Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #2845 – 6 Apr 2001
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT #2845
PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 04/05/01 – 0000Z (UTC) 04/06/01
Daily Status Report as of 096/0000Z
1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:
1.1 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2/STIS/CCD 8679 (Constraining the Age
of the Oldest Stars from the White Dwarf Cooling Sequence in M4)
The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) were
used to search for the oldest and hence coolest white dwarfs {WDs} in M4,
the nearest Galactic globular cluster to the Sun. New models for cooling
hydrogen white dwarfs predict that their colors should become bluer, rather
than redder, with increasing age. The goal is to test these models and at
the same time constrain the age of M4. The proposal completed with no
problems.
1.2 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8827 (Cycle 9 Supplemental Darks pt2/3)
The WF/PC-2 was used to obtain three dark frames every day to
provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot
pixels. The proposal completed nominally.
1.3 Completed STIS/CCD 8864 (CCD Dark Monitor-Part 2)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to monitor
the darks for the CCD. The proposal completed nominally.
1.4 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8867 (Gamma-Ray Bursts: Discovering
The Progenitors And Understanding The Explosion – Visits A0-R0)
The WF/PC-2 was used to observe a gamma-ray burster,
GRB010222. Gamma-ray burst astronomy, one of the most active and exciting
frontiers in astrophysics, is now entering a critical stage — with
dramatic leaps in understanding of these events, as well as new
discoveries. Improvements in triggering and positioning accuracy provided
by the SAX and HETE-2 gamma-ray satellites will allow entirely new classes
of events to be studied. Given the recent progress in this field, the
proposers are now in a position to design precision, broadband measurements
that can provide quantitative information on the as-yet unknown energy
sources, the explosion geometry, and the surrounding medium. In
particular, the growing evidence of an intimate connection between SNe and
GRBs can be definitively tested. The proposal completed with no reported
problems.
1.5 Completed Four Sets of STIS/CCD 9248 (Probing the Large Scale
Structure: Cosmic Shear Observations)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to measure
the distortion of light bundles from distant galaxies that probe the
statistical properties of the intervening inhomogeneous {dark} matter
distribution. Its tidal gravitational field distorts the observable image
shapes thereby causing a coherent ellipticity pattern {Cosmic Shear}. The
observations completed nominally.
1.6 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.
1.7 Completed WF/PC-2 8720 (Masses and Multiplicity of Nearby Free-
floating Methane and L Dwarfs)
The WF/PC-2 was used to observe 50 very-low-mass objects in the
solar neighborhood with spectral types of L0 and later {including several
dwarfs with Methane absorption bands in their atmospheres}. These objects
will be observed in two filter bands with the aim to identify close
companions, measure their colors, and to obtain first epoch data of the
newly discovered binaries. The observations completed nominally.
1.8 Completed STIS/CCD 8851 (Sparse Field CTE test {Cycle 9})
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to perform
CTE measurements that are made using the “sparse field test”, along both
the serial and parallel axes. The proposal completed with no reported
anomalies.
1.9 Completed STIS/CCD 8865 (Bias Monitor-Part 2)
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 with no anomalous activity.
2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:
Scheduled Acquisitions: 9
Successful: 9
Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 7
Successful: 7
2.2 FHST Updates:
Scheduled: 18
Successful: 18
2.3 Operations Notes:
The SSR EDAC error counter was reset three times, using ROP SR-1A.
The STIS MCE-1 reset at 095/113938Z while the low voltage was on
and while inside an SAA interval. The STIS flight software error counter
was cleared per ROP NS-12. MAMA-2 was recovered at 095/2353Z via normal
SMS commanding.
The CCS engineering status buffer limits were adjusted at
096/0727Z, per ROP DF-1A.
A TTR was written when a re-transmit was required at 096/0713Z
during a 486 command load uplink.
3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.
