 18 exoplanets and various interesting events, such as an exomoon-candidate, a free-floating candidate, and brown dwarfs, which are very difficult to be detected by other techniques including radial velocity and transit. In 2019, the KMTNet alert will be available in real-time for all bulge fields. As before, we will continue to collaborate with Spitzer team to measure the microlens parallaxes, which are required for estimating physical parameters of the lens. Thus, the KMTNet alert will be helpful to select Spitzer targets again. Also we plan to do follow-up observations for high-magnification events to study the planet multiplicity function. The KMTNet alert will play an important role to do follow-up observations for high-magnification events. Also, we will search for free-floating planets with short timescale (< 3 days) to study the planet frequency in our Galaxy.

• 천문학회보
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• 제44권2호
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• pp.64.2-64.2
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• 2019

HD 81817 is known as a hybrid star. Hybrid stars have both cool stellar wind properties and UV or even X-ray emission features of highly ionized atoms in their spectra. A white dwarf companion has been suggested as the source of UV or X-ray features. HD 81817 has been observed since 2004 as a part of our radial velocity (RV) survey program to search for exoplanets around K giant stars using the Bohyunsan Observatory Echelle Spectrograph (BOES) at the 1.8 m telescope of Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO) in Korea. We obtained 84 RV measurements between 2004 and 2018 for HD 81817 and found two periodic RV variations. The obtained amplitudes of RV periods are around 200 m/s, which are significantly lower than that expected from a white dwarf companion. Furthermore, our re-analysis of the IUE spectra used by Reimers (1984) shows that the excess in UV emission can easily be explained by a pseudo-continuum of unresolved emission lines originating in the extended chromosphere of the star. We thus conclude that there are no companions of stellar mass to HD 81817. Meanwhile, we analyzed two periodicities in RV measurements and conclude that the period of 627.9 days is caused by intrinsic stellar activities based on H alpha equivalent width (EW) variations of a similar period. On the other hand, the period of 1047.8 days is likely to be caused by substellar companion which has a minimum mass of 27.6 M_JUP, a semi-major axis of 3.3 AU, and an eccentricity of 0.17 assuming the stellar mass of 4.3 M_⊙ for HD 81817. The inferred mass puts HD 81817 b in the brown dwarf desert.

• 천문학회지
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• 제56권2호
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• pp.277-286
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• 2023

It is difficult to distinguish the pure signal produced by an orbiting planetary companion around giant stars from other possible sources, such as stellar spots, pulsations, or certain activities. Since 2003, we have obtained radial (RV) data from evolved stars using the high-resolution, fiber-fed Bohyunsan Observatory Echelle Spectrograph (BOES) at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO). Here, we report the results of RV variations in the binary star HD 135438. We found two significant periods: 494.98 d with eccentricity of 0.23 and 8494.1 d with eccentricity of 0.83. Considering orbital stability, it is impossible to have two companions in such close orbits with high eccentricity. To determine the nature of the changes in the RV variability, we analyzed indicators of stellar spot and stellar chromospheric activity to find that there are no signals related to the significant period of 494.98 d. However, we calculated the upper limits of rotation period of the rotational velocity and found this to be 478-536 d. One possible interpretation is that this may be closely related to the rotational modulation of an orbital inclination at 67-90 degrees. The other signal corresponding to the period of 8494.1 d is probably associated with a stellar companion orbiting the giant star. A Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation considering a single companion indicates that HD 135438 system hosts a stellar companion with 0.57^+0.017 _-0.017 M_⊙ with an orbital period of 8498 d.

• 천문학회지
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• 제56권2호
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• pp.195-199
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• 2023

This paper is written as a follow-up observations to reinterpret the radial velocity (RV) of HD 36384, where the existence of planetary systems is known to be ambiguous. In giants, it is, in general, difficult to distinguish the signals of planetary companions from those of stellar activities. Thus, known exoplanetary giant hosts are relatively rare. We, for many years, have obtained RV data in evolved stars using the high-resolution, fiber-fed Bohyunsan Observatory Echelle Spectrograph (BOES) at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO). Here, we report the results of RV variations in the M giant HD 36384. We have found two significant periods of 586 d and 490 d. Considering the orbital stability, it is impossible to have two planets at so close orbits. To determine the nature of the RV variability variations, we analyze the HIPPARCOS photometric data, some indicators of stellar activities, and line profiles. A significant period of 580 d was revealed in the HIPPARCOS photometry. H_α EW variations also show a meaningful period of 582 d. Thus, the period of 586 d may be closely related to the rotational modulations and/or stellar pulsations. On the other hand, the other significant period of 490 d is interpreted as the result of the orbiting companion. Our orbital fit suggests that the companion was a planetary mass of 6.6 M_J and is located at 1.3 AU from the host.

• 천문학논총
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.125-145
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• 2023

This study investigates the integration of astronomy-related topics in the Korean national science curricula spanning from 1945 to 2023. We analyze the placement and extent of astronomy content across different school levels. Astronomy contents in the science curricula have changed in response to social needs (e.g., practical knowledge required for agriculture and fishery) and advancement in astronomical research (e.g., the discovery of exoplanets and the suggestion of new cosmological parameters). Contents addressing the motions of celestial objects and stellar physical properties have remained relatively consistent. In the latest 2022 revised national curriculum, scheduled for implementation in 2024, several elements, such as coordinate systems, have been removed, while the inquiry activities using digital tools are emphasized. The incorporation of the cosmic perspectives in the national curriculum, as well as astronomy education within the context of education for sustainable development, remains limited even in the most recent curriculum. For future life revisions, the active participation of researchers is needed to reflect the latest astronomical research progress and scientific characteristics in the field of astronomy.