Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #3051 – 7 Feb 2002

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

DAILY REPORT #3051

PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 02/06/02 – 0000Z (UTC) 02/07/02

Daily Status Report as of 038/0000Z

1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:

1.1 Completed Two Sets of STIS/MA2 9573 (NUV-MAMA Daily Dark Monitor)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA2) was used to perform
daily monitoring of the NUV MAMA detector dark noise in order to monitor
the effects of thermal changes on the NUV dark rate. No problems occurred.

1.2 Completed STIS/CCD/MA2 9048 (Boron Constraints on Slow Mixing in
Low Mass Stars)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA2) was used to
observe the atomic and nuclear characteristics of the light elements Li, Be
and B, that make their photospheric abundances ideal tracers of internal
physical processes in stars. Both Li and Be have been heavily utilized to
this end since their diminished abundances are a direct result of the
extent of internal slow mixing between surface and interior layers, as has
been shown with ground-based data. Boron provides a fresh and special
probe because it survives to greater depths inside stars than does Li or
Be, and can thus uniquely reveal the depth of mixing. It is proposed to
observe B in stars with very large depletions of Li and Be, i.e. stars
which have been the most seriously affected by mixing. No problems occurred.

1.3 Completed Seven Sets of WF/PC-2 8940 (Cycle 10 Earth Flats)

The WF/PC-2 was used to monitor flatfield stability by obtaining
sequences of Earth streak flats to construct high quality flat fields for
the WF/PC-2 filter set. These flat fields will allow mapping of the OTA
illumination pattern and will be used in conjunction with previous internal
and external flats to generate new pipeline superflats. The proposal
completed without incident.

1.4 Completed Seven Sets of WF/PC-2 9318 (POMS Test Proposal: WFII
Parallel Archive Proposal Continuation)

The WF/PC-2 was used to perform the generic target version of the
WFPC2 Archival Pure Parallel program. The program was used to take
parallel images of random areas of the sky, following the recommendations
of the Parallels Working Group. There were no reported problems.

1.5 Completed STIS/CCD 9088 (Next Generation Spectral Library of Stars)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to produce
a “Next Generation” Spectral Library of 600 stars for use in modeling the
integrated light of galaxies and clusters by using the low dispersion UV
and optical gratings of STIS. The library will be roughly equally divided
among four metallicities, very low {Fe/H < -1.5}, low {-1.5 < Fe/H < -0.5}, near-solar {-0.5 < Fe/H < 0.1}, and super-solar {Fe/H > 0.1}, well-sampling
the entire HR-diagram in each bin. Such a library will surpass all extant
compilations and have lasting archival value, well into the Next Generation
Space Telescope era. No problems occurred.

1.6 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD 8903 (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. There were no problems.

1.7 Completed STIS/CCD 9187 (A Lyman Limit Snapshot Survey: The Search
for Candidate D/H Absorbers)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to measure
D/H in gas clouds seen against background QSOs. This provides a unique and
fundamental cosmological probe of the baryonic density parameter. To date,
most of the QSO absorption line D/H constraints have been derived at high
redshift. In this proposal the proposers investigate a lower redshift
range, because there are two potentially crucial advantages to be gained by
carrying out D/H measurements at intermediate redshift. First, the
background of HI forest lines is lower and contamination of the DI feature
is significantly reduced. Second, a far larger sample of very bright QSOs
exists. There were no reported problems.

1.8 Completed STIS/CCD 9070 (A Census of Nuclear Star Clusters in
Late-Type Spiral Galaxies: II. Spectroscopy and Stellar Populations)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to
investigate spiral galaxies that have a prominent star cluster in their
dynamical center. Statistics for cluster frequency, size, and luminosity
remain incomplete. The proposal completed as planned.

1.9 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD 9317 (Pure Parallel Imaging Program:
Cycle 10)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to perform
the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during cycle 10. There
were no reported problems.

1.10 Completed WF/PC-2 9180 (Gamma-ray Burst Progenitors: Probing Their
Environment)

The WF/PC-2 was used to perform a target of opportunity observation
of gamma ray burster (GRB), GRB-011121. GRB astronomy is a field maturing
at a phenomenal rate. Three important new observational and theoretical
discoveries, formulated over the last twelve months, allow the proposer to
address new, and in many cases, more sophisticated questions than could
have been posed previously. These developments: the discovery of X-ray
lines in GRB 991216; the observation that N_H as deduced from X-ray
afterglow are one to two orders of magnitude larger than the dust
extinction inferred from optical afterglow; and the growing realization
that the afterglow emission may exhibit features of dust echoes, appear to
offer unexpected and new diagnostics that will directly inform us about the
progenitor, the circum-progenitor material and the immediate interstellar
environs. There were no reported problems.

1.11 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD 8901 (Dark Monitor-Part 1)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to monitor
the darks. There was no anomalous activity.

1.12 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD/MA1 8571 (Metallicity and D/H
Abundance in Low-Z LyAlpha Absorbers towards PG 1211+143)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA1) was used to
continue previous observations along the sightline toward PG 1211+143 that
reveal numerous LyAlpha absorption lines including two very strong LyAlpha
absorbers {cz = 15, 300 and 19, 550 km s^- 1} with associated Si III
absorption. These are the first definite detections of metals in a low-z
LyAlpha forest cloud. Simple photoionization models suggest metallicities
in the range 1–10 sim10^17 cm^-2 in each system. The proposers should be
able to detect deuterium LyAlpha at 10–20 mAngstrom equivalent width,
thereby testing models of D/H astration as a function of IGM metallicity,
an issue of cosmological significance. There were no problems.

1.13 Completed STIS/MA2 8920 (Cycle 10 MAMA Dark Measurements)

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA2) was used to perform
the routine monitoring of the MAMA detector dark noise, and is the primary
means of checking on health of the MAMA detectors systems through frequent
monitoring of the background count rate. The proposal completed with no
reported anomalous activity.

1.14 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8942 (Cycle 10 Intflat Sweeps and
Linearity Test)

The WF/PC-2 was used to monitor the pixel-to-pixel flatfield
response and provide a linearity check. These intflat sequences are done
once during the year and the images will provide a backup database in the
event of complete failure of the visflat lamp as well as allow monitoring
of the gain ratios. There were no reported problems.

1.15 Completed WF/PC-2 8937 (Cycle 9 Supplemental Darks pt2/3)

The WF/PC-2 was used obtain three dark frames every day to provide
data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels. No
problems were encountered.

2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:

Scheduled Acquisitions: 5

Successful: 5

According to HSTAR 8491, during the guide star acquisition at
037/082659Z, the mnemonics QFGENBO(FGS Err Null Bias) and QSFGENBO (Saved
FGS Err Null Bias) flagged out-of-limits. The value of QSFGENBO was saved
at -1033.801 arc seconds. The acquisition was successful. Then, as
described in HSTAR 8492, during the acquisition at 038/003547X, the
mnemonics QFGENBO and QSFGENBO again flagged out-of-limits. The value of
QSFGENBO was saved at -1036.842 arc seconds. This acquisition was also
successful.

Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 11

Successful: 11

2.2 FHST Updates:

Scheduled: 12

Successful: 12

122.3 Operations Notes:

The four-day Servicing Mission Ground Test, SR-4, part 2, flight
readiness end-to-end test, continues.

The SSR-1 EDAC error counter was cleared at 037/1320Z, using ROP SR-1A.

A TTR was written for three required re-transmits (038/091017Z,
038/091107Z and 038/091243Z) during a 486 load. Accordingly, an
engineering status buffer limit (SESBDLD=12) was modified at 038/091746Z
per ROP DF-18A.

3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

A new Science Mission Specification for the latter part of this
week is being processed in order to insert a target-of-opportunity.

Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.