• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2013

The length of solar cycle 23 has been prolonged up to about 13 years. Many studies have speculated that the solar cycle 23/24 minimum will indicate the onset of a grand minimum of solar activity, such as the Maunder Minimum. We check the trends of solar (sunspot number, solar magnetic fields, total solar irradiance, solar radio flux, and frequency of solar X-ray flare), interplanetary (interplanetary magnetic field, solar wind and galactic cosmic ray intensity), and geomagnetic (Ap index) parameters (SIG parameters) during solar cycles 21-24. Most SIG parameters during the period of the solar cycle 23/24 minimum have remarkably low values. Since the 1970s, the space environment has been monitored by ground observatories and satellites. Such prevalently low values of SIG parameters have never been seen. We suggest that these unprecedented conditions of SIG parameters originate from the weakened solar magnetic fields. Meanwhile, the deep 23/24 solar cycle minimum might be the portent of a grand minimum in which the global mean temperature of the lower atmosphere is as low as in the period of Dalton or Maunder minimum.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.99-99
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• 2011

A statistical study of coronal hole merging and splitting has been performed through Solar Cycle 23. The NOAA/SESC solar synoptic maps are examined to identify inarguably clear events of coronal hole merging and splitting. The numbers of merging events and splitting events are more or less comparable regardless of the phase in the solar cycle. The number of both events, however, definitely shows the phase dependence in the solar cycle. It apparently has a minimum at the solar minimum whereas its maximum is located in the declining phase of the sunspot activity, about a year after the second peak in Solar Cycle 23. There are more events of merging and splitting in the descending phase than in the ascending phase. Interestingly, no event is found at the local minimum between the two peaks of the sunspot activity. This trend can be compared with the variation of the average magnetic field strength and the radial field component in the solar wind through the solar cycle. In Ulysses observations, both of these quantities have a minimum at the solar minimum while their maximum is located in the descending phase, a while after the second peak of the sunspot activity. At the local minimum between the two peaks in the solar cycle, the field strength and the radial component both have a shallow local minimum or an inflection point. At the moment, the physical reason for these resembling tendencies is difficult to understand with existing theories. Seeing that merging and splitting of coronal holes are possible by passage of opposite polarity magnetic structures, we may suggest that the energizing activities in the solar surface such as motions of flux tubes are not exactly in phase with sunspot generation, but are more active some time after the sunspot maximum.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.58.1-58.1
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• 2018

In the solar atmosphere, below the region of temperature minimum, temperature decreases with height and above it, temperature increases with height. Therefore the inference of temperature minimum is a basis of the study about the solar atmosphere and heating problem. The temperature of the temperature minimum region can be inferred from acoustic cutoff frequency. According to a recent study the acoustic cutoff frequency is related to the peak frequency of the power spectrum the chromospheric three-minute velocity oscillations. Using this relationship, we infer the temperature of temperature minimum. The three minute velocity oscillation and its power spectrum are obtained for a pore observed with the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph (FISS) $H{\alpha}$ band. We present the inferred temperature and compare it with the temperature of Maltby model. We also investigate the effect of the inclination of magnetic field on the temperature minimum.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 2006

The extension of sunspot number series and auroral observations backward in time is of considerable interest for dynamo theory, solar activity and climate research. It was known that the Maunder minimum corresponded to a unusual cold so called little ice age in Europe and the appearance of sunspot had a close relation to the occurrence of aurora. Therefore we have examined ancient records of sunspots and aurorae with indirect solar proxies during this period and have studied for the features and peculiarities of solar activity with the relation of the climate variation.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.225-234
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• 2019

We explore the associations between the total sunspot area, solar north-south asymmetry, and Southern Oscillation Index and the physical characteristics of clouds by calculating normalized cross-correlations, motivated by the idea that the galactic cosmic ray influx modulated by solar activity may cause changes in cloud coverage, and in turn the Earth's climate. Unlike previous studies based on the relative difference, we have employed cloud data as a whole time-series without detrending. We found that the coverage of high-level and low-level cloud is at a maximum when the solar north-south asymmetry is close to the minimum, and one or two years after the solar north-south asymmetry is at a maximum, respectively. The global surface air temperature is at a maximum five years after the solar north-south asymmetry is at a maximum, and the optical depth is at a minimum when the solar north-south asymmetry is at a maximum. We also found that during the descending period of solar activity, the coverage of low-level cloud is at a maximum, and global surface air temperature and cloud optical depth are at a minimum, and that the total column water vapor is at a maximum one or two years after the solar maximum.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.23.4-23.4
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• 2008

In March and April 2001, the apogee (~9 Re) of the Polar spacecraft was located near the subsolar magnetopause with its orbital plane nearly parallel to a magnetic meridian plane. Polar electric and magnetic field data acquired during the two-month interval of solar maximum have been used to study fundamental standing Alfven waves near the subsolar meridian plane (magnetic local time = 1000-1400 hours) at magnetic latitudes from the equator to $\pm45$ degrees and at L values between 7 and 12. In the frequency band from 1.5 to 10 mHz, fundamental mode oscillations were identified based on high coherence (more than 0.7) and an approximately 90-degree phase shift between the azimuthal magnetic and radial electric field components. The L dependence of the fundamental frequencies is studied, and the frequencies are compared with those observed near the solar minimum interval (Takahashi et al. 2001). We found that the average frequencies in solar maximum are lower than those in solar minimum by a factor of ~2. This implies that the mass density in solar maximum is higher than that in solar minimum by a factor of ~4. Since there is a positive correlation between solar irradiance and solar activity, we suggest that the ionosphere in solar maximum produces more ions and load magnetic flux tubes with more ions.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.159-168
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• 2019

In solstices during the solar minimum, the hemispheric difference of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) intensity (hereafter hemispheric asymmetry) is understood as being opposite in the morning and afternoon. This phenomenon is explained by the temporal variation of the combined effects of the fountain process and interhemispheric wind. However, the mechanism applied to the observations during the solar minimum has not yet been validated with observations made during other periods of the solar cycle. We investigate the variability of the hemispheric asymmetry with local time (LT), altitude, season, and solar cycle using the electron density taken by the CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload satellite and the global total electron content (TEC) maps acquired during 2001-2008. The electron density profiles provided by the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate satellites during 2007-2008 are also used to investigate the variation of the hemispheric asymmetry with altitude during the solar minimum. During the solar minimum, the location of a stronger EIA moves from the winter hemisphere to the summer hemisphere around 1200-1400 LT. The reversal of the hemispheric asymmetry is more clearly visible in the F-peak density than in TEC or in topside plasma density. During the solar maximum, the EIA in the winter hemisphere is stronger than that in the summer hemisphere in both the morning and afternoon. When the location of a stronger EIA in the afternoon is viewed as a function of the year, the transition from the winter hemisphere to the summer hemisphere occurs near 2004 (yearly average F10.7 index = 106). We discuss the mechanisms that cause the variation of the hemispheric asymmetry with LT and solar cycle.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2006

The Diurnal variation of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) flux intensity observed by the ground Neutron Monitor (NM) shows a sinusoidal pattern with the amplitude of $1{\sim}2%$ of daily mean. We carried out a statistical study on tendencies of the local times of GCR intensity daily maximum aad minimum. To test the influences of the solar activity and the location (cut-off rigidity) on the distribution in the local times of maximum and minimum GCR intensity, we have examined the data of 1996 (solar minimum) and 2000 (solar maximum) at the low-latitude Haleakala (latitude: 20.72 N, cut-off rigidity: 12.91 GeV) and the high-latitude Oulu (latitude: 65.05 N, cut-off rigidity: 0.81 GeV) NM stations. The most frequent local times of the GCR intensity daily maximum and minimum come later about $2{\sim}3$ hours in the solar activity maximum year 2000 than in the solar activity minimum you 1996. Oulu NM station whose cut-off rigidity is smaller has the most frequent local times of the GCR intensity maximum and minimum later by $2{\sim}3$ hours from those of Haleakala station. This feature is more evident at the solar maximum. The phase of the daily variation in GCR is dependent upon the interplanetary magnetic field varying with the solar activity and the cut-off rigidity varying with the geographic latitude.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.211-221
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• 1994

In this study, to maximize the solar energy utilization for greenhouse heating during the winter season, solar energy-underground latent heat storage system was constructed, and the thermal performance of the system has been analyzed to obtain the basic data for realization of greenhouse solar heating system. The results are summarized as follows. 1. $Na_2SO_4{\cdot}10H_20$ was selected as a latent heat storage material, its physical properties were stabilized and the phase change temperature was controlled at $13{\sim}15^{\circ}C$. 2. Solar radiation of winter season was the lowest value in December, and Jinju area was the highest and the lowest value was shown in Jeju area. 3. The minimum inner air temperature of greenhouse with latent heat storage system(LHSS) was $7.0{\sim}7.5^{\circ}C$ higher than that of greenhouse without LHSS and was $7.0{\sim}11.2^{\circ}C$ higher than the minimum ambient air temperature. 4. Greenhouse heating effect of latent heat storage system was getting higher according to the increase of solar radiation and was not concerned with the variation of minimum ambient air temperature. 5. The relative humidity of greenhouse with latent heat storage system was varied from 50 to 85%, but that of greenhouse without LHSS was varied from 30 to 93%. 6. The heating cost of greenhouse with solar energy-latent heat storage system was about 24% of that with the kerosene heating system.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.163-168
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• 2013

Parameters associated with solar minimum have been studied to relate them to solar activity at solar maximum so that one could possibly predict behaviors of an upcoming solar cycle. The number of active days has been known as a reliable indicator of solar activity around solar minimum. Active days are days with sunspots reported on the solar disk. In this work, we have explored the relationship between the sunspot numbers at solar maximum and the characteristics of the monthly number of active days. Specifically, we have statistically examined how the maximum monthly sunspot number of a given solar cycle is correlated with the slope of the linear relationship between monthly sunspot numbers and the monthly number of active days for the corresponding solar cycle. We have calculated the linear correlation coefficient r and the Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient $r_s$ for data sets prepared under various conditions. Even though marginal correlations are found, they turn out to be insufficiently significant (r ~ 0.3). Nonetheless, we have confirmed that the slope of the linear relationship between monthly sunspot numbers and the monthly number of active days is less steep when solar cycles belonging to the "Modern Maximum" are considered compared with rests of solar cycles. We conclude, therefore, that the slope of the linear relationship between monthly sunspot numbers and the monthly number of active days is indeed dependent on the solar activity at its maxima, but that this simple relationship should be insufficient as a valid method to predict the following solar activity amplitude.