HST Daily Report # 3333
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT # 3333
PERIOD COVERED: DOY 92
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
NICMOS 8791
NICMOS Post-SAA calibration – CR Persistence Part 2
A new procedure proposed to alleviate the CR-persistence problem of
NICMOS.
Dark
frames will be obtained immediately upon exiting the SAA contour 23, and
every
time a NICMOS exposure is scheduled within 50 minutes of coming out of
the SAA.
The darks will be obtained in parallel in all three NICMOS Cameras. The
POST-SAA
darks will be non-standard reference files available to users with a
USEAFTER
date/time mark. The keyword ‘USEAFTER=date/time’ will also be added to
the
header of each POST-SAA DARK frame. The keyword must be populated with
the
time,
in addition to the date, because HST crosses the SAA ~8 times per day so
each
POST-SAA DARK will need to have the appropriate time specified, for users
to
identify the ones they need. Both the raw and processed images will be
archived
as POST-SAA DARKSs. Generally we expect that all NICMOS
science/calibration
observations started within 50 minutes of leaving an SAA will need such
maps to
remove the CR persistence from the science images. Each observation will
need
its own CRMAP, as different SAA passages leave different imprints on the
NICMOS
detectors.
SNAP 9356
SNAPSHOT survey of the Planetary Nebulae population of the Galactic Bulge
The spectacular structures seen in HST images of planetary nebulae {PNe}
are
generally accepted as originating from hydrodynamical interactions
between
stellar winds: the interacting-stellar wind model {ISW}. Traditionally,
the
shaping is thought to occur after the star becomes hot enough to ionize
the PN.
But recent HST images indicate that the shaping may occur earlier, and
the
newer
GISW model puts the shaping during the pre-planetary nebula evolution.
The
relative importance of both models is not known: GISW shaping will
account for
some fraction of PNe, but estimates range from 15–100 during the PN
phase,
especially for the youngest PNe. We here propose an HST Snapshot survey
of
compact PNe in the Galactic Bulge, to test these predictions. The Bulge
provides
the only PNe population for which progenitor masses are known and nebular
ages
can be measured. In support of these HST measurements we have already
measured
velocity fields and emission line fluxes. The survey will give an
unbiased
sampling of morphologies, and allow evolutionary sequences to be
determined to
test the ISW versus the GISW model. By-products of the survey will be the
determination of nebular masses, diameters and filling factors. We will
also
obtain the White Dwarf mass distribution in the Bulge, and the
initial-final
mass function for low-mass stars.
STIS/CCD/MA1 9357
Towards a global understanding of accretion physics –, Clues from an UV
spectroscopic survey of cataclysmic variables
Accretion inflows and outflows are fundamental phenomena in a wide
variety of
astrophysical environments, such as Young Stellar Objects, galactic
binaries,
and AGN. Observationally, cataclysmic variables {CVs} are particularly
well
suited for the study of accretion processes. We propose to carry out a
STIS UV
spectroscopic snapshot survey of CVs that fully exploits the diagnostic
potential of these objects for our understanding of accretion physics.
This
survey will provide an homogenous database of accretion disc and wind
outflow
spectra covering a wide range of mass transfer rates and binary
inclinations. We
will analyse these spectra with state-of-the-art accretion disc model
spectra
{SYNDISK}, testing our current knowledge of the accretion disc structure,
and,
thereby, providing new insight into the so far not well understood
process of
viscous dissipation. We will use our parameterised wind model PYTHON for
the
analysis of the radiation driven accretion disc wind spectra, assessing
the
fundamental question whether the mass loss rate correlates with the disc
luminosity. In addition, our survey data will identify a number of
systems in
which the white dwarf significantly contributes to the UV flux,
permitting an
analysis of the impact of mass accretion on the evolution of these
compact
stars. This survey will at least double, if not triple, the number of
high-quality accretion disc / wind outflow / accreting white dwarf
spectra, and
we waive our proprietary rights to permit a timely use of this database.
FGS1R 9408
Calibrating the Mass-Luminosity Relation at the End of the Main Sequence
We propose to use HST-FGS1R to calibrate the mass-luminosity relation
{MLR} for
stars less massive than 0.2 Msun, with special emphasis on objects near
the
stellar/brown dwarf border. Our goals are to determine M_V values to 0.05
magnitude, masses to 5 than double the number of objects with masses
determined
to be less than 0.20 Msun. This program uses the combination of
HST-FGS3/FGS1R
at optical wavelengths and ground-based infrared interferometry to
examine
nearby, subarcsecond binary systems. The high precision measurements with
HST-FGS3/FGS1R {to 1 mas in the separations} for these faint targets {V =
10–15} simply cannot be equaled by any ground based technique. As a
result of
these measurements, we are deriving high quality luminosities and masses
for the
components in the observed systems, and characterizing their spectral
energy
distributions from 0.5 to 2.2 Mum. Several of the objects included have M
< 0.1
Msun, placing them at the very end of the stellar main sequence. Three of
the
targets are brown dwarf candidates, including the current low mass record
holder, GJ 1245C, with a mass of 0.062 +/- 0.004 Msun. The payoff of this
proposal is high because all 10 of the systems selected have already been
resolved with HST- FGS3/FGS1R during Cycles 5–10 and contain most of the
reddest objects for which masses can be determined.
STIS/MA2 9465
The Cosmic Carbon Budget
Gaseous carbon drives the chemistry of, and is an important coolant in
interstellar clouds. In solid form, carbon is the second most abundant
element
in interstellar dust, the key element contributing to interstellar
extinction,
and the dominant heat source in some interstellar clouds. Given the
fundamental
importance of this element to interstellar cloud physics, it is
surprising that
only 8 measurements of gas- phase carbon abundances exist for neutral
clouds; 7
are in diffuse clouds where the least amount of chemistry and dust
incorporation
are expected. The single measurement in a translucent cloud suggests a C
abundance that differs from the diffuse clouds, but the measurement
uncertainties make this difference statistically insignificant. We,
therefore,
have no information about carbon’s behavior in translucent clouds,
regions
dense
enough for chemistry and dust growth to be important but low enough
extinction
so that UV spectroscopy is possible {unlike for molecular clouds}. We
propose to
measure total gas-phase C abundances in 6 translucent clouds with our
principal
scientific goals being to 1} accurately determine the fraction of carbon
in the
gas and dust phases in environments bridging the gap between diffuse and
molecular clouds 2} determine the relative depletions of C and O in
neutral
clouds with known O-depletion enhancements and 3} explore how the
interstellar
gas-phase C/H is related to extinction variations.
ACS 9476
Galaxy Evolution in the Richest Clusters at z=0.8: the EDisCS Cluster
Sample
The study of distant cluster galaxies requires two key ingredients: {1}
deep
high-resolution imaging, to constrain galaxy structure; and {2} 8m-class
spectroscopy, to measure stellar content, star-formation rates, dynamics,
and
cluster membership. We will reach both conditions with the addition of
HST/ACS
imaging to our suite of VLT {36 nights} and NTT {20 nights} observations
of 10
confirmed clusters at z~0.8, drawn from the ESO Distant Cluster Survey
{EDisCS}.
The proposed HST/ACS data will complement our existing optical/IR imaging
and
spectroscopy with quantitative measures of cluster galaxy morphologies
{i.e.
sizes and shapes, bulge-disk decompositions, asymmetry parameters}, and
with
measurements of cluster masses via weak lensing. Major advantages unique
to the
EDisCS project include: {i} uniform selection of clusters; {ii} large
enough
sample sizes to characterize the substantial cluster-to-cluster variation
in
galaxy populations; {iii} large quantities of high quality data from 8m
telescopes; {iv} uniform measurements of morphologies, spectroscopic and
photometric redshifts, SEDs, star-formation/AGN activities, and internal
kinematics; {v} optical selection of clusters to complement the X-ray
selection
of almost all high-z clusters in the ACS GTO programs; {vi} forefront
numerical
simulations designed specifically to allow physical interpretation of
observed
differences between the high-z and local clusters.
ACS 9480
Cosmic Shear With ACS Pure Parallels
Small distortions in the shapes of background galaxies by foreground mass
provide a powerful method of directly measuring the amount and
distribution of
dark matter. Several groups have recently detected this weak lensing by
large-scale structure, also called cosmic shear. The high resolution and
sensitivity of HST/ACS provide a unique opportunity to measure cosmic
shear
accurately on small scales. Using 260 parallel orbits in Sloan textiti
{F775W}
we will measure for the first time: beginlistosetlength sep0cm
setlengthemsep0cm
setlength opsep0cm em the cosmic shear variance on scales <0.7 arcmin, em
the
skewness of the shear distribution, and em the magnification effect.
endlist Our
measurements will determine the amplitude of the mass power spectrum
sigma_8Omega_m^0.5, with signal-to-noise {s/n} ~ 20, and the mass density
Omega_m with s/n=4. They will be done at small angular scales where
non-linear
effects dominate the power spectrum, providing a test of the
gravitational
instability paradigm for structure formation. Measurements on these
scales are
not possible from the ground, because of the systematic effects induced
by PSF
smearing from seeing. Having many independent lines of sight reduces the
uncertainty due to cosmic variance, making parallel observations ideal.
NICMOS 9484
The NICMOS Parallel Observing Program
We propose to manage the default set of pure parallels with NICMOS. Our
experience with both our GO NICMOS parallel program and the public
parallel
NICMOS programs in cycle 7 prepared us to make optimal use of the
parallel
opportunities. The NICMOS G141 grism remains the most powerful survey
tool for
HAlpha emission-line galaxies at cosmologically interesting redshifts. It
is
particularly well suited to addressing two key uncertainties regarding
the
global history of star formation: the peak rate of star formation in the
relatively unexplored but critical 1<= z <= 2 epoch, and the amount of
star
formation missing from UV continuum-based estimates due to high
extinction. Our
proposed deep G141 exposures will increase the sample of known HAlpha
emission-
line objects at z ~ 1.3 by roughly an order of magnitude. We will also
obtain a
mix of F110W and F160W images along random sight-lines to examine the
space
density and morphologies of the reddest galaxies. The nature of the
extremely
red galaxies remains unclear and our program of imaging and grism
spectroscopy
provides unique information regarding both the incidence of obscured star
bursts
and the build up of stellar mass at intermediate redshifts. In addition
to
carrying
out the parallel program we will populate a public database with
calibrated
spectra
and images, and provide limited ground- based optical and near-IR data
for the
deepest parallel fields.
NICMOS 9485
Completing A Near-Infrared Search for Very Low Mass Companions to Stars
within
10 pc of the Sun
Most stars are fainter and less massive than the Sun. Nevertheless, our
knowledge of very low mass {VLM} red dwarfs and their brown dwarf cousins
is
quite limited. Unknown are the true luminosity function {LF},
multiplicity
fraction, mass function, and mass-luminosity relation for red and brown
dwarfs,
though they dominate the Galaxy in both numbers and total mass. The best
way to
constrain these relations is a search for faint companions to nearby
stars.
Such
a search has several advantages over field surveys, including greater
sensitivity to VLM objects and the availability of precise parallaxes
from
which
luminosities and masses can be derived. We propose to complete our
four-filter
NICMOS snapshot search for companions to stars within 10 pc. With a 10
sigma
detection limit of M_J ~ 20 at 10 pc, we can detect companions between 10
and
100 AU that are at least 9 mag fainter than the empirical end of the main
sequence and at least 6.5 mag fainter than the brown dwarf Gl 229B. When
completed, our search will be the largest, most sensitive, volume-limited
search
for VLM companions ever undertaken. Our four-filter search will permit
unambiguous identification of VLM-companion candidates for follow-up
observation. Together with IR speckle and deep imaging surveys, our
program
will
firmly establish the LF for VLM companions at separations of 1-1000 AU
and the
multiplicity fraction of all stars within 10 pc.
WFPC2 9594
WFPC2 CYCLE 11 SUPPLEMENTAL DARKS pt2/3
This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to provide
data
for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels
STIS 9606
CCD Dark Monitor-Part 2
Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.
STIS 9608
CCD Bias Monitor – Part 2
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.
STIS 9615
Cycle 11 MAMA Dark Monitor
This test performs the routine monitoring of the MAMA detector dark
noise. This
proposal will provide the primary means of checking on health of the MAMA
detectors systems through frequent monitoring of the background count
rate. The
purpose is to look for evidence of change in dark indicative of detector
problem
developing.
STIS 9629
MAMA Fold Distribution
The performance of MAMA microchannel plates can be monitored using a MAMA
fold
analysis procedure. The fold analysis provides a measurement of the
distribution
of charge cloud sizes incident upon the anode giving some measure of
changes in
the pulse-height distribution of the MCP and, therefore, MCP gain. This
proposal
executes the same steps as the STIS MAMA Fold Analysis {8860} during
Cycle 9.
ACS 9657
ACS Internal Flat Field Stability
The flat field stability and characterisation obtained during the ground
calibration and SMOV phases will be tested and verified through a
sub-sample of
the filter set. Only internal exposures with the calibration lamps will
be
required.
ACS 9673
CCD Daily Monitor
This program consists of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the
development
of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD detectors. This
programme will be executed once a day for the entire lifetime of ACS
WFPC2 9676
POMS Test Proposal: WFII parallel archive proposal
This is the 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 2002 Parallels Working Group.
NICMOS 9702
NICMOS Parallel Thermal Background
NICMOS Camera 2 pure parallel exposures in the F222M and F237M filters to
establish the stability of the HST+NCS+Instrument thermal emission. This
data
will be compared against the already available Camera 3 measurements in
F222M
which show an increased thermal background.
STIS 9706
STIS Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 10
This is the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during cycle
10.
WFPC2 9710
POMS Test Proposal: WFII backup parallel archive proposal
This is a POMS test proposal designed to simulate scientific plans.
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports
of
potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)
HSTAR 8982: GS Re-acquisition (1,2,2) starting @ 087/05:07:36Z flagged
by
PTAS
log file as not showing FLDV for FGS 2. FGS
playback file confirmed FGS 2
saw SSLE during the initial attempt on FL
walk-down. Incident was during LOS.
GS in FGS 2 appeared as an obvious double start
during the initial (only) attempt,
while the second attempt was successful. Under
investigation.
COMPLETED OPS REQs: NONE
OPS NOTES EXECUTED: NONE
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES
FGS GSacq 10 10
FGS REacq 06 06
FHST Update 18 18
LOSS of LOCK
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
Completed CCS 4.0.2 Command Timing Test 091/11:30Z – 18:40Z. TDRSS
remains
stable,
minor fluctuation noticed during 4 kbps DE "noverify" and "notlm" modes.
JSC1
(single state commanding) results are consistent with previous
testing, fluctuations
in the EDRs continue to appear. Fluctuations are in the 12 – 20% range.
JSC2
(two-stage commanding) remains nominal, no fluctuations noted. A second
day of
testing is planned, parameters UPLKVER and UPLKNVER will be changed
during
JSC1
to try and bring the EDRs into a 10% range. Data is still being reviewed
at the time.
