Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #2708 09/15/00
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT #2708
PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 09/14/00 – 0000Z (UTC) 09/15/00
Daily Status Report as of 259/0000Z
1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:
1.1 Completed WF/PC-2 8601 (A Snapshot Survey of Probable Nearby Galaxies)
The WF/PC-2 was used to continue the very successful snapshot survey in order to use the high spatial resolution of HST to determine whether selected galaxies are nearby on the basis of resolution into stars, and the magnitudes and colors of the brightest stars. There were no reported problems.
1.2 Completed Four Sets of STIS/CCD 8808 (POMS Test Proposal: STIS Non-Scripted Parallel Proposal Continuation III)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to make non-scripted, parallel observations as part of a POMS test proposal. The observations completed with no anomalous activity.
1.3 Completed Three Sets of WF/PC-2 8826 (Cycle 9 Supplemental Darks pt 1)
The WF/PC-2 was used to perform a T dark calibration program that obtains three dark frames every day in order to provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels. There were no reported anomalies
1.4 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD 8837 (CCD Dark Monitor-Part 1)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to monitor the darks. The proposal completed with no reported problems.
1.5 Completed WF/PC-2 8701 (Multiplicity among Very-Low Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs in Alpha Persei and the Pleiades)
The WF/PC-2 was used to observe open clusters which provide excellent hunting grounds for brown dwarf {BD} searches. The AlphaPer and Pleiades clusters are young, nearby and have low extinction. They are cosidered to be the best-suited places to study the Substellar Mass. A dozen of cool faint AlphaPer and Pleiades members have been confirmed as “bona-fide” BDs with the lithium test. By comparison with those, about 60 very good cluster BD candiates are currently known. The Pleiades SMF obtained using the most recent deep large CCD surveys indicates that BDs are quite numerous but do not make a significant contribution to the total cluster mass. The observations completed with no reported problems.
1.6 Completed STIS/CCD 8631 (Bright Quasar Close Lensing Search II)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to expand the Cycle 8 second generation HST snapshot survey of bright quasars, optimized to find lenses with component image separations < 1". The observations completed nominally.
1.7 Completed STIS/CCD/MA2 8621 (The Galactic Abundance Gradients of Boron and Iron)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA2) was used to provide the first measurement of the Galactic abundance gradients for Boron and Iron. Boron abundances were obtained for 5 B-type stars {with Galactocentric distances between 4-15 kpc} from the BIII 2066 Angstrom line. Optical spectroscopy of these {and other B-type} stars has yielded abundance gradients of -0.07 dex/kpc for N & the Alpha-elements {O, Mg, Si}. Determination of Boron abundances require UV spectra. The proposal completed nominally.
1.8 Completed WF/PC-2 8816 (Cycle 9 UV Earthflats)
The WF/PC-2 was used to obtain sequences of earth streak flats to improve the quality of pipeline flat fields for the WFPC2 UV filter set and in order to monitor flat field stability. There were no reported problems.
1.9 Completed WF/PC-2 8805 (POMS Test Proposal: WFII Parallel Archive Proposal Continuation)
The WF/PC-2 was used to perform a generic target version of the WFPC2 Archival Pure Parallel program. The program will be used to take parallel images of random areas of the sky, following the recommendations of the Parallels Working. The proposal completed with no reported problems.
1.10 Completed STIS/CCD 8838 (Bias Monitor – Part 1)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to monitor the bias in the 1×1, 1×2, 2×1, and 2×2 bin settings at gain=1, and 1×1 at gain = 4, to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the evolution of hot columns. The proposal completed nominally.
1.11 Completed Three Sets of STIS/CCD 8836 (Performance Monitor {Cycle 9})
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to measure the baseline performance and commandability of the CCD subsystem. Only primary amplifier D was used. Bias and Flat Field
exposures were taken in order to measure read noise, CTE, and
gain. Numerous bias frames were taken to permit construction of "superbias" frames in which the effects of read noise have been rendered negligible. Full frame and binned observations were made, with binning factors of 2 x 1, 1 x 2, 2 x 2, 4 x 1, and 4 x 2. Dark images were taken in 2×2 binning mode; 1×1 binning darks are being taken in the nominal CCD Dark Monitor. The exercise completed nominally.
1.12 Completed WF/PC-2 8269 (The Morphological Evolution of Field Galaxies)
The WF/PC-2 was used to make observations of the near-infrared field galaxy SA57-B in order to study its morphology. The observations were completed as planned, and no anomalies were reported.
1.13 Completed STIS/MA2 8426 (Cycle 8 MAMA Dark Measurements)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA2) was used to make a routine Cycle-8 MAMA dark noise calibration measurement. This proposal will provide the primary means of checking on the health of the MAMA detectors. This is done through frequent monitoring of the background count rate. The observations were completed as planned, and no problems were reported.
1.14 Completed WF/PC-2/STIS/CCD 8559 (The Role of Dark Matter in Cluster Formation and Galaxy Evolution)
The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) were used to observe the outer regions of massive clusters that represent transitional areas of great cosmological importance where field galaxies encounter the steep potential wells of dark matter and baryonic hot gas. Little is known about either the dark matter profile at large radii or the morphological properties of infalling galaxies at those redshifts where strong evolution is observed in the cluster cores. The proposal completed normally, with no reported problems.
2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:
Scheduled Acquisitions: 7
Successful: 7
Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 8
Successful: 8
2.2 FHST Updates:
Scheduled: 17
Successful: 17
2.3 Operations Notes:
Using ROP SR-1A, the SSR EDAC error counter was cleared three times.
The 486 engineering status buffer limits were adjusted at 258/1029Z per ROP DF-18A.
The FHST map scheduled at 258/114042Z failed when no stars were found in FHST #1. The subsequent map at 256/131713Z succeeded with only one star found in FHST #1. HSTAR 7851 was written.
3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.
