Hubble Space Daily Report #2876 – 21 May 2001

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

DAILY REPORT #2876

PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 05/18/01 – 0000Z (UTC) 05/21/01

Daily Status Report as of 141/0000Z

1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:

1.1 Completed Twelve Sets of WF/PC-2 9244 (POMS Test Proposal: WFII
Parallel Archive Proposal Continuation)

The WF/PC-2 was used to perform a generic target version of the
Archival Pure Parallel program. The program will be used to take parallel
images of random areas of the sky, following the recommendations of the
Parallels Working Group. The re-acquisition failure described in HSTAR
8229 and 2.1, occurred during the tenth iteration of this proposal, and the
take data flag remained down. Otherwise, the observations completed with
no further anomalous activity.

1.2 Completed Three Sets of WF/PC-2 8583 (Imaging Snapshots of Asteroids)

The WF/PC-2 was used to obtain images of the fifty largest main
belt asteroids that have favorable apparitions during cycle 9. The images
will be searched for companion bodies, as well as mineralogical variegation
on the resolved main bodies. There were no reported problems.

1.3 Completed WF/PC-2 8815 (Cycle 9 Earth Flats)

The WF/PC-2 was used to monitor flatfield stability. This proposal
obtains sequences of Earth streak flats to construct high quality flat
fields for the WF/PC-2 filter set. These flat fields will allow mapping of
the OTA illumination pattern and will be used in conjunction with previous
internal and external flats to generate new pipeline superflats. The
proposal completed nominally.

1.4 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD 8845 (Spectroscopic Flats C9)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to obtain
CCD flats in the spectroscopic mode. The observations completed with no
reported problems.

1.5 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8585 (Cosmological Parameters from
Type Ia Supernovae at High Redshift)

The WF/PC-2 was used to measure the cosmological parameters, Omega,
Lambda, and thus the curvature, Omega_k, using Type Ia supernovae {SNe Ia}
as calibrated standard candles. There were no reported problems.

1.6 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8780 (Secular Changes in the Jet of M87)

The WF/PC-2 was used to continue the ongoing investigation of the
M87 jet that had previously used the FOC. The investigators will compare
FOC and WFPC2 images to track secular changes and motions in the jet and
nucleus. The observations completed nominally.

1.7 Completed Five Sets of WF/PC-2 8828 (Cycle 9 Supplemental Darks pt3/3)

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 re-acquisition failure described in HSTAR 8229 and 2.1,
occurred during the final iteration of this proposal, and the take data
flag remained down. Otherwise, the proposal completed with no further
reported problems.

1.8 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,
GRB000926. 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.

1.9 Completed WF/PC-2 8677 (Extragalactic Novae: the Maximum Magnitude
– Rate of Decline Relation in NGC 4472)

The WF/PC-2 was used to accomplish two goals: {1} to provide the
first homogeneous observational constraints on theoretical models for novae
outbursts; and {2} to assess the reliability of novae as standard candles
by using WFPC2 to collect well sampled light curves for 20-50 novae in the
supergiant elliptical galaxy NGC 4472, the brightest galaxy within 30
Mpc. Both the length of the observing window and the temporal sampling of
the observations are specifically designed to ensure that the novae peak
magnitudes and decline rates are measured accurately. These data will be
used to construct the first `Maximum Magnitude versus Rate of Decline’
{MMRD} relation for a galaxy beyond the Local Group. This relation is not
only a potentially powerful standard candle, but its shape and dispersion
are directly linked to physical parameters which govern the physics of
novae outbursts such as the white dwarf mass, temperature and mass
accretion rate. The proposal completed with no reported problems.

1.10 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.

1.11 Completed WF/PC-2 8599 (A Census of Nuclear Star Clusters in
Late-Type Spiral Galaxies)

The WF/PC-2 was used to conduct an I-band snapshot survey of a
well-defined sample of nearby, face-on spiral galaxies of type Scd or
later. The proposal completed nominally.

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The following scheduled proposals were not completed successfully due to
the STIS safing event:

Two Sets of STIS/CCD/MA1/MA2 8651 (UV Spectroscopy in the
Magellanic Bridge: A Typical QSO Absorption Line System?)

Five Sets of STIS/CCD 8864 (CCD Dark Monitor-Part 2)

Three Sets of STIS/CCD 8865 (Bias Monitor-Part 2)

Fifteen Sets of STIS/CCD 9248 (Probing the Large Scale Structure:
Cosmic Shear Observations)

Two Sets of STIS/CCD 8262 (Nuclear Kinematics of the Dense Globular
Cluster M-15)

STIS/MA1 8572 (Identifying Normal Galaxies at 1.3 < z < 2.5)

STIS/CCD/MA1 8582 (UV Detectability of Bright Quasars in the Sloan
Fields)

STIS/CCD/MA1/MA2 8615 (Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of R Coronae
Borealis Stars — Broad Lines from an Accretion Disc?)

STIS/CCD/MA1 8662 (A Snapshot Survey of the Hot Interstellar Medium)

STIS/CCD/MA1 8684 (Emission Lines from Photoionized Accretion
Disks and
Winds in AGNs)

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2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:

Scheduled Acquisitions: 22

Successful: 22

Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 22

Successful: 21

The re-acquisition at 140/044500Z failed due to a possible star
problem. Possibly affected were the proposals detailed in 1.1 and 1.7.

2.2 FHST Updates:

Scheduled: 54

Successful: 53

Per HSTAR 8228, the roll delay scheduled for 138/091305Z failed on
tracker #3.

2.3 Operations Notes:

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph remains in safing.

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

The CCS engineering status limits were adjusted twice per ROP DF-18A.

ROP NS-3 was utilized at 139/2019Z and at 140/0305Z to dump and
reset the NSSC-1 status buffer.

A TTR was written for a required re-transmit at 140/0822Z during a
486 uplink.

3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.