Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #2771 12/18/00
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT #2771
PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 12/15/00 – 0000Z (UTC) 12/18/00
Daily Status Report as of 353/0000Z
1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:
1.1 Completed Six 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.
1.2 Completed Six 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.
1.3 Completed Eight 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.
1.4 Completed Two 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.
1.5 Completed Fifteen 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 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.
1.7 Completed WF/PC-2/STIS/CCD 8277 (The Kinematics of Knots along Herbig-Haro Jets at High Spatial Resolution)
The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) were used to provide the kinematical information necessary for a clear confirmation of the identification of the knots along the HH 111 jet as internal working surfaces. There was no anomalous activity.
1.8 Completed STIS/CCD 8236 (Black Holes and Gas Disks in a Complete Sample of Radio-Loud Ellipticals – II: Kinematics)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to make observations of the radio-loud elliptical galaxy NGC-2329. From these observations we will measure the black hole masses, determine the nature, kinematics, and structure of the central gas disks and obtain a modeled upper limit to their mass accretion rates. A wavelength calibration image was also taken. The observations were completed as planned, and no problems were reported.
1.9 Completed Two 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.
1.10 Completed WF/PC-2 8867 (Gamma-Ray Bursts: Discovering The Progenitors And Understanding The Explosion – Visits A0-R0)
The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA2) 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.
1.11 Completed Two 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.
1.12 Completed STIS/CCD 8258 (A Search for Kuiper Belt Object Satellites)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to look for Kuiper belt objects which may have been caused by the large number of collisions thought to have taken place in the primordial Kuiper belt similar to the binary-forming collisions to that which formed the Pluto — Charon binary. There were no reported anomalies.
1.13 Completed STIS/CCD/MA1 8691 (Calibrating the Cosmic Meter Stick: The Distance to the LMC Using Eclipsing Binaries)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA1) was used to measure the LMC distance which is crucial for the calibration of the Cosmic Distance Scale. The observations completed with no reported problems.
1.14 Completed Three Sets of STIS/CCD 8836 (Performance Monitor {Cycle 9})
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to measure the baseline performance and commandability of the CCD subsystem. Only primary amplifier D was used. Bias and Flat Field
exposures were taken in order to measure read noise, CTE, and
gain. Numerous bias frames were taken to permit construction of "superbias" frames in which the effects of read noise have been rendered negligible. Full frame and binned observations were made, with binning factors of 2 x 1, 1 x 2, 2 x 2, 4 x 1, and 4 x 2. Dark images were taken in 2×2 binning mode; 1×1 binning darks are being taken in the nominal CCD Dark Monitor. The exercise completed nominally.
1.15 Completed WF/PC-2/STIS/MA1 8686 (LINERs in Early-type Galaxies: Ionized by the UV-upturn Population?)
The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA1) were used to investigate the presence of extended ionized gas with LINER spectra in a large fraction {60-70%} of early-type galaxies. The observations completed with no reported anomalies.
1.16 Completed STIS/MA1 8657 (Jovian Auroral Variability Due to the Solar Wind/Magnetosphere Interaction)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA1) was used to observe Jupiter, covering nearly complete Jupiter rotations, permitting the observers to perform several known key measurements of the auroral emissions, and also to study uniquely the effects of solar wind variations on the auroral morphology. The proposal completed nominally.
1.17 Completed WF/PC-2 7466 (From Globular Clusters to Tidal Dwarfs: Structure Formation in Tidal Tails)
The WF/PC-2 was used to study the range of substructures found within the tidal tails of the classic mergers NGC 4038/9, NGC 3921, NGC 7252, and NGC 3256. Structures as large as dwarf Irregulars are found within the tidal debris of each system, and we wish to explore whether there is a continuum of structure all the way down to globular clusters, which are found in such high numbers in the central regions of these mergers. There were no reported problems.
1.18 Completed Two 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.
1.19 Completed WF/PC-2 8272 (The Horizontal Branches of the M31 Dwarf Spheroidal Companions And V & VI)
The WF/PC-2 was used to make observations of stars in the horizontal branches of the M-31 dwarf spheroidal companions galaxies Andromeda V & VI. These dwarf spheroidal galactic companions show a surprising diversity in the epochs of their major star formation episodes, extending from ~15 Gyr to ~3 Gyr. The observations were executed as scheduled, and no anomalies were reported.
1.20 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.
1.21 Completed WF/PC-2 7374 (Probing Low Density Cluster Environments at Moderate-to-High Redshifts)
The WF/PC-2 was used to make observations of the galactic cluster Gal-Clus-0. Recent HST WF/PC-2 images of rich clusters at moderate-to-high redshifts have revealed that morphological information is a crucial ingredient in understanding the physical processes responsible for the evolution of the galaxy population in clusters. The observations were executed as scheduled, and no anomalies were noted.
1.22 Completed STIS/CCD 8808 (POMS Test Proposal: STIS Non-Scripted Parallel Proposal Continuation III)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to make non-scripted, parallel observations as part of a POMS test proposal. The observations completed with no anomalous activity.
2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:
Scheduled Acquisitions: 17
Successful: 17
Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 27
Successful: 27
2.2 FHST Updates:
Scheduled: 52
Successful: 51
Per HSTAR 8009, the roll delay update scheduled at 352/113817Z failed on tracker #1.
2.3 Operations Notes:
SSR EDAC errors were cleared nine times per ROP SR-1A.
Using ROP DF-18A, the engineering status buffer limits were adjusted on four occasions.
High/Low Gyro Bias triplets were performed at 351/0049Z.
A TTR was written for a required re-transmit during a NSSC-1 uplink at 351/1138Z.
The NSSC-1 engineering report was reset at 351/1155Z and at 3352/1836Z as directed by ROP NS-5.
3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.
