Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report 2/8/01
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT #2804
PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 02/07/01 – 0000Z (UTC) 02/08/01
Daily Status Report as of 039/0000Z
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 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.
1.3 Completed Two 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.
1.4 Completed STIS/CCD/MA1 8684 (Emission Lines from Photoionized Accretion Disks and Winds in AGNs)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA1) was used to observe the origin and dynamics of the gas that produces the broad optical and ultraviolet emission lines in AGNs, a fundamental gap that remains in our knowledge of AGNs. The proposal completed with no reported problems.
1.5 Completed TwoSets 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.
1.6 Completed STIS/MA1 8721 (An UV Imaging Survey of IR-Bright Star- Forming Galaxies)
The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA1) was used to carry out a UV {~1, 600 Angstrom} snapshot imaging survey of all the actively star-forming galaxies detected by ISO at Lambda>170 Mum and closer than cz=9000 km/s. The sample covers a large region in the parameter’s space of morphology, luminosity, metallicity, and star formation intensity. There were no reported anomalies.
1.7 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.
1.8 Completed WF/PC-2 8587 (Stroemgren Photometry of Globular Clusters in M87: Breaking the Age- Metallicity Degeneracy)
The WF/PC-2 was used to further demonstrate that the globular cluster {GC} systems of most, and possibly all, luminous galaxies show bimodal distributions in broadband color and, by implication, age and/or metallicity. Whatever its origin, this bimodality {which is observed in giant galaxies that span a wide range in Hubble Type and local
environment} must hold a fundamental clue to the process of galaxy formation. The technique of this proposal hinges on the ability of Stroemgren photometry to decouple the effects of age and metallicity for large samples of GCs, and will provide the first strong constraints on the various galaxy formation models. There were no reported problems.
1.9 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.
1.10 Completed WF/PC-2/STIS/CCD 8679 (Constraining the Age of the Oldest Stars from the White Dwarf Cooling Sequence in M4)
The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) were used to search for the oldest and hence coolest white dwarfs {WDs} in M4, the nearest Galactic globular cluster to the Sun. New models for cooling hydrogen white dwarfs predict that their colors should become bluer, rather than redder, with increasing age. The goal is to test these models and at the same time constrain the age of M4. The proposal completed with no problems.
1.11 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.
2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:
Scheduled Acquisitions: 5
Successful: 5
Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 9
Successful: 9
2.2 FHST Updates:
Scheduled: 12
Successful: 12
2.3 Operations Notes:
3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
* HSTAR 8073 Unassigned B string Science Data Handler (SDH) disk failure 038/06:20z. Sys Admin reported failure.
* HSTAR 8074 Unassigned B string software startup is unsuccessful with SDH down 038/14:00z.
* Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.
