HST Daily Report # 3337
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT # 3337
PERIOD COVERED: DOY 98
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.
WF/PC-2 9046
Black Holes and Bars: A Recipe for Making Bulges?.
The WF/PC-2 was used to obtain multi-color images and (eventually) STIS
emission
line spectroscopy of the nuclear regions of 6 edge-on barred spiral
galaxies
spanning a range of bulge morphologies and bar strengths. The goal is to
quantify the amount of vertical heating in the nuclei, and to test
whether or
not bars are indeed destroyed and create a bulge if enough mass is
accumulated
in their centers.
ACS/WFC 9351
Determining Hubble’s Constant from Observations of Cepheids in the Host
Galaxy
of SN Ia 1994ae
We propose to determine the luminosity of the type Ia supernova {SN Ia}
1994ae
by observing Cepheids in the host spiral galaxy NGC 3370. Modern CCD
photometry
has yielded an extremely tight Hubble diagram for SNe Ia with a precisely
determined intercept {i.e., Delta H_0/H_0} 1 measurement of the true
Hubble
constant is still limited by the calibration. The HST calibration of all
but a
few SNe Ia observed to date is significantly compromised by the
systematics of
photographic photometry and host galaxy extinction, as well as by the
photometric uncertainties associated with WFPC2. In contrast, SN 1994ae
is one
of the very best-observed SNe Ia with CCD photometry. The exquisite B, V,
R, and
I light curves are well-sampled beginning 10 days before maximum
brightness, and
they indicate little reddening. From our supernova photometry and the
current
provisional SN Ia calibration we would find a distance of 30 +/- 2.1 Mpc,
well
within the range where ACS can accurately observe Cepheid light curves
and
distinguish Cepheids from nonvariable stars.
ACS 9363
Ultra Low Surface Brightness Galaxies
magnitudes fainter than any previously known in that cluster or even in
the
Local Group. ACS images of three of these should resolve stars at the
giant
branch tip, and allow us to determine distances, mean metal abundance of
the
stars, and rough ages. Confirmation of the nature of these galaxies will
provide
evidence that dark matter halos are pervasive in the universe, extending
to
galaxies with stellar densities 6 times lower than currently known. These
resolved stars would be the most distant yet observed accurately by HST.
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.
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.
NICMOS 9637
NICMOS Focus Stability
The purpose of this activity is to determine if the best focus determined
in
SMOV is stable. This program will execute in approximately one month
intervals
starting about 1 month after the last execution of proposal 8980.
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 9709
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.
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports
of
potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) None
COMPLETED OPS REQs: NONE
OPS NOTES EXECUTED: NONE
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES
FGS GSacq 04 04
FGS REacq 11 11
FHST Update 08 08
LOSS of LOCK
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
FOT real-time spacecraft operations continue from the GSFC MOR, pending
study
of SIMOR commercial power loss event.
Completed CCS 4.0.2 Extensive Command Test 098/11:05Z – 17:00Z using CCS
"A"
String with CCS Release 4.0.2 and Database S07102. Commanding in JSC1
and
JSC2
step modes, as well as, TDRSS went well. Verified ability to turn off
limits
and globals for one or more subsystems and reset after string re-cycle.
HST "A" String Command Timing Test scheduled 099/11:00Z – 21:00Z with
GDOC,
SOC, HITT,
and CCS using CCS "A" String with CCS Release 4.0.2 and PRD O06100R1T.
The
purpose
of this testing is to verify CCS Release 4.0.2 command timing on the "A"
String.
