• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.679-682
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• 2015

The Hiroshima Astrophysical Science Center (HASC) was founded in 2004 at Hiroshima University, Japan. The main mission of this institute is the observational study of various transient objects including gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, novae, cataclysmic variables, and active galactic nuclei by means of multi-wavelength observations. HASC consists of three divisions; the optical-infrared astronomy division, high-energy astronomy division, and theoretical astronomy division. HASC is operating the 1.5m optical-infrared telescope Kanata, which is dedicated to follow-up and monitoring observations of transient objects. The high-energy division is the key operation center for the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope. HASC and the high-energy astronomy group in the department of physical science at Hiroshima University are closely collaborating with each other to promote multi-wavelength time-domain astronomy. We report the recent activities of HASC and some science topics pursued by this multi-wavelength collaboration.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.125-128
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• 2005

In this paper, we argue that the gigahertz peaked spectrum (GPS) quasars are special blazars, blazars in dense and dusty gas enviornment. The ROSAT detection rate of GPS quasars is similar to that of flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), suggesting that the relativistic jets in GPS quasars are oriented at small angle to the line of sight. Due to strong inverse Compton scattering off infrared photons from dense and dusty nuclear interstellar media in GPS quasars, most of them may have significant soft gamma-ray and X-ray emission, which is consistent with ASCA X-ray observations. Because Compton cooling in GPS quasars is stronger than that in FSRQs, synchrotron emission in GPS quasars may less dominate over thermal emission of the accretion disk and hot dust, hence most GPS quasars show low optical polarization and small variability, consistent with observations. We suggest that it is the significant radio emission of electron/positron pairs produced by the interaction of gamma-rays with the dense gas and dust grains in GPS quasars that makes GPS quasars show steep radio spectra, low radio polarization, and relatively faint VLBI/VLBA cores. Whether GPS quasars are special blazars can be tested by gamma-ray observations with GLAST in the near future, with the detection rate of GPS quasars being similar to that of FSRQs.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.40.3-41
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• 2015

We performed simultaneous observations of H2O and SiO masers toward VX Sgr using the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) and Source Frequency Phase Referencing (SFPR) method. The observations were carried out at 5 epochs from 2014 February to 2015 June. The relative locations of the SiO with respect to the H2O maser emission were determined at two epochs by SFPR for the first time. The H2O masers show well developed asymmetric outflow features which are spread up to ~300 mas in diameter. On the other hand, the SiO masers show a ring-like structure close to the central star with ~ 30 mas diameter. The SFPR observational results at two epochs (${\varphi}=0.83$ and 0.99) provide similar relative locations of H2O and SiO maser features. These superposed maps of H2O and SiO masers lead us to investigate the development of outflow motions from relatively spherical SiO maser regions close to central star to aspherical H2O maser regions according to optical phase of stellar pulsation together with the prediction of the position of central star.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.326-336
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• 2011

The Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) observation provides a specific knowledge of the temporal and vertical distribution and the optical properties of the aerosols. Unlike typical Mie scattering Lidars, which can measure backscattering and depolarization, the Raman Lidar can measure the quartz signal at the ultra violet (360 nm) and the visible (546 nm) wavelengths. In this work, we developed a method for estimating mineral quartz concentration immersed in Asian dust using Raman scattering of quartz (silicon dioxide, silica). During the Asian dust period of March 15, 16, and 21 in 2010, Raman lidar measurements detected the presence of quartz, and successfully showed the vertical profile of the dust concentrations. The satellite observations such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) confirmed spatial distribution of Asian dust. This approach will be useful for characterizing the quartz dominated in the atmospheric aerosols and the investigations of mineral dust. It will be especially applicable for distinguishing the dust and non-dust aerosols in studies on the mixing state of Asian aerosols. Additionally, the presented method combined with satellite observations is enable qualitative and quantitative monitoring for Asian dust.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.101-110
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• 1994

We have investigated intensively an optical telescope with 76cm diameter and CCD camera system in astronomical observatory of Kyung Hee university, in order to maximize instrumental functions of our observational equipments and to construct a more reliable photometric system. And computer softwares AUTO DOME, KH CCD and KH PHO for astronomical image observations and their automatic photometries with high accuracy have been made for observers w use our observational system conveniently and efficiently. Throughout careful examinations of these programs, it has been proved that the observing time by our program is shorter than that by manual operations, so that, fast and accurate observations can be executed with ease. For open cluster NGC 7063 observed with S/N value of 350 or more by KH PHO, we have found the magnitude measurements of 11 object stars would show 0.007 magnitude difference, comparing with magnitude data from IRAF/APPHOT. From automatic photometry of eclipsing binary, AB And observed by our software, total 220 data points with good quality have been acquired during 8 hours and so we could make a better light curve than that obtained from any observational results by domestic photoelectric photometry system.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.52.3-53
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• 2017

Identification of gravitational wave (GW) sources in electromagnetic (EM) wave observations is important because it enables us to understand the property of the GW-emitting sources/mechanisms much better than the GW detection. For that reason, a large number of astronomers are working on observations to identify the position and the nature of GW sources. We give a short overview of the expected EM signals from GW sources and the current EM follow-up observations that have been undertaken in Korea and the world.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.70.4-71
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• 2016

The links between super-massive black hole masses and their host galaxy properties are observed, indicating that black hole growth and host galaxy evolution are closely related. Reverberation mapping, which uses the time delay from the central black hole to broad line regions, is one of the best methods to estimate masses of black holes of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). However, only masses of about 50 black holes have been determined in reverberation mapping studies so far, and most of them are limited to optical luminosities below 10^45 erg/s due to the challenges of long-term time domain observations in both photometry and spectroscopy. In this project, we expand reverberation mapping samples to higher luminosities of > 10^44.5 erg/s at 0.1 < z < 0.35, that have expected time lags of 40 - 250 light days. Photometric (using LOAO 1-m and MDM 1.3-m) and spectroscopic (using MDM 2.4-m and Lick 3-m) monitoring campaigns are being conducted for a 3 year duration and 20 day cadence. Precedent photometric observations in 2015B show some targets with variability and follow-up spectroscopic observations are on-going. In this presentation, we introduce our project, present reverberation mapping simulation results, and preliminary results on photometry. These reverberation mapping masses of relatively high luminous AGNs will provide a strong constraint on black hole mass calibration, e.g., the single-epoch mass estimation.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.106.2-106.2
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• 2012

A Jupiter-family comet, 17P/Holmes, underwent an outburst on 2007 October 23. Since there has been no more dramatic comet outburst than the 17P/Holmes event in the history of modern astronomical observations, active observations were made soon after the outburst. However, little is known about the activity before the outburst because of the accidental event. In addition, since the nucleus has been veiled by the thick dust cloud by the 2007 outburst, the physical status of the nucleus was unknown. In this presentation, we investigated the contrast between before and after the outburst through the imaging observations in both optical and mid-infrared wavelengths. We thus analyzed data taken by Akari infrared telescope, Subaru 8-m telescope, University of Hawaii 2.2-m telescope and Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory 2-m Nayuta telescope. As the result, we found that the nucleus was significantly activated through the outburst. The surface fractional active area was 0.3% in the pre-outburst data while 10% in the past-outburst data. We expect that 17P/Holmes shows strenuous activity in the next return in 2013-2014.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.44.4-44.4
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• 2019

The supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) provides a unique opportunity to observe the fine details of the explosion of core-collapse supernova (SN). Previous optical and near-infrared (NIR) observations of Cas A have shown that the spatial distribution of the metal-enriched SN ejecta is very complicated, indicating that the SN explosion should have been asymmetric and turbulent, especially near the core. Recently, we obtained a long-exposure (~10 hr) image of Cas A by using the UKIRT 3.6-m telescope with a narrow-band filter centered at [Fe II] 1.644 um emission. This 'deep [Fe II] image' provides an unprecedented panoramic view of Cas A, revealing the distribution of dense SN ejecta over the entire remnant. We have carried out NIR multi-object spectroscopic observations of the dense ejecta knots in the northeastern (NE) and eastern (E) outer regions of the remnant using the MMIRS attached on the MMT 6.5-m telescope. A total of 67 ejecta knots are detected. By analyzing their spectra, we have found that the knots in the NE area show strong [S II]/[S III] and [Fe II] lines but little or no [P II] line, while those in the E outer region show strong [Fe II] lines but weak [S II]/[S III] lines. In this talk, we present the preliminary results of our NIR spectroscopic observations and discuss the implications.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.48.1-48.1
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• 2021

The Main-belt asteroid (298) Baptistina (hereafter 'Baptistina') is regarded as an X- (or C-) type asteroid and the largest member of the Baptistina asteroid family. Its basic physical properties play an important role in understanding the rotational evolution and orbital dynamics of the Baptistina family. In this study, we determined the physical characteristics of Baptistina from the optical observations. We conducted BVRI and R band photometric observations from 2017 to 2021 for a total of 47 nights using the 0.5 - 2.0 m-class telescopes. As a result, the color indices of Baptistina were derived as, , and ; this result is consistent with the previous classification of Baptistina as an X- (or C-) type. We also determined absolute magnitude () and slope parameter () by using a simplified version of the IAU H & G function (Bowell et al. 1989) are mag and respectively. We calculated the effective radius of Baptistina of km considering the visual geometric albedo of 0.131 from the NEOWISE data. Using the light-curve inversion method, the sidereal rotation period of 16.224235 h and the 3D shape model with a pole orientation (,) were also determined. In this presentation we will introduce our observations and results, and also discuss about the physical properties of Baptistina asteroid family members such as color indices.