Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #2764 12/07/00

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
 
  DAILY REPORT #2764
 
PERIOD COVERED:  0000Z (UTC) 12/06/00 – 0000Z (UTC) 12/07/00
 
Daily Status Report as of 342/0000Z
 
1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:
 
    1.1 Completed 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.
 
    1.2 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8827 (Cycle 9 Supplemental Darks pt2/3)
 
        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 proposal completed nominally.
 
    1.3 Completed Two 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.
 
    1.4 Completed WF/PC-2 7407 (Continuation of Temporal Monitoring of the Crab Synchrotron Nebula)
 
        The WF/PC-2 was used to observe the synchrotron nebula surrounding the Crab pulsar that has been the subject of intensive study for decades.  It is generally accepted that the structure and activity in this region are due to wave phenomena near the termination shock of the pulsar wind, observations of which hold unique promise of leading to more complete models of the pulsar and its magnetosphere.  Unfortunately, this promise has not been fulfilled, largely because of the low spatial resolution and uneven temporal coverage of existing studies.  Recent WF/PC-2 observations of the Crab synchrotron nebula offer new hope in this quest.  These data, which reach the natural size scale defined by the Larmor radius of energetic electrons, resolve the majority of the known features in the Crab.  For the first time it is possible to reliably establish the physical conditions {e.g., emissivities, equipartition fields, and pressures} of features
 
    1.5 Completed Three 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.
 
    1.6 Completed STIS/CCD/MA1/MA2 8857 (MAMA Sensitivity and Focus Monitor C9)
 
        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD, MA1 and MA2) was used to monitor the sensitivity of each MAMA grating mode to detect any change due to contamination or other causes.  There were no problems.
 
    1.7 Completed WF/PC-2 8602 (A Snapshot Survey of the Sites of Recent, Nearby Supernovae)
 
        The WF/PC-2 was used to conduct a snapshot survey in V and I of the sites of the nearby SNe, which have precisely known positions, to obtain high-resolution information on their local environment.  The proposal completed with no reported problems.
 
    1.8 Completed 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.
 
    1.9 Completed 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.
 
    1.10 Completed WF/PC-2 8660 (Saturn’s Rings and Small Moons)
 
        The Wf/PC-2 was used to investigate the composition, structure, and particle properties of the rings from variations of ring brightness and color with radius, tilt and phase angle, to measure the azimuthal asymmetry of the A ring of Saturn and the temporal variability of the clumpy F ring, to follow the enigmatic behavior of the renegade satellites Prometheus and Pandora, and to observe the co-orbital satellites Janus and Epimetheus as they exchange orbits in February 2002.  The observations completed nominally.
 
    1.11 Completed STIS/CCD/MA1/MA2 8206 (The Structure of the Accretion Flow on Pre-Main-Sequence Stars)
 
        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD, MA1 and MA2) was used to test an essential prediction of the magnetospheric accretion model for T Tauri stars.  Echelle spectra were be used to search for the relatively narrow high-temperature emission lines that must result from the magnetospheric accretion shock, but are not expected in the previous, alternative boundary layer model.  The observations were completed with no reported problems.
 
    1.12 Completed 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.
 
    1.13 Completed STIS/MA1 8843 (Cycle 9 MAMA Dark Measurements)
 
        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA1) was used to perform the routine monitoring of the MAMA detector dark noise.  The proposal completed nominally.
 
    1.14 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.
 
    1.15 Completed STIS/CCD 8884 (POMS Test Proposal: STIS Non-Scripted Parallel Proposal Continuation)
 
        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to take parallel images of random areas of the sky.  The proposal completed nominally.
 
    1.16 Completed Three Sets of WF/PC-2/STIS/CCD 8641 (Testing the Accelerating Universe)
 
        The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) were used to observe Type Ia supernovae which provide evidence for an accelerating universe: an extraordinary result that needs to be rigorously tested.  The observations completed with no reported problems.
 
2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
 
    2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:
      Scheduled Acquisitions:  7
                Successful:  7
 
    Scheduled Re-acquisitions:  9
                Successful:  9
 
    2.2 FHST Updates:
                  Scheduled: 21
                Successful: 21
 
    2.3 Operations Notes:
 
        The SSR EDAC error counter was cleared on three occasions, per ROP SR-1A.
 
        A TTR was written for a required re-transmit during a NSSC-1 uplink at 341/1703Z.
 
        As documented in HSTAR 7992, the recharge ratio for Battery #5 indicated 1.3 at 341/170352Z.  The two subsequent calculations were also out-of-limits with values of 1.30 and 1.32.  At 341/204048Z, the Battery #5 temperature (CBAT5TEMP) indicated 1.03606 — another out-of-limits condition.  Accordingly, at 341/2224Z, the K52 voltage/temperature level was adjusted from 4 to 5.  A Battery #5 heat-up contingency operations request was executed at 341/224406Z.
 
        SI C&DH errors were reset at 342/0426Z.
 
3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
 
        Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.