Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #2816 26 Feb 2001

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

DAILY REPORT #2816

PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 02/23/01 – 0000Z (UTC) 02/26/01

Daily Status Report as of 057/0000Z

1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:

1.1 Completed Four Sets of STIS/CCD/MA2 8627 (Testing Theories Of
Wind/Jet Production In YSOs)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA2) was used to
test theories of jet/wind production from the accretion disks of low-mass
young stellar objects, providing new insight into disk physics, accretion
energy balance, and jet collimation. Observations of the Fe II ultraviolet
lines in absorption will probe lower-density and lower-temperature material
than optical forbidden and permitted emission lines, and thus provide
unique information on jet/wind launching and
acceleration. Velocity-resolved spectra will distinguish between X-wind
models, in which all the mass ejection occurs from the inner disk edge, and
disk wind models, where the flow originates from a much larger area of the
disk. The proposal completed nominally.

1.2 Completed Twenty-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.

1.3 Completed Ten 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.

1.4 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 Four 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.

1.6 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 Two Sets of STIS/CCD 8624 (Imaging and Spectroscopy of
Dusty Circumstellar Disks)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to further
understanding of the properties and evolution of dusty disks in the
circumstellar environments of young stars which is a key element in
furthering our concepts of the formation mechanisms of extra-solar
planetary systems. The proposal completed with no reported problems.

1.8 Completed Twenty 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.

1.9 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.

1.10 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8583 (Imaging Snapshots of Asteroids)

The WF/PC-2 was used to obtain images of the fifty largest main
belt asteroids that have favorable apparitions during cycle 9. The images
will be searched for companion bodies, as well as mineralogical variegation
on the resolved main bodies. There were no reported problems.

1.11 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8725 (The Formation Epoch{s} of
Globular Clusters Around Ellipticals from Ultraviolet Photometry)

The WF/PC-2 was used to study the formation history of elliptical
galaxies by obtaining far-UV photometry of their globular clusters. The
far-UV photometry will be used in conjunction with existing optical data to
constrain the ages of these clusters, and thus the formation epochs of
their host galaxies. There were no reported problems.

1.12 Completed STIS/CCD/MA2 8266 (Coherence Length of Lyman-Alpha
Absorbers at z ~ 1)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA2) was used to
measure the coherence length of Lyman-Alpha absorbers in the redshift range
0.5 < z < 1.1, using a new pair of quasars with a separation of 130 arcseconds. For quasars with this brightness {R = 18.1}, redshift and separation are very rare. Coincident absorbers along the line-of-sight to quasar pairs can reveal the geometry of the diffuse but highly ionized gas that makes up the Lyman-Alpha forest; this gas represents the majority of the baryons and it traces the underlying dark matter distribution. The observations completed with no reported anomalies.

1.13 Completed Three Sets of STIS/MA1/MA2 8843 (Cycle 9 MAMA Dark
Measurements)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA1 and MA2) was used to
perform the routine monitoring of the MAMA detector dark noise. The
proposal completed nominally.

1.14 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.

1.15 Completed WF/PC -2 8177 (Investigating Type Ia Supernovae and an
Accelerating Universe)

The WF/PC-2 was used to obtain rest frame U and B photometry for
four z~ 0.85 Supernova (SN) Ia. These observations will be coupled to
ground-based rest frame V photometry and spectra. These data, combined
with previous samples, will extend the D_L vs. z diagram for SN Ia to
z~0.85, and allow us to discriminate the redshift dependence of supernova
magnitudes in an accelerating Universe from that expected to result from
systematic effects such as age of the stellar population, chemical
evolution, a drift in the properties of dust, and weak gravitational
lensing. The proposal completed with no reported problems.

1.16 Completed WF/PC-2 8823 (Decontaminations and Associated
Observations Pt. 2/4)

The WF/PC-2 was used for the monthly WFPC2 decons. Also included
were instrument monitors tied to decons: photometric stability check, focus
monitor, pre- and post-decon internals {bias, intflats, kspots, & darks},
UV throughput check, VISFLAT sweep, and internal UV flat check. There were
no reported problems.

1.17 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.

1.18 Completed STIS/CCD/MA1 8606 (Determining the Nature of the
Variable Absorption in AGN: Monitoring NGC 3783 with HST And Chandra)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA1) was used to
investigate Seyfert 1 galaxies, many of which show intrinsic UV absorption
lines, characterized by high moderate widths, significant outflow
velocities, and variability on time scales as small as days. Seyferts with
UV absorption also show variable X-ray “warm absorbers”, characterized by
O VII and O VIII absorption edges, which suggests a common
origin. Variability monitoring is the key to understanding the absorbers,
by providing their radial locations, densities, and evolution in
ionization, column density, velocity, and coverage of the inner active
nucleus. The proposal completed with no problems.

1.19 Completed Three Sets of FGS/1 8731 (A High Angular Resolution
Survey of the Most Massive Stars in the SMC)

Fine Guidance Sensor #1 was used to conduct high angular resolution
observations of some of the SMC’s hottest and most luminous objects by
conducting a comprehensive survey of nearly every spectral type in the
upper portion of the HR diagram. Binary or multiple star systems will be
detected down to an unprecedented level, more than one order of magnitude
better than possible with WFPC2. The targets selected include a
representative list of normal Main Sequence O-stars and their evolved
descendents, namely supergiants, hypergiants, LBVs, and WRs, many of which
have been previously observed by HST’s spectrometers for purposes of
cosmological calibrations. The observations completed, and no problems
were reported.

1.20 Completed STIS/CCD 8664 (Structural Measurement of Globular
Clusters in M31 and NGC 5128: Stalking the Fundamental Plane)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to observe
in the snapshot mode to image a wide selection of individual globular
clusters in two other large galaxies {M31 and NGC 5128} for measurement of
their structural parameters {r_c, c, central surface brightness}. We will
use these to compute their binding energies and define the FP in these two
galaxies. Comparison with the Milky Way will then give us powerful new
information on just how “universal” the cluster formation process was in
the early protogalaxies. The observations completed with no reported problems.

1.21 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.

1.22 Completed STIS/CCD 8170 (Kinematics of the Young Star Clusters and
the Gas in the Antennae Galaxies)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to follow
up on the previous discovery of over 1000 young star clusters in “The
Antennae” {NGC 4038} by obtaining long-slit and slitless spectra of a
representative sample of clusters with STIS. These young clusters have the
luminosities, colors, and radii expected of young globular clusters and
must have formed during the ongoing merger. Because of their proximity and
early stage of merging, the disks of NGC 4038 form an ideal laboratory to
study cluster formation in progress. The observations completed nominally.

1.23 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.

1.24 Completed STIS/CCD 8189 (The Source of Gamma Ray Bursts and the
Nature of their Hosts)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to make
high resolution optical and ultraviolet observations of the Gamma Ray
Burster (GRB) 000301C and its host galaxy. This comprehensive set of
observations will provide new insights into the astrophysics of GRBs and
their high redshift host galaxies. The observations were completed as
planned, and no problems were reported.

1.25 Completed WF/PC-2 8645 (A Survey of Mid-UV Morphology of Nearby
Galaxies: Galaxy Structure and Faint Galaxy)

The WF/PC-2 was used to investigate the relation between star
formation and the global physical characteristics of galaxies to interpret
the morphologies of distant galaxies in terms of their evolutionary
status. The observations completed nominally.

2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:

Scheduled Acquisitions: 23

Successful: 22

Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 21

Successful: 20

As documented in HSTAR 8088, the acquisition scheduled at
057/080044Z and the re-acquisition scheduled at 057/093353Z failed when the
scan step limit was exceeded for FGS-2. Three proposals, all in the
interval of the next report, were affected: STIS 8562, WF/PC-2 8177 and
WF/PC-2 8111.

2.2 FHST Updates:

Scheduled: 54

Successful: 50

Per HSTAR 8086, the full maneuver updates scheduled for 055/114931Z
and at 055/115216Z failed due to FHST #2. There were relatively small
attitude errors. The following guide star acquisition was successful.

Per HSTAR 8087, the full maneuver updates at 056/231132Z and at
056/231417Z both failed due to FHST #2.

2.3 Operations Notes:

Using ROP SR-1A, the SSR EDAC error counter was cleared six times.

The CCS engineering status buffer limits were adjusted four times
per ROP DF-18A.

A TTR was written for a required re-transmit at 055/0300Z during a
NSSC-1 uplink.

SI C&DH errors were reset at 055/0313Z, using ROP NS-3.

ESTR-2 was re-conditioned at 056/0348Z as directed by ROP RD-07A.

The SMS and related DF-224 and NSSC-1 loads for the upcoming week
were re-generated due to the scheduling of a target-of-opportunity. Three
iterations of STIS proposal 8867 (Kulkarni Gamma Ray Bursts of GRB010222:
Discovering the Progenitors and Understanding the Explosion) were added,
beginning at 057/022222Z.

3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.