HST Daily Report # 3335

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

DAILY REPORT       # 3335

PERIOD COVERED: DOYs 94-96

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS 9657

ACS Internal Flat Field Stability

The flat field stability and characterization 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

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.

ACS 9401

The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey

We propose the most comprehensive imaging survey to date of low-redshift,
early-type galaxies. Our goal is to exploit the exceptional imaging
capabilities
of the ACS by acquiring deep images — in the SDSS g^ and z^ bandpasses
— for
163 E, S0, dE, dE, N and dS0 galaxies in Virgo, the nearest rich cluster.
This
extraordinary dataset would likely constitute one of the principal
legacies of
HST, and would have widespread applications for many diverse areas of
astrophysics. Our immediate scientific objectives are threefold: {1}
measure
metallicities, ages and radii for the many thousands of globular clusters
{GCs}
in these galaxies, and use this information to derive the protogalactic
mass
spectrum of each galaxy; {2} measure the central luminosity and color
profile of
each galaxy, and use this information to carry out a completely
independent
test
of the merging hierarchy inferred from the GCs, with the aid of N-body
codes
that simulate the merger of galaxies containing massive black holes; and
{3}
calibrate the z^ -band SBF method, measure Virgo’s 3-D structure, and
carry out
the definitive study of the GC luminosity function’s precision as a
standard
candle. Our proposed Virgo Cluster Survey will yield a database of
unprecedented
depth, precision and uniformity, and will enable us to study the record
of
galaxy and cluster formation in a level of detail which will never be
possible
with more distant systems.

ACS 9583

The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey: Imaging with ACS

We propose a Treasury program of ACS imaging as part of the Great
Observatories
Origins Deep Survey {GOODS}, covering 320{square}’, or 32* the area of
the two
original WFPC2 HDFs, to within 0.5–0.8 mag of their depth in four ACS
bands,
BViz. The two GOODS fields, the Hubble Deep Field North and Chandra Deep
Field
South, are the premier deep survey areas from X– ray to radio
wavelengths. ACS
data will provide unique angular resolution, sensitivity, and wavelength
coverage to close the gap between the deepest Chandra and SIRTF
observations.
Supported by extensive imaging and spectroscopy from the VLT, Keck,
Subaru,
NOAO, Gemini, VLA, JCMT, and other facilities, the combined GOODS data
set will
make it possible to map the evolution of the Hubble sequence with
redshift,
reconstruct the history of galaxy mass assembly, star formation and
nuclear
activity from the epoch of reionization to the present, trace the growth
of
density perturbations via cosmic shear, and, with properly phased z–band
observations, detect ~ 12 Type Ia supernovae at 1.2

ACS 9454

The Nature of the UV Continuum in LINERs: A Variability Test

LINERs may be the most common AGNs, and the signposts of accretion onto
the
massive black holes present in most galaxies. However, the LINER spectrum
is the
result of UV excitation, and, in at least some LINERs, a nuclear cluster
of hot
stars, rather than an AGN, dominates the energetics in the UV. Thus, it
is
still
unknown if the UV continuum, or the optical emission lines it excites,
have
anything to do with an AGN. The demographics and accretion physics of
low-luminosity AGNs hinge on this question. We propose to search for
variability
in a sample of 17 LINERs with compact UV nuclei. Variability can reveal
an AGN
component in the UV continuum, even when its light is not dominant. We
will
test
systematically the handful of non-definitive reports of UV variability,
and
potentially quantify the AGN contribution to the UV emission. Variability
in all
or most objects will be strong evidence that LINERs mark dormant AGNs in
most
galaxies. Alternatively, a general null detection of variability will
suggest
that, even in LINERs with additional AGN signatures, the UV continuum is
stellar
in origin. Contemporaneous monitoring with the VLA/VLBA of 11 objects
which
have
radio cores {five of which we already know are radio-variable} will
reveal the
relations between UV and radio variations. The UV-variable objects will
be
targeted for future, better-sampled, monitoring.

ACS/WFPC2 9481

Pure Parallel Near-UV Observations with WFPC2 within High-Latitude ACS
Survey
Fields

In anticipation of the allocation of ACS high-latitude imaging survey{s},
we
request a modification of the default pure parallel program for those
WFPC2
parallels that fall within the ACS survey field. Rather than duplicate
the red
bands which will be done much better with ACS, we propose to observe in
the
near-ultraviolet F300W filter. These data will enable study of the
rest-frame
ultraviolet morphology of galaxies at 0

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.

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.

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.

NICMOS 9360

Paschen-alpha Imaging of a SIRTF-Selected Nearby Galaxy Sample

We propose to carry out a NICMOS snapshot survey in the Paschen-alpha
{PAlpha}
emission line and H-band of the sample of galaxies being observed at 3.5
— 160
microns as part of SIRTF Nearby Galaxies Survey {SINGS} and a related
guaranteed
time survey of starburst galaxies. The PAlpha images, accessible only
from HST,
will be combined with groundbased HAlpha imaging to measure the
extinction in
the star-forming centers of these galaxies, and obtain robust,
extinction-
corrected maps of the massive star formation rate {SFR}. The PAlpha data
by
themselves will provide reliable `extinction- free’ SFRs, and a
cross-calibration of the {dust–affected} HAlpha– and UV–based SFRs.
The
PAlpha–based SFR measurements will extend the SFR-vs.-gas density law
{Schmidt–law} to surface densities at least 30 times higher than what is
accessible using HAlpha–based SFR measurements alone, bridging the gap
between
normal galaxies and IR–luminous starbursts. Furthermore, the combination
of the
HST PAlpha images with the SIRTF images and spectra, as well as ancillary
ground–based UBVRIJHK images and GALEX UV images being obtained as part
of the
SINGS project, will provide a definitive study of the radiative transfer
of
starlight and dust heating in star–forming galaxies. The processed
NICMOS
images will be incorporated into the public SINGS Legacy Data Archive, to
enable
scores of follow-up studies by the astronomical community at large.

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 9606

CCD Dark Monitor-Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS 9437

Quantitative Constraints for Massive Star Evolution Models with Rotation

Rotation is now recognized as an important physical component in
understanding
massive stars. Theory suggests that rotation affects the lifetimes,
chemical
yields, stellar evolution tracks, and the supernova and compact remnant
properties {Heger & Langer 2000, Maeder & Meynet 2000}. In a Cycle 7
program, we
proved that rotational mixing occurs in massive main sequence stars {Venn
et al.
2001}. In this proposal, we want to quantitatively test model predictions
and
constrain the theory for a better understanding of massive star
evolution. We
are requesting HST STIS observations of the BIII 2066 Angstrom resonance
line of
seven massive stars in three young clusters carefully selected from IUE
analyses. These stars show traces of boron depletion, but without
nitrogen
enrichment; rotation is the only theory able to explain this abundance
pattern.
These new abundances will allow us to test rotating model predictions:
that
mixing strength increases with stellar age, mass, and rotation rate. They
will
also help to quantitatively constrain the rotational mixing efficiencies
in
massive stars. One very high S/N spectrum of a moderately boron-depleted
star is
also requested. We wish to measure its 11B/10B ratio, which is predicted
to
change as boron is depleted in the rotating models. This ratio will
further
confirm rotational effects and observationally constrain the 10B{p,
Alpha}
thermonuclear reaction rate, which is presently highly uncertain.

STIS 9706

STIS Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 10

This is the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during cycle
10.

STIS 9620

STIS Sparse Field CTE test-internal {Cycle 11}

CTE measurements are made using the “internal sparse field test”, along
the
parallel axis. The new “POS=” optional parameter is used to provide
off-center
MSM positionings of some slits. All exposures are internals.

STIS 9505

The Evolution of Molecular Clouds.

The combined STIS, FUSE and ground-based results will yield information
needed
to understand the role of ablation in the evolution of the central
clouds.

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.

WF/PC-2 9102

A YSO-Like Pulsed Astrophysical Jet And Bipolar Nebula In A Dying Star:
WFPC2/STIS Study Of He2-90.

The WF/PC-2 was used to observe an extended, highly-collimated, bipolar
jet in
He2-90, an object long classified as a planetary nebula {PN}.
Recently-discovered images show that the morphology of He2-90 does not
look
like
that of any known PN, but resembles that of a classical young stellar
object
{YSO}. Observations will determine the speed of the jet {only slightly
inclined
to the sky plane} through proper motion observations of the knots in the
jet: An
H-alpha image will be obtained for comparison with the Sep99 discovery
image. It
is crucial to observe the velocity field of the flow at the highest
spatial-
resolution, as close as possible to the origin of the jet in order to
constrain
theories for how the jet is driven, and the nature of the central object.

WFPC2 9710

POMS Test Proposal: WFII backup parallel archive proposal

This is a POMS test proposal designed to simulate scientific plans.

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.

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.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports
of
potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)

COMPLETED OPS REQs: NONE

OPS NOTES EXECUTED: NONE

                        SCHEDULED     SUCCESSFUL    FAILURE TIMES
FGS GSacq            22                       22
FGS REacq            21                       21
FHST Update          36                       36
LOSS of LOCK

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

Operation moved to GSFC MOR due to a power outage at the SIMOR @
096/04:50z, Operation
resume in the MOR @ 096/06:00z, All spacecraft operation normal. FOT will
remain in the MOR
through Monday day shift, Per Keith Walyus.

Successfully completed PSS/SIMSS Upgrade testing 094/14:43Z –
17:42Z.  Though the upgrade
was internal to the PSS/SIMSS, test was executed to verify the upgrade
did
not affect
functionality of CCS with the PSS and HSTSIM.  CCS successfully commanded
to the simulators
and ingested various data via the PDI and Ku-band.  Activities included
the
successful
ingest of real-time data and the uplink, dump, and compare of the
following:  HST486
SPC, FSW, Table, Hardware, and NSSC-1 FSW.

Completed CCS Command Timing Test with CCS Release 4.0.2 094/11:30Z –
20:12Z with CCS “C” String,
Release 4.0.2 and PRD S07102.  All procedures and objectives were
executed
during this test.
As a result of the two days of testing, it has been decided to re-access
our baseline to
reflect the IP configuration opposed to the Serial configuration.  During
all IP testing,
all test have been with 10% of each other.  Further investigation is
on-going.  TDRSS
remains stable, minor fluctuation noticed during 4 kbps DE “noverify” and
“notlm” modes.
JSC1 results are consistent with previous testing, EDRs continue to
appear,
and JSC2 remains
nominal, no fluctuations noted.  Successfully transferred PNM file from
SM/PART to “C” String.
CCS CR 8066 was verified, Linux block time utility now being used to
process command timing
data and provided EDRs.  TSAR 2530 was written to document JSC (ON2)
validation timing error,
parameter that sets the timing for either 7 or 11 seconds would stay in
the
7 second configuration.

Successfully completed CCC Checkout and System Load testing 094/13:00Z –
14:10Z using CCS “A”
String with CCS Release 4.0.2 and PRD O06100R1.  All objectives were
met.  Testing was
conducted out of the SMOR using CCCs located in the SMOR and GDOC.  The
Long Duration
System Load test has been started, workstations  located in the SMOR,
MOR,
and MSR were
loaded with the following clients:  HSTnet = xx, Backbone = xx, and Core
=
xx (xx=information
removed for this publication).