• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.49-65
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• 2019

We investigate the provenance and the changes in the timekeeping system focusing on official records such as almanacs and textbooks published by the government after the solar calendar was introduced. We found that the solar calendar and the 12-hour clock time first appeared in 1884 during Joseon dynasty, at that time the solar calendar was used at the open port in Busan to facilitate the exchanges with Japan. The 12-hour clock time first appeared in the 『Hansung Sunbo』 published by the government in 1884. We also found that the Joseon dynasty also used 12 diǎnzhōng or 12 diǎn. In addition, the term of the 'Sigan' first appeared in the first official academic textbook in August 1895, and the chapter related to time contained the information about 12-hour clock time instead of the 12 Shi. In 1908, the meaning of the solar time, the equation of time, and the differences in longitude with the adoption of Korean Standard Time were introduced. Meanwhile, the 24-hour clock time was first introduced in Joseon and applied to railway times in 1907. The 1946 almanac, the first issue after liberation, used the 12-hour clock time which uses 'Sango', 'Hao' and the 24-hour clock time started to be used from the following year and is still used to this day. Finally, the 12-hour clock time, which was introduced around 1884, was enacted as Article 44 of the law in 1900 and was revised again in 1905 and 1908. In Korea, the terms related to the time in the current astronomical calendar system were newly defined around 1884, 1896, and 1908, and gradually standardized through the establishment of laws.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.163-173
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• 2016

In this paper, we study the lunar eclipse records in the Goryeosa (History of the Goryeo Dynasty), an official history book of the Goryeo dynasty (A.D. 918 - 1392). In the history book, a total of 228 lunar eclipse accounts are recorded, covering the period from 1009 to 1392. However, we find that two accounts are duplications and four accounts correspond to no known lunar eclipses around the dates. For the remaining lunar eclipses, we calculate the magnitude and the time of the eclipse at different phases using the DE406 ephemeris. Of the 222 lunar eclipse accounts, we find that the minimum penumbral magnitude was 0.5583. For eclipses which occurred after midnight, we find that some accounts were recorded on the day before the eclipse, like the astronomical records of the Joseonwangjosillok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty), while others were on the day of the lunar eclipse. We also find that four accounts show a difference in the Julian dates between this study and that of Ahn et al., even though it is assumed that the Goryeo court did not change the dates in the accounts for lunar eclipses that occurred after midnight. With regard to the contents of the lunar eclipse accounts, we confirm that the accounts recorded as total eclipses are accurate, except for two accounts. However, both eclipses were very close to the total eclipse. We also confirm that all predicted lunar eclipses did occur, although one eclipse happened two days after the predicted date. In conclusion, we believe that this study is very helpful for investigating the lunar eclipse accounts of other periods in Korea, and furthermore, useful for verifying the calendar dates of the Goryeo dynasty.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.67-73
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• 2017

In this paper, we investigate the observations of Venus in daytime that are recorded in the Goryeosa (History of the Goryeo Dynasty, A.D. 918-1392). There are a total of 167 accounts of such observations in this historical book, spanning a period of 378 yr (from 1014 to 1392). These include six accounts where the days of the observation are not specified and two accounts where the phase angles are outside the calculation range of the equation used in our study. We analyze the number distribution of 164 accounts in 16 yr intervals covering the period from 1023 to 1391. We find that this distribution shows its minimum at around 1232, when the Goryeo dynasty moved the capital to the Ganghwa Island because of the Mongol invasion, and its maximum at around 1390, about the time when the dynasty fell. In addition, we calculate the azimuth, altitude, solar elongation, and apparent magnitude of Venus at sunset for 159 observations, excluding the eight accounts mentioned above, using the DE 406 ephemeris and modern astronomical algorithms. We find that the average elongation and magnitude of Venus on the days of those accounts were ${\sim}40^{\circ}$ and -4.5, respectively, whereas the minimum magnitude was -3.8. The results of this study are useful for estimating the practical conditions for observing Venus in daylight with the naked eye and they also provide additional insight into the corresponding historical accounts contained in the Goryeosa.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.151-168
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• 2007

We have analyzed the comet records in the Korean history books: Samguksagi, Goryeosa, and Joseonwangjosillok. For a comparison, the Chinese and Japanese comet records collected by Kronk (1999) have also been analyzed. Power spectrum of the time series of the comet records is used to find periodic comets. Statistically significant periodicities in the power spectrum are detected at the periods of 38-40 years, about 76 years, and 300-400 years for all Korean, Chinese, and Japanese comet records. We have also calculated the past orbits of some comets that have been recently observed, to check whether or not they were recorded in the history books. We use a multistep method to numerically integrate the comet's orbital motion backward in time to 51 B.C. The gravitational force due to the Sun and the nine planets, non-gravitational force, and the relativistic effects have been considered. Comparison of comet's perihelion passage time and the position on the sky with the historical records shows that the comet Halley were recorded at every passage in both Goryeo and Joseon periods. The orbital motion of the comet Pons-Brooks has also been compared with the Korean records. For the comet Tempel-Tuttle, Swift-Tuttle, and Ikeya-Zhang, we have compared our calculation of the orbital motions with those of the previous studies.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2016

We investigate the records related to the reign style and the calendar day from the epigraphs of the Goryeo dynasty (918 - 1392) in Korea in order to verify and supplement the sexagenary cycle data of the first day in the lunar month of the dynasty. The database of the National Research Institute of Culture Heritage contains a rubbed-copy image, transcription statement, and translation statement for Korean epigraphs as well as 775 epigraphs corresponding to the Goryeo dynasty. The epigraph records are valuable in that, during this time, they were written differently from other historical literature such as the Goryeosa (History of the Goryeo Dynasty), which was compiled in the next dynasty. We find that the Goryeo dynasty, in general, had adopted the reign styles of Chinese dynasties at that time. We also find 159 calendar day records all showing good agreement with the work of Ahn et al. except for dozens of records. Through this study, we can verify the reign styles and the calendar days of the Goryeo dynasty.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.79.3-80
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• 2016

We have investigated the correlation analysis between global temperature anomaly and two main factors: geomagnetic activity (aa index) of Earth external factor and CO2 of Earth internal factor. For this, we used NOAA Global Surface Temperature anomaly (Ta) data from 1868 to 2015. The aa index indicates the geomagnetic activity measured at two anti-podal subauroral stations (Canberra Australia and Hartland England) and the CO2 data come from historical ice core records and NOAA/ESRL data. From the comparison between (Ta) and aa index, we found several interesting things, First, the linear correlation coefficient between two parameters increases until 1985 and then decreases rapidly. Second, the scattered plot between two parameters shows a boundary of the correlation tendency (positive and negative correlation) near 1985. A partial correlation of (Ta) and two main factors (aa index, CO2) also shows that the geomagnetic effect (aa index) is dominant until about 1985 and the CO2 effect becomes much more important after then. These results indicate that the CO2 effect become very an important factor since at least 1985. For a further analysis, we simply assume that Ta = Ta(aa)+Ta(CO2) and made a linear regression between (Ta) and aa index from 1868 to 2015. A linear model is then made from the linear regression between energy consumption (a proxy of CO2 effect) and Ta-Ta(aa) since 1985. Our results will be discussed in view of the prediction of global warming.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.147-160
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• 2023

In this study, we explore and catalog Korean astronomical heritages that are known to be preserved in foreign countries. We exclude old astronomical books from the catalog because they have been well studied and exist in numbers far too large for the scope of this study. From various documents and online collections, we find a total of 38 Korean astronomical heritages in six countries: 10, 11, and 14 items from the UK, France, and Japan, respectively, and 1 item from Germany, the US, and China each. These include items that are suspected to be of Chinese heritage and items of unconfirmed possession status. We divide the astronomical heritages primarily into two groups: time-keeping instruments (18 items) and astronomical charts (20 items). In this paper, we briefly review them according to country. We believe that this study provides a foundation for further detailed studies on each item, such as the Gujang-Cheonsang-Yeolcha-Bunya-Jido (舊藏天象列次分野之圖) preserved in the Library of Congress, United States.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.29-37
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• 2012

In this paper, we study the structure of the Daegyupyo (大圭表, Large Gnomon) of the early Joseon dynasty. A Gyupyo (圭表, Gnomon that is Guibiao as pronounced in Chinese) is composed of a Pyo (表, Biao as pronounced in Chinese) making a shadow and a Gyu (圭, Gui as pronounced in Chinese) measuring its length. It is known that the Daegyupyo with the 40-feet height was constructed between the sixteenth to seventeenth year of the King Sejong reign (1444 - 1445) on the basis of the record of Yuanshi (元史, the History of the Yuan Dynasty). By analyzing historical documents such as Joseonwangjosillok (朝鮮王朝實錄, the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty), Yuanshi, and Jegaryeoksangjip (諸家曆象集, a work written by Sunji Lee), we found a possibility that the Ji (池, a pond) on the Gyu was located in the north side of the Pyo. This structure is different from that in previous studies, but is in a good agreement with that of the 40-feet Guibiao remaining in Dengfeng (登封) of China. Regarding to the Hoengyang (橫梁, cross-bar), we suggest that it was set up by double 5-feet supporting arms apart from the north tip of the Pyo in the radial direction. The 3:4:5 ratio in a rectangular triangle was used to place the Heongyang on the top of the Pyo at a distance of 4-feet (3-feet) in the vertical (horizontal) direction. We also discuss the structural problem when the Hoengyang is positioned apart from the top of the Pyo by supporting arms. In conclusion, we think that this study should be useful in restoring the Daegyupyo of the Joseon dynasty.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.293-310
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• 2005

We made a revised catalogue for reliable records of meteor outbursts that were recorded in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese chronicles. In order to avoid the effects of both Earth's precession and perihelion shift, we introduced a new time-coordinate of records, or the number of days elapsed within the sidereal year of the record for a given origin of time or the perihelion passage time of the you 2000. We added nineteen new records of meteor showers that are wrongly classified i, individual meteors in a Chinese archive. We found that the ${\eta}-Aquarids,$ the Perseids, the Orionids, and the Leonids have been active during the last two millennia. Due to the change of time-coordinate, the oldest record of each long-lasting meteor shower has been slightly corrected. We discuss that these long-lasting meteor showers belong to the Halley-type comets.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.241-246
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• 2013

We have investigated drought periodicities occurred in Seoul to find out any indication of relationship between drought in Korea and solar activities. It is motivated, in view of solar-terrestrial connection, to search for an example of extreme weather condition controlled by solar activity. The periodicity of drought in Seoul has been re-examined using the wavelet transform technique as the consensus is not achieved yet. The reason we have chosen Seoul is because daily precipitation was recorded for longer than 200 years, which meets our requirement that analyses of drought frequency demand long-term historical data to ensure reliable estimates. We have examined three types of time series of the Effective Drought Index (EDI). We have directly analyzed EDI time series in the first place. And we have constructed and analyzed time series of histogram in which the number of days whose EDI is less than -1.5 for a given month of the year is given as a function of time, and one in which the number of occasions where EDI values of three consecutive days are all less than -1.5 is given as a function of time. All the time series data sets we analyzed are periodic. Apart from the annual cycle due to seasonal variations, periodicities shorter than the 11 year sunspot cycle, ~ 3, ~ 4, ~ 6 years, have been confirmed. Periodicities to which theses short periodicities (shorter than Hale period) may be corresponding are not yet known. Longer periodicities possibly related to Gleissberg cycles, ~ 55, ~ 120 years, can be also seen. However, periodicity comparable to the 11 year solar cycle seems absent in both EDI and the constructed data sets.