Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #2733 10/23/00
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT #2733
PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 10/20/00 – 0000Z (UTC) 10/23/00
Daily Status Report as of 297/0000Z
1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:
1.1 Completed WF/PC-2 8239 (Imaging the NLR in a Complete Sample of z<0.5 Radio-Quiet PG Quasars)
The WF/PC-2 was used to observe quasar PG1012+008 and to determine its role in the evolution of galaxies, where a central engine leaves its visible imprints in the galaxy through strong ionization and heating of the ISM. The observations completed with no reported problems.
1.2 Completed Three Sets of STIS/CCD 8260 (Searching for the Hydrogen Reionization
Edge of the Universe at 5HST)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to observe one of 36 parallel orbits {4–5 fields of 5–8 orbits each} to constrain the H Lyman-edge in emission that marks the transition from a neutral to a fully ionized IGM at a predicted zion~eq5–15. This edge is due to recombination from the H Lyman series and Lyman continuum, and can be used to constrain zion, one of the most important unknown quantities in large scale structure and cosmology. The proposal completed nominally.
1.3 Completed Eight Sets of STIS/CCD 8562 (Probing the Large Scale Structure: Cosmic Shear Observations)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to probe the distortion of light bundles from distant galaxies, looking at the statistical properties of the intervening inhomogeneous {dark} matter distribution. The proposal completed nominally.
1.4 Completed Five Sets of STIS/CCD 8837 (CCD Dark Monitor-Part 1)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to monitor the darks. The proposal completed with no reported problems.
1.5 Completed Seven Sets of WF/PC-2 8826 (Cycle 9 Supplemental Darks pt 1)
The WF/PC-2 was used to perform a T dark calibration program that obtains three dark frames every day in order to provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels. There were no reported anomalies.
1.6 Completed STIS/CCD 8572 (Identifying Normal Galaxies at 1.3 < z < 2.5)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to perform studies of faint, distant galaxies. It is now possible to observe hundreds of galaxies out to z=1 and in the range 3 < z < 4.5, yet the redshift range 1 < z <3 remains largely unexplored. No problems were noted.
1.7 Completed Five Sets of WF/PC-2 8805 (POMS Test Proposal: WFII Parallel Archive Proposal Continuation)
The WF/PC-2 was used to perform a 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 Parallels Working Group. The proposal completed with no reported problems.
1.8 Completed Four Sets of WF/PC-2 8601 (A Snapshot Survey of Probable Nearby Galaxies)
The WF/PC-2 was used to continue the very successful snapshot survey in order to use the high spatial resolution of HST to determine whether selected galaxies are nearby on the basis of resolution into stars, and the magnitudes and colors of the brightest stars. There were no reported problems.
1.9 Completed Three Sets of STIS/CCD 8631 (Bright Quasar Close Lensing Search II)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to expand the Cycle 8 second generation HST snapshot survey of bright quasars, optimized to find lenses with component image separations < 1". The observations completed nominally.
1.10 Completed Three Sets of STIS/CCD 8838 (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. The proposal completed nominally.
1.11 Completed FGS/1R 8728 (The Low-Mass Multiple System GL 831 {Wolf 922}: Definitive Orbit and the Mass-Luminosity Relation)
Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) 1R was used to observe W922 that belongs to the select group of about one dozen nearby multiple systems suitable for calibrating the empirical mass-luminosity relation for masses below 0.2 Msun. This has been observed 13 times with FGS3 through Cycle 7. However, use of FGS 1R should clarify the location and nature of a fainter third component, possibly of 0.1 Msun, detected in two observations with the less capable FGS3. The observations completed nominally.
1.12 Completed STIS/CCD/MA2 8341 (UV Spectroscopy Of M33-X8: Mini-AGN Or Black-Hole Binary?)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA2) was used to make observations of the nuclear region of galaxy M-33 known as X-8 in order to determine if it is a mini-AGN or a binary black-hole. X-8 is the most luminous steady X- ray source in the Local Group. A wavelength calibration image was also taken. The observations were executed as scheduled, and no anomalies were noted.
1.13 Completed WF/PC-2 8059 (POMS Test Proposal: Targeted Parallel Archive Proposal)
The WF/PC-2 was used to observe the parallel opportunities available in the neighborhood of bright galaxies are treated in a slightly different way from the normal pure parallels. Local Group galaxies offer the opportunity for a closer look at young stellar
populations. Narrow-band images in F656N can be used both to identify young stars via their emission lines, and to map the gas distribution in star-forming regions. The observations completed nominally.
1.14 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8702 (The Most Elusive Nuclei of LMC Planetary Nebulae)
The WF/PC-2 was used to carry out a SNAPSHOT survey of the faintest nuclei of planetary nebulae {PNe} in the LMC. This program will be a crucial follow-on to a Cycle 8 SNAPSHOT of LMC Pne. In thisa case the plan is to observe the faintest or most obscured nuclei to determine their evolutionary state to an accuracy not possible in the Galaxy. These faintest central stars are predicted to be among the most massive nuclei, and owing to the typically advanced age of the surrounding nebulae, are the most sensitive discriminants for validating the post-AGB evolution timescales predicted by theory. The observations completed with no reported problems.
1.15 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD 8841 (Hot Pixel Annealing C9)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to improve the effectiveness of the CCD hot pixel annealing process. This is assessed by measuring the dark current behavior before and after annealing and by searching for any window contamination effects. In addition CTE performance is examined by looking for traps in a low signal level flat. The observations completed with no reported problems.
1.16 Completed FGS 8464 (Monitor the Long-Term Stability of FGS1R in Position Mode)
The Fine Guidance Sensors were used to make astrometric observations of the star OF975 (and several other reference stars) in order to monitor the long-term stability of FGS-1R in the Position Mode. The goal of these measurements is to monitor the internal positional stability of the FGSs by measuring many stars in the M-35 check field repeatedly over a one year period. The observations were completed as planned and no anomalies were reported.
1.17 Completed WF/PC-2 8598 (Snapshot Survey of Extended OIIl Lambda 5007Angstrom Emission in Seyfert Galaxies)
The WF/PC-2 was used for a snapshot survey of narrow band OIII Lambda 5007Angstrom images for a well defined sample of 88 Seyfert galaxies {29 Seyfert 1s and 59 Seyfert 2s}, 18 of which already have data in the archive, selected from a mostly isotropic property, the 60Mum flux. These data will be used: 1} to determine the origin of the misalignment between the accretion disk axis and the host galaxy plane axis, which can be due to mergers with other galaxies, or by the self induced radiation warping; 2} to compare the size and shape of the Narrow Line Regions (NLR) of Seyfert 1s and Seyfert 2s, and to study the frequency of conically shaped NLR in Seyfert galaxies, which are usually unresolved from ground-based observations; and 3} estimate the importance of shocks to the ionization of the NLR. The observations completed with no reported problems.
1.18 Completed Four Sets of WF/PC-2 8816 (Cycle 9 UV Earthflats)
The WF/PC-2 was used to obtain sequences of earth streak flats to improve the quality of pipeline flat fields for the WFPC2 UV filter set and in order to monitor flat field stability. There were no reported problems.
1.19 Completed WF/PC-2 8698 (Identification of the Galaxy’s Missing Mass)
The WF/PC-2 was used to observe the nature of dark matter that is one of the key astrophysical questions of the day. The existence of dark matter and its dynamical dominance in the outer parts of our Galaxy and spiral galaxies with flat rotation curves is well established. The MACHO project has identified ~half of the Milky Way’s dark matter with stellar objects of ~0.5 M_sun, probably white dwarfs. But the location of the microlensing in the halo is disputed. Several have detected two candidate halo white dwarfs of L/L_sun ~ 10^-5 in the Hubble Deep Field with 25 +/- 5 mas/year proper motions. The observations completed with no reported problems.
1.20 Completed WF/PC-2 8632 (A UV Atlas of Nearby Galaxies)
The WF/PC-2 was used to perform a snapshot survey of local galaxies at UV wavelengths with the F300W filter. The aim of the project is to build a reference UV Atlas of normal galaxies, whose optical images are well known, with the highest possible degree of information, covering all the morphological types and luminosity classes. The proposal completed normally.
1.21 Completed WF/PC-2/STIS/CCD/MA2 8568 (A Seminal Spectroscopic and Imagery Investigation of the Brightest Wolf-Rayet Shell Nebula: NGC 6888)
The WF/PC-2 (for imagery) and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD for UV-optical-NIR spectroscopy of several regions in the brightest Wolf-Rayet Shell and MA2) were used to observe Nebula {WRSN}, NGC 6888. The physical conditions in the wind-driven and/or stellar ejected plasma {temperature, density, ionization, and composition} of WRSN, which are dominated by strong stellar winds from hot massive stars in an advanced state of evolution, often involve emission from both shock-ionized and photoionized gas in close proximity. These new observations will comprise the first combined spectroscopy and imagery of a WRSN at a resolution sufficient to separate and individually analyze these two emission regions. The proposal completed nominally with no reported problems.
1.22 Completed STIS/CCD/MA2 7317 (Spatial Distribution of Ozone and Sulfur Dioxide on Ganymede and Europa)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA-2) was used to observe O_2 and O_3 in the spectra of Ganymede’s trailing hemisphere that has revealed its icy surface to be an unexpectedly complex and dynamic environment. Europa, exposed to a slightly different radiation environment, has SO_2 on its trailing hemisphere with no trace of either O_3 or O_2. What role is played by plasma composition and energy, surface-ice composition, surface temperature, porosity, global magnetic field, or other possible physical parameters in determining whether oxygen or sulfur-bearing molecules, and how much, will be produced is
unknown. The observations completed with no problems.
1.23 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8683 (Imaging Of Brightest Cluster Galaxies: The High End Of The Black Hole Mass Distribution)
The WF/PC-2 was used to make kinematic black hole detections in galaxies to decide whether they indicate that the mass correlates with both optical luminosity and radio power. The observation completed with no reported problems.
1.24 Completed STIS/CCD 8841 (Hot Pixel Annealing C9)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to improve the effectiveness of the CCD hot pixel annealing process. This is assessed by measuring the dark current behavior before and after annealing and by searching for any window contamination effects. In addition CTE performance is examined by looking for traps in a low signal level flat. The observations completed with no reported problems.
1.25 Completed WF/PC-2 8268 (Lensed Quasar Hosts at High Redshift)
The WF/PC-2 was used to make observations of the high redshift, lensed quasar MG0751+271. Gravitational lensing offers a novel way to detect quasar host galaxies at z > 1 and to measure their properties. The observations were completed as scheduled, and no anomalies were reported.
1.26 Completed WF/PC-2 8584 (Calibrating the Metallicity Dependence of the Cepheid PL Relation)
The WF/PC-2 was used to determine the uncertainty in the metal abundance dependence of the Cepheid PL relation that remains as one of the largest sources of systematic error in the Cepheid distance scale and in the extragalactic distance scale as a whole. There were no reported problems.
1.27 Completed WF/PC-2 8720 (Masses and Multiplicity of Nearby Free- floating Methane and L Dwarfs)
The WF/PC-2 was used to observe 50 very-low-mass objects in the solar neighborhood with spectral types of L0 and later {including several dwarfs with Methane absorption bands in their atmospheres}. These objects will be observed in two filter bands with the aim to identify close companions, measure their colors, and to obtain first epoch data of the newly discovered binaries. The observations completed nominally.
1.28 Completed STIS/CCD/MA1 8157 (Molecular Hydrogen in the Circumstellar Environments of T Tauri Stars)
The Space Telescope Imaging Telescope (CCD and MA1) was used to probe the gaseous environments of low mass pre-main sequence stars by studying the H_2 UV Lyman bands. Fluorescent H_2 Lyman band emission has been detected, pumped by H I Lyman Alpha and Si IV, in 8 classical T Tauri stars but not in 3 naked T Tauri stars. The observations will provide insights into the spatial distribution of gas near classical T Tauri stars. The proposal completed with no reported problems
1.29 Completed WF/PC-2/STIS/CCD 8573 (Newborn Planets and Brown Dwarf Companions in IC 348)
The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) were 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
1.30 Completed WF/PC-2/STIS/CCD 8324 (The Structure and Kinematics of Irradiated Disks and Associated High Velocity Features in Orion)
Both the WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) were used to make observations of high velocity feature M-42-165-23 located within the Orion Nebula. The STIS provides us with a unique opportunity to study the early evolution of proto-planetary disks and their chances of survival in the harsh irradiated environments of OB class associations where most stars form. A wavelength calibration observation was also taken. The observations were completed as planned, and no anomalies were reported.
1.31 Completed WF/PC-2 8701 (Multiplicity among Very-Low Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs in Alpha Persei and the Pleiades)
The WF/PC-2 was used to observe open clusters which provide excellent hunting grounds for brown dwarf {BD} searches. The AlphaPer and Pleiades clusters are young, nearby and have low extinction. They are considered to be the best-suited places to study the Substellar Mass. A dozen of cool faint AlphaPer and Pleiades members have been confirmed as “bona-fide” BDs with the lithium test. By comparison with those, about 60 very good cluster BD candidates are currently known. The Pleiades SMF obtained using the most recent deep large CCD surveys indicates that BDs are quite numerous but do not make a significant contribution to the total cluster mass. The observations completed with no reported problems.
2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:
Scheduled Acquisitions: 26
Successful: 26
Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 18
Successful: 18
2.2 FHST Updates:
Scheduled: 65
Successful: 65
2.3 Operations Notes:
Using ROP SR-1A, correctable SSR EDAC errors were cleared on five occasions.
A TTR was written when a command re-transmit was required at 295/0448Z.
SSA transmitter #1 was turned on at 295/1610Z and turned off at 295/1638Z.
3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.
