Status Report

Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #3035 – 16 Jan 2002

By SpaceRef Editor

January 16, 2002

Filed under Hubble Space Telescope, NASA JSC EVA Project Office, US

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

DAILY REPORT #3035

PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 01/15/02 – 0000Z (UTC) 01/16/02

Daily Status Report as of 016/0000Z

1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:

1.1 Completed FGS/1 9034 (The Masses and Luminosities of Population II
Stars)

Fine Guidance Sensor #1 was used to observe the mass-luminosity
relation {MLR} of Population II stars of which very little is currently
known. With the advent of the Hipparcos Catalogue, improved distances to
many spectroscopic binaries known to be Pop II systems are now
available. After surveying the literature and making reasonable estimates
of the secondary masses, we find 13 systems whose minimum separation should
be larger than the resolution limit of FGS #1. The observations completed
nominally.

1.2 Completed STIS/CCD 9285 (POMS Test Proposal: STIS Non-scripted
Parallel Proposal Continuation III)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to make low
galactic latitude, non-scripted parallel observations as part of a POMS
test proposal. The observations were completed as planned, and no
anomalies were reported.

1.3 Completed Six Sets of WF/PC-2 9318 (POMS Test Proposal: WFII
Parallel Archive Proposal Continuation)

The WF/PC-2 was used to perform the generic target version of the
WFPC2 Archival Pure Parallel program. The program was used to take
parallel images of random areas of the sky, following the recommendations
of the Parallels Working Group. There were no reported problems.

1.4 Completed Three Sets of STIS/CCD 8901 (Dark Monitor-Part 1)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to monitor
the darks. There was no anomalous activity.

1.5 Completed Three Sets of WF/PC-2 8937 (Cycle 9 Supplemental Darks pt2/3)

The WF/PC-2 was used obtain three dark frames every day to provide
data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels. No
problems were encountered.

1.6 Completed STIS/CCD 8903 (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. There were no problems.

1.7 Completed STIS/CCD 9110 (A Search for Kuiper Belt Object Satellites)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to
investigate whether the large number of collisions thought to have taken
place in the primordial Kuiper belt suggest that many Kuiper belt objects
{KBOs} could have suffered binary-forming collisions similar to that which
formed the Pluto — Charon binary. Detection of such KBO satellites would
allow measurement of KBO masses, would help to understand the past
collisional environment of the Kuiper belt, and would give a context to the
otherwise unique-seeming formation of the Pluto — Charon binary. The
proposal completed with no reported problems.

1.8 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8935 (Cycle 10 Standard Darks)

The WF/PC-2 was used to obtain dark frames every week in order to
provide data for the ongoing calibration of the CCD dark current rate, and
to monitor and characterize the evolution of hot pixels. Over an extended
period these data will also provide a monitor of radiation damage to the
CCDs. The proposal completed with no reported problems.

1.9 Completed STIS/MA2 8573 (Newborn Planets and Brown Dwarf Companions
in IC 348)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA2) was used to search
for young giant planets and brown dwarfs around ~100 low-mass stars and
brown dwarfs in the nearby cluster IC 348. The observations completed with
no reported problems.

1.10 Completed STIS/MA2 8590 (UV Imaging and Spectroscopy of Luminous
Blue Compact Galaxies from z=0 to z=1)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA2) was used to observe
two well-defined samples of low-mass starburst galaxies, one in the local
universe {z<0.1} and another at intermediate redshifts {0.2 < z < 0.7}. Both samples show optical sizes, morphologies, emission line widths, and luminosities comparable to those of LBGs at z=3, and are therefore probably the best local analogs and testbeds for further study of LBGs. Our main goals are to: {1} explore the morphologies, surface brightness distributions, and half-light radii of nearby starforming galaxies in the FUV, near Ly-alpha; {2} search for systematic differences among UV, optical, and near-IR morphologies and structural parameters; {3} investigate the intrinsic emission and absorption spectra near Ly-alpha of starbursting dwarf galaxies, with special attention to Ly- alpha profiles and interstellar and stellar photospheric absorption from Si II, O I, C II, Si IV, and C IV; {4} measure their FUV-optical colors and dust extinction properties; and {5} test the hypothesis that low-mass starbursts are the local counterparts of LBGs. The observation completed normally.

1.11 Completed STIS/CCD 9148 (Light Echos and the Nature of Type Ia
Supernovae)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to take
STIS snapshot images of a subset of 43 well observed Type Ia supernovae
{SNIa}, most of which have been discovered in late type galaxies over the
last 40 years to make a systematic search for light echos around SN
Ia. STIS will also observe a sample of 10 SN II and SN Ib/c, which are
believed to be the result of massive star core collapse and, therefore, to
be thin-disk population objects, in order to make an empirical calibration
of the accuracy of our method for determining scale heights. The SN Ia
sample will provide a direct as well as accurate estimate of the scale
height of SN Ia which is an important clue to the progenitors of these
events. The proposal completed nominally.

1.12 Completed Three Sets of STIS/CCD/MA2 8471 (D/H In Quasar
Absorption Line Systems)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA2) was used to
record the high Lyman series lines of two damped Lyman-alpha systems in the
coverage of the near-UV band, where the interference from randomly situated
Lyman-alpha forest lines is much lower than at visible wavelengths. A
secondary objective of this program is to observe various atomic lines
shortward of Lyman-alpha in these systems {such as absorption from the O VI
doublet arising from very hot gas}, and to register absorption features
from the Lyman and Werner bands of molecular hydrogen if the molecular
abundances are high enough to make them detectable. The proposal completed
with no reported problems.

1.13 Completed Four Sets of WF/PC-2 8942 (Cycle 10 Intflat Sweeps and
Linearity Test)

The WF/PC-2 was used to monitor the pixel-to-pixel flatfield
response and provide a linearity check. These intflat sequences are done
once during the year and the images will provide a backup database in the
event of complete failure of the visflat lamp as well as allow monitoring
of the gain ratios. There were no reported problems.

1.14 Completed Two Sets of STIS/MA2 8920 (Cycle 10 MAMA Dark Measurements)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA2) was used to perform
the routine monitoring of the MAMA detector dark noise, and is the primary
means of checking on health of the MAMA detectors systems through frequent
monitoring of the background count rate. The proposal completed with no
reported anomalous activity.

1.15 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 9060 (Photometry of a Statistically
Significant Sample of Kuiper Belt Objects)

The WF/PC-2 was used to propel the physical study of KBOs forward
by performing accurate photometry at V, R, and I on a sample of up to 150
KBOs. The sample is made up of objects that will be observed at thermal
infrared wavelengths by SIRTF and will be used with those data to derive
the first accurate diameters and albedos for a large sample of KBOs. The
observations completed nominally.

1.16 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD 9312 (POMS Test Proposal: STIS
Non-scripted Parallel Proposal Continuation IV)

1.17 Completed WF/PC-2 9041 (Direct Imaging Of The Progenitors Of
Massive, Core-Collapse Supernovae)

The WF/PC-2 was used to continue recent surveys of star-forming
galaxies in the nearby Universe that are discovering significant numbers of
supernovae which have massive star. There were no reported problems.

1.18 Completed WF/PC-2 9050 (Outflow Collimation in Bipolar Symbiotic
Nebulae)

The WF/PC-2 was used to observe flow collimation in evolved stars
that is neither expected nor understood. Classical theories of stellar
evolution do not predict and cannot explain this bipolarity. More exotic
concepts {binary interactions, spun-up atmospheres, poloidal or toroidal
magnetized winds} have been proposed, but observations are yet to verify or
falsify any of their predictions. This proposal will probe the
near-nuclear morphology and kinematics of four bright, low-extinction
targets whose large-scale structure is highly bipolar. The goal is to
provide a detailed description of the circumnuclear outflows, to uncover
the physical structure and nature of the collimator, and to evaluate the
speculative collimation mechanisms. The bright nucleus has hampered
efforts to explore the nebular collimators that lie close to the star, so
we’ll use STIS to disperse the nuclear light and, thus, to avoid its
glare. A secondary goal is to obtain second-epoch WFPC2 images of all
targets. There were no reported problems.

2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:

Scheduled Acquisitions: 6

Successful: 6

Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 8

Successful: 8

2.2 FHST Updates:

Scheduled: 13

Successful: 13

2.3 Operations Notes:

Joint Integrated Simulation #4 (EVA-3/Planning/EVA-4) was completed
yesterday at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Using ROP SR-1A, the SSR-1 EDAC error counter was cleared four times.