Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #2717 09/28/00
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT #2717
PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 09/27/00 – 0000Z (UTC) 09/28/00
Daily Status Report as of 272/0000Z
1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:
1.1 Completed STIS/CCD/MA2 8304 (Stellar Winds from Central Stars of Young Planetary Nebulae)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA2) was used to observe stellar winds from central stars of planetary nebulae that are responsible for driving the dynamical expansion as well as shaping the morphology of planetary nebulae. The observations completed with no reported anomalies.
1.2 Completed Two 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.
1.3 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.
1.4 Completed Four Sets of 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.
1.5 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.
1.6 Completed STIS/CCD/MA2 8711 (C/O Abundance Ratios Across WCL Planetary Nebulae With Strong PAH And Crystalline Silicate Emission)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA2) was used to measure the required high angular resolution across compact nebulae for the crucial abundance-diagnostic lines of C ii 2326 Angstrom and O ii 2470 Angstrom. ISO has discovered cool O-rich crystalline silicate and water- ice emission in the far-IR spectra of several planetary nebulae {PNe} which show very strong hot PAH {polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, carbon-rich} emission bands in their near- and mid-IR spectra. All of these PNe are young and compact and of low-ionization, and have cool H-deficient Wolf- Rayet central stars. The correlation with carbon-rich WCL Wolf-Rayet central stars suggests that the phenomenon is associated with a recent transition from an O-rich to a C-rich phase by the evolving objects, following the exposure of 3rd dredge-up enriched material. For these nebulae, the gas-phase C/O ratios {two of the nebulae have the largest C/O ratios known} are strongly correlated with the PAH feature strength. The unexpected discovery of cool oxygen-rich particles around them suggests that strong C/O abundance gradients may be present in the nebulae. The observations completed nominally.
1.7 Completed STIS/CCD/MA2 8569 (A New Survey for Low-Redshift Damped Lyman-Alpha Lines in QSO MgII Systems)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA2) was used to support studies which have shown that most of the observable neutral gas mass in the Universe resides in QSO damped LyAlpha {DLA} systems. However, at low redshift , DLA can only be found by searching in the UV with HST. By boot-strapping from the MgII statistics, we will be able to further improve the determination of the low- redshift statistical properties of DLA {their incidence and cosmological mass density} and open up new opportunities for studies at low redshift. The observations completed nominally.
1.8 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.
1.9 Completed WF/PC-2 8645 (A Survey of Mid-UV Morphology of Nearby Galaxies: Galaxy Structure and Faint Galaxy)
The WF/PC-2 was used to investigate the relation between star formation and the global physical characteristics of galaxies to interpret the morphologies of distant galaxies in terms of their evolutionary status. The observations completed nominally.
1.10 Completed STIS/CCD 8260 (Searching for the Hydrogen Reionization Edge of the Universe at 5HST)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to observe one of 36 parallel orbits {4–5 fields of 5–8 orbits each} to constrain the H Lyman-edge in emission that marks the transition from a neutral to a fully ionized IGM at a predicted zion~eq5–15. This edge is due to recombination from the H Lyman series and Lyman continuum, and can be used to constrain zion, one of the most important unknown quantities in large scale structure and cosmology. The proposal completed nominally.
1.11 Completed WF/PC-2 8804 (A Survey of Gravitational Lenses as Cosmological Tools III)
The WF/PC-2 was used to observe 60 known gravitational lenses that are a unique, mass-selected sample of galaxies, and their properties encode an enormous range of astrophysical information. The numbers of lenses and their distribution in separation, lens and source redshift determine both the cosmological model and the mass function of galaxies and its evolution. There were no reported problems.
1.12 Completed STIS/CCD 8562 (Probing the Large Scale Structure: Cosmic Shear Observations) HST
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to probe the distortion of light bundles from distant galaxies, looking at the statistical properties of the intervening inhomogeneous {dark} matter distribution. The proposal completed nominally.
1.13 Completed STIS/CCD 8700 (A STIS Spectroscopic Snapshot Survey of 3CR Radio Galaxies : The Nature of the Unresolved Nuclei)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to perform STIS snapshot long-slit spectroscopy of these nuclei over 2900- 10300 AA to classify them {QSO, NLRG, BLRG, BL Lac, ldots} and establish their AGN characteristics down to the lowest nuclear luminosities, while still within powerful 3C radio galaxies. The primary goals are : {1} to test unification schemes by identifying previously undetected signatures of low-level AGN/QSO activity in their spectra in the form of weak, broad emission lines, featureless continua, and UV excess, {2} to constrain the FR I/BL Lac connection by measuring the relative contribution of thermal {starburst}, non-thermal {optical synchrotron}, and line emission, and {3} to perform line and continuum diagnostics to determine the dominant ionization mechanisms in the circumnuclear regions {tenths of arcseconds} and the role of dust extinction in the NLRGs and BLRGs in the form of geometrically thick or thin tori and foreground dust. The proposal completed as planned, with no reported anomalies.
1.14 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.
1.15 Completed STIS/CCD 8663 (Survey of SMC Planetary Nebulae: Nebular and Stellar Evolution in a Low- Metallicity Environment)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to survey of SMC planetary nebulae {PNe} in order to study the co-evolution of the nebulae and their central stars, in an environment that is chemically very metal poor. We will obtain STIS imaging and medium-resolution slitless spectroscopy that will yield line fluxes and nebular morphologies in important emission lines, plus magnitudes of the central stars. From these data we will gather a harvest of information: the nebular size, morphology, ionization structure, density, and mass; and the central star temperature, luminosity, and mass. The proposal completed with no reported anomalies.
1.16 Completed STIS/CCD 8854 (Sparse-Field CTE External C9)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to allow the derivation of accurate coefficients which can be used to correct low count level data {both imaging and spectroscopy} for nonlinearity/CTE effects. Dependences on x-position, background sky level, and time dependence will be quantified in addition to accurate determination of intensity and y-position effects in a third epoch and to higher accuracy than previously determined. There were no reported problems.
1.17 Completed WF/PC-2 8544 (POMS Test Proposal: WFII Backup Parallel Archive Proposal II)
The WF/PC-2 was used to execute a POMS test proposal that was designed to simulate scientific plans. No problems were encountered.
2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:
Scheduled Acquisitions: 8
Successful: 8
Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 6
Successful: 6
2.2 FHST Updates:
Scheduled: 15
Successful: 15
2.3 Operations Notes:
The operations team performed its duties at the Science Institute for the previous three shifts.
Using ROP SR-1A, the SSR EDAC error counter was cleared three times.
A TTR was written for a NCC to WSGT line problem that occurred at 271/1343Z. Another TTR described a situation at 271/2004Z when a report of the command counter increment was not the same as had been transmitted. A re-transmit of the NSSC-1 load corrected this latter operation problem.
ROP NS-5 was used to reset an SI C&DH error at 271/2010Z.
3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.
