This study classified outer-ring galaxies using 25,308 galaxies within z=0.05 from the SDSS DR7, which are larger than Rpet>6 arcsec and whose minor-to-major axis ratio (b/a)<0.6. We selected 531 galaxies that have ring-like structures by visual inspection of the color images of 25,308 galaxies; these galaxies with ring-like structures served as a primary sample from which we selected 90 outer-ring galaxies. The final sample of 69 outer-ring galaxies was selected by examining the photometric properties of the candidate galaxies. Their properties were determined by conducting surface photometry on their u, g, r, i, and z images. The frequency of the outer-ring galaxies was found to be 0.3% of the local galaxies. We examined the environment of the outer-ring galaxies using two measures of environment, namely, the projected distance to the nearest-neighbor galaxy and the local background density. We did not observe any notable difference between outer-ring and other galactic environments.

Observation environment of the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory(BOAO) has been examined using various statistical data including real observation times versus allocated times and seeing statistics. The data have been collected from the observation logs of the 1.8m telescope in the period 1998 - 2004. New criteria have been set up to calculate a more realistic observation efficiency of the observatory. The new statistical analysis based on the new criteria gives the overall observation efficiency of BOAO as 38.6%, that is equivalent to 115.8 observable nights out of 300 allocatable nights. The seeing statistics shows that the mean seeing measured at the focal images is 2".3. The present study of the observation environment of BOAO suggests that differential photometry and spectroscopy should be preferred modes of observation to maximize the productivity of BOAO.