Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #2789 01/18/01

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
 
  DAILY REPORT #2789
 
PERIOD COVERED:  0000Z (UTC) 01/17/01 – 0000Z (UTC) 01/18/01
 
Daily Status Report as of 018/0000Z
 
1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:
 
    1.1 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.
 
    1.2 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 WF/PC-2 8706 (Phoenix: "Halo/Disk” Structures In Dwarf Galaxies)
 
        The WF/PC-2 was used to perform hierarchical clustering scenarios for galaxy formation that predict that dwarf galaxies are the first to be formed and that they are building blocks of larger galaxies.  In this case, the spatial structure and the stellar age and metallicity distribution of the Phoenix dwarf galaxy are measured to give support or reject such scenarios.  The proposal completed with no anomalous activity.
 
    1.4 Completed Seven 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.
 
    1.5 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.
 
    1.6 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.
 
    1.7 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD/MA1 8695 (The Nature and Distribution of O VI Absorbers in the Vicinity of Galaxies)
 
        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA1) was used to study PG1259+593 with the E140M echelle mode to substantially improve the statistical base of observed O VI absorbers {including weak lines} for comparison with the cosmological models and to constrain the physical conditions and abundances in these systems and their relationships with galaxies.  With these observations we will {1} measure the number of O VI absorbers per unit redshift {dN/dz} with a limiting equivalent width of W_Lambda ~25 mAngstrom , {2} examine whether the O VI absorption arises in photoionized, collisionally ionized, or multiphase gas, {3} estimate the absorber metallicities, and {4} study the dependence of the absorber properties on the proximity of luminous galaxies.  The observations completed nominally.
 
    1.8 Completed Four 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.
 
    1.9 Completed WF/PC-2 8883 (POMS Test Proposal: WFII Backup Parallel Archive Proposal II)
 
        The WF/PC-2 was used to complete a POMS test proposal designed to simulate scientific plans.  There were no reported problems.
 
    1.10 Completed STIS/CCD 8881 (An Unbiased Survey of X-Ray and Optical Emission From Extended Radio Jets in AGN)
 
        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to an X-ray bright jet in the distant quasar 1040+123 that shows that X-rays can be energetically dominant in relativistic jets.  The observations completed nominally.
 
2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
 
    2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:
      Scheduled Acquisitions:  7
Successful:  7
 
  Scheduled Re-acquisitions:  4
Successful:  4
 
    2.2 FHST Updates:
Scheduled: 13
Successful: 13
 
    2.3 Operations Notes:
 
        Using ROP SR-1A, the SSR EDAC error counter was cleared twice.
 
3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
 
        Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.