Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report # 3367
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT # 3367
PERIOD COVERED: DOY 140
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
NICMOS 8791
NICMOS Post-SAA calibration – CR Persistence Part 2
A new procedure proposed to alleviate the CR-persistence problem of NICMOS.
Dark
frames will be obtained immediately upon exiting the SAA contour 23, and
every
time a NICMOS exposure is scheduled within 50 minutes of coming out of the
SAA.
The darks will be obtained in parallel in all three NICMOS Cameras. The
POST-SAA
darks will be non-standard reference files available to users with a
USEAFTER
date/time mark. The keyword ‘USEAFTER=date/time’ will also be added to the
header of each POST-SAA DARK frame. The keyword must be populated with the
time,
in addition to the date, because HST crosses the SAA ~8 times per day so
each
POST-SAA DARK will need to have the appropriate time specified, for users to
identify the ones they need. Both the raw and processed images will be
archived
as POST-SAA DARKSs. Generally we expect that all NICMOS science/calibration
observations started within 50 minutes of leaving an SAA will need such maps
to
remove the CR persistence from the science images. Each observation will
need
its own CRMAP, as different SAA passages leave different imprints on the
NICMOS
detectors.
STIS 9049
Boron in G64-12: Higher Big Bang Lithium or Signature of the Nu-Process?
The extremely metal-poor { Fe/H ~ -3.3 } star G64-12 shows a remarkable
lithium
{Li} abundance that is about 2 times larger than those seen in other warm
metal-poor stars, from which the Big Bang Li abundance is inferred. This
star’s
enhanced Li has resulted from either 1. Galactic Li enrichment from a lower
Big
Bang value, or 2. stellar depletion from a higher Big Bang value, with
significant cosmological implications. We argue against two of the three
prominent mechanisms of Galactic Li enrichment, leaving the theoretical
Nu-process in Type II supernovae as the sole viable mechanism. This
mechanism’s
crisp signature is the concomitant production of copious amounts of boron
{B};
if the Nu-process enriched the material out which G64-12 formed with the
extra
Li observed today, then this star should also exhibit a large detectable B
overabundance. B in G64-12 can only be observed from space, using HST/STIS.
If
this star’s STIS-based B abundance lies above the established B-Fe trend,
this
would be the first observational evidence for the Nu-process. But if its B
abundance lies near the B-Fe trend, this would provide direct evidence that
G64-12 is an elusive fossil of a Big Bang Li abundance about 0.3 dex above
currently favored values, providing consistency in standard Big Bang
Nucleosynthesis between Li and D {but not 4He}. EITHER RESULT would be of
fundamental importance to Astronomy.
WF/PC-2 9173
The Pattern of Heavy Element Abundances in a Damped LyAlpha Galaxy.
The WF/PC-2 was used to observe the quasar PKS 1127-143. X-ray absorption
associated with an intervening 21-cm and damped LyAlpha$ absorber at z=0.312
in
its spectrum has been detected with Chandra. The advantage of the X- ray
measurement is that the derived metallicity is insensitive to ionization,
inclusion of an atom in a molecule, or depletion onto grains. The X-ray
absorption is mostly due to oxygen, and the abundance agrees with the oxygen
abundance of 16-40 lines in a galaxy at the redshift of the absorber. The
STIS
spectrum will allow measurement of Zn II, an undepleted iron peak element.
Comparison of the oxygen group measured in the X-rays with the iron peak
nuclei
measured will reveal whether the absorber has a Pop II, halo-type abundance
pattern or a Pop I, disk-like abundance pattern.
FGS 9229
Orbits of Pre-Main Sequence Binaries
Our goal is to dynamically measure the masses of low mass pre-main sequence
stars. This is important because there are still no such objects with an
accurately measured mass. In cycle 5 we began to map the orbits of young
multiple star systems in Taurus using FGS3. In cycle 8 we switched to the
more
capable FGS1r. We propose to continue to observe these binary and triple
systems
so that we can establish their visual orbits. In addition to our Transfer
mode
observations, we include Position mode observations of reference field stars
so
that the position of the multiple systems’ barycenter can be located, giving
the
relative masses of the components. In addition, the Position mode data will
allow us to determine accurate parallaxes for these systems, and hence the
physical, absolute masses of the young pre-main sequence stars along with
absolute magnitudes.
SNAP 9356
SNAPSHOT survey of the Planetary Nebulae population of the Galactic Bulge
The spectacular structures seen in HST images of planetary nebulae {PNe} are
generally accepted as originating from hydrodynamical interactions between
stellar winds: the interacting-stellar wind model {ISW}. Traditionally, the
shaping is thought to occur after the star becomes hot enough to ionize the
PN.
But recent HST images indicate that the shaping may occur earlier, and the
newer
GISW model puts the shaping during the pre-planetary nebula evolution. The
relative importance of both models is not known: GISW shaping will account
for
some fraction of PNe, but estimates range from 15–100 during the PN phase,
especially for the youngest PNe. We here propose an HST Snapshot survey of
compact PNe in the Galactic Bulge, to test these predictions. The Bulge
provides
the only PNe population for which progenitor masses are known and nebular
ages
can be measured. In support of these HST measurements we have already
measured
velocity fields and emission line fluxes. The survey will give an unbiased
sampling of morphologies, and allow evolutionary sequences to be determined
to
test the ISW versus the GISW model. By-products of the survey will be the
determination of nebular masses, diameters and filling factors. We will also
obtain the White Dwarf mass distribution in the Bulge, and the initial-final
mass function for low-mass stars.
HST 9382
A Large Targeted Survey for z < 1.6 Damped Lyman Alpha Lines in SDSS QSO
MgII-FeII Systems.
We have searched the first public release of SDSS QSO spectra for low-z
{z<1.65}
metal absorption lines and found over 200 large rest equivalent width
MgII-FeII
systems. Previously, we empirically showed that such systems are good
tracers of
large neutral gas columns, with ~50% being classical damped Lyman alpha
{DLA}
systems {N_HI>=2*10^20 cm^-2}. Here we propose to follow up a well-defined
subset of 79 of them to search for DLAs with 0.47<z<1.60. Only QSOs brighter
than g’=19 were selected. The QSO emission and DLA absorption redshifts were
constrained to virtually eliminate data loss due to intervening Lyman limit
absorption. Consequently, we expect to discover ~40 new DLAs, which is a
three-fold increase in this redshift interval. This will significantly
improve
our earlier low-z DLA statistical results on their incidence, cosmological
mass
density, and N_HI distribution. The results will also allow us to better
quantify the empirical DLA — metal-line correlation. With this improved
understanding, the need for follow-up UV spectroscopy will lessen and, with
the
release of the final database of SDSS QSO spectra {an ~25-fold increase},
the
number of low-z DLAs could be increased arbitrarily. Thus, the power of the
large and statistically-sound SDSS database in combination with a proven
technique for finding low-z DLAs will, over the next few years, essentially
solve the problem of making an accurate determination of the cosmic
evolution of
the neutral gas component down to z~0.4.
ACS 9401
The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey
We propose the most comprehensive imaging survey to date of low-redshift,
early-type galaxies. Our goal is to exploit the exceptional imaging
capabilities
of the ACS by acquiring deep images — in the SDSS g^ and z^ bandpasses —
for
163 E, S0, dE, dE, N and dS0 galaxies in Virgo, the nearest rich cluster.
This
extraordinary dataset would likely constitute one of the principal legacies
of
HST, and would have widespread applications for many diverse areas of
astrophysics. Our immediate scientific objectives are threefold: {1} measure
metallicities, ages and radii for the many thousands of globular clusters
{GCs}
in these galaxies, and use this information to derive the protogalactic mass
spectrum of each galaxy; {2} measure the central luminosity and color
profile of
each galaxy, and use this information to carry out a completely independent
test
of the merging hierarchy inferred from the GCs, with the aid of N-body codes
that simulate the merger of galaxies containing massive black holes; and {3}
calibrate the z^ -band SBF method, measure Virgo’s 3-D structure, and carry
out
the definitive study of the GC luminosity function’s precision as a standard
candle. Our proposed Virgo Cluster Survey will yield a database of
unprecedented
depth, precision and uniformity, and will enable us to study the record of
galaxy and cluster formation in a level of detail which will never be
possible
with more distant systems.
ACS 9462
Systemic and Internal Proper Motions of the Magellanic Clouds from
Astrometry
with ACS
We request first epoch observations with ACS of Magellanic Cloud fields
centered
on background quasars. Second epoch observations will be requested ~ 5 years
later to allow the measurement of the systemic and internal proper motions
of
the Clouds with error <~0.05 mas/year. These motions are of fundamental
importance. The systemic motions of the LMC and SMC probe the gravitational
potential of the dark halo. The internal proper motion due to rotation can
be
exploited to yield a rotational parallax distance to the LMC; the first time
that this will be done for any galaxy. This is particularly important for
the
LMC because of its crucial role in the extragalctic distance ladder.
Previous
measurements of the proper motion of the LMC yield a systemic component
ranging
from 1.4 mas/year to 3.4 mas/year {differing by several times the quoted
errors}, with no useful determination of the internal motions. The main
problem
with measurements of the proper motion of the LMC has been the lack of a
sample
of background quasars to use as reference frame. We have recently been able
to
identify a sample of 54 quasars behind the Magellanic Clouds from their
variability characteristics in the MACHO database. With this sample and the
advent of ACS an accurate proper motion measurement has become possible for
the
very first time.
ACS 9476
Galaxy Evolution in the Richest Clusters at z=0.8: the EDisCS Cluster Sample
The study of distant cluster galaxies requires two key ingredients: {1} deep
high-resolution imaging, to constrain galaxy structure; and {2} 8m-class
spectroscopy, to measure stellar content, star-formation rates, dynamics,
and
cluster membership. We will reach both conditions with the addition of
HST/ACS
imaging to our suite of VLT {36 nights} and NTT {20 nights} observations of
10
confirmed clusters at z~0.8, drawn from the ESO Distant Cluster Survey
{EDisCS}.
The proposed HST/ACS data will complement our existing optical/IR imaging
and
spectroscopy with quantitative measures of cluster galaxy morphologies {i.e.
sizes and shapes, bulge-disk decompositions, asymmetry parameters}, and with
measurements of cluster masses via weak lensing. Major advantages unique to
the
EDisCS project include: {i} uniform selection of clusters; {ii} large enough
sample sizes to characterize the substantial cluster-to-cluster variation in
galaxy populations; {iii} large quantities of high quality data from 8m
telescopes; {iv} uniform measurements of morphologies, spectroscopic and
photometric redshifts, SEDs, star-formation/AGN activities, and internal
kinematics; {v} optical selection of clusters to complement the X-ray
selection
of almost all high-z clusters in the ACS GTO programs; {vi} forefront
numerical
simulations designed specifically to allow physical interpretation of
observed
differences between the high-z and local clusters.
ACS 9480
Cosmic Shear With ACS Pure Parallels
Small distortions in the shapes of background galaxies by foreground mass
provide a powerful method of directly measuring the amount and distribution
of
dark matter. Several groups have recently detected this weak lensing by
large-scale structure, also called cosmic shear. The high resolution and
sensitivity of HST/ACS provide a unique opportunity to measure cosmic shear
accurately on small scales. Using 260 parallel orbits in Sloan textiti
{F775W}
we will measure for the first time: beginlistosetlength sep0cm
setlengthemsep0cm
setlength opsep0cm em the cosmic shear variance on scales <0.7 arcmin, em
the
skewness of the shear distribution, and em the magnification effect. endlist
Our
measurements will determine the amplitude of the mass power spectrum
sigma_8Omega_m^0.5, with signal-to-noise {s/n} ~ 20, and the mass density
Omega_m with s/n=4. They will be done at small angular scales where
non-linear
effects dominate the power spectrum, providing a test of the gravitational
instability paradigm for structure formation. Measurements on these scales
are
not possible from the ground, because of the systematic effects induced by
PSF
smearing from seeing. Having many independent lines of sight reduces the
uncertainty due to cosmic variance, making parallel observations ideal.
ACS 9482
ACS Pure Parallel Lyman-Alpha Emission Survey {APPLES}
Ly-alpha line emission is an efficient tool for identifying young galaxies
at
high redshift, because it is strong in galaxies with young stars and little
or
no dust — properties expected in galaxies undergoing their first burst of
star- formation. Slitless spectroscopy with the ACS Wide-Field Camera and
G800L
grism allows an unmatched search efficiency for such objects over the
uninterrupted range 4 <~ z <~ 7. We propose the ACS Pure Parallel Ly-alpha
Emission Survey {“APPLES”}, to exploit this unique HST capability and so
obtain the largest and most uniform sample of high redshift Ly-alpha
emitters
yet. Parallel observations will allow this survey to be conducted with
minimal
impact on HST resources, and we will place reduced images and extracted
spectra
in the public domain within three months of observation. We aim to find ~
1000
Ly-alpha emitters, 5 times the biggest current sample of Ly-alpha emitters.
This
unprecedented sample will provide robust statistics on the populations and
evolution of Ly-alpha emitters between redshifts 4–7; a robust measurement
of
the reionization redshift completely independent of the Gunn-Peterson
trough;
spatial clustering information for Ly-alpha emitters which would let us
probe
their bias function and hence halo mass as a function of redshift; many
galaxies
at redshift exceeding 6; and lower redshift serendipitous discoveries.
WFPC2 9594
WFPC2 CYCLE 11 SUPPLEMENTAL DARKS pt2/3
This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to provide
data
for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels
WFPC2 9598
Earth Flats
This proposal monitors flatfield stability. This proposal obtains sequences
of
Earth streak flats to construct high quality flat fields for the WFPC2
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. These Earth flats will complement the
Earth
flat data obtained during cycles 4-10.
STIS 9606
CCD Dark Monitor-Part 2
Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.
STIS 9608
CCD Bias Monitor – Part 2
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.
STIS/CAL 9609
CCD Read Noise Monitor
This proposal measures the read noise of all the amplifiers {A, B, C, D} on
the
STIS CCD using pairs of bias frames. Full frame and binned observations are
made
in both Gain 1 and Gain 4, with binning factors of 1×1, 1×2, 2×1 and 2×2.
All
exposures are internals. Pairs of visits are scheduled for monthly
execution.
STIS 9615
Cycle 11 MAMA Dark Monitor
This test performs the routine monitoring of the MAMA detector dark noise.
This
proposal will provide the primary means of checking on health of the MAMA
detectors systems through frequent monitoring of the background count rate.
The
purpose is to look for evidence of change in dark indicative of detector
problem
developing.
NICMOS 9644
Polarimetric Calibration
One HST standard unpolarized point source is observed to determine the
instrumental polarization for each of the three polarizers on NIC1 {POL0S,
POL120S and POL240S} and NIC2 {POL0L, POL120L, POL240L}. Also, the
polarization
fraction and position angle of polarization are measured for a standard
polarized point source to determine their absolute accuracy in each
polarizer
and each camera. Polarimetric observations of CRL2688 {The Egg Nebula} will
be
performed to evaluate the calibration across the imaging field in both
cameras.
These observations are required after the installation of the NCS.
ACS 9650
CCD Hot Pixel Annealing
Hot pixel annealing will be performed once every 4 weeks. The CCD TECs will
be
turned off and heaters will be activated to bring the WFC detector
temperature
to about +10C. The HRC temperature will reach about 30C.This state will be
held
for approximately 24 hours, after which the heaters are turned off, the TECs
turned on, and the CCDs returned to normal operating condition. To assess
the
effectiveness of this procedure, a bias and two dark images will be taken
before
and after the annealing procedure for both WFC and HRC.
ACS 9658
ACS Earth Flats
This program will obtain sequences of flat field images by observing the
bright
Earth. Several UV filters from the interim calibration program {9564}
require
additional exposures to obtain the required illumination. A few UV filters
from
this program will be repeated to monitor for changes in the flat fields and
to
verify the interim results. Since no streaks are observed in the UV, the
wavelength coverage is extended to longer wavelengths in order to explore
the
severity of streaks in the flats from clouds in the FOV. We have added
exposures
for the HRC in the visible filters to verify the results derived from the
L-flat
campaign and to explore the severity of streaks. We have also added
exposures on
WFC using the minimum exposure time and using filters which will not
saturate
the brightest WFC pixel by more than 10 times the full well.
ACS 9674
CCD Daily Monitor
This program consists of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the
development
of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD detectors. This
programme will be executed once a day for the entire lifetime of ACS.
STIS 9708
STIS Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 11
This is the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during cycle 11.
WFPC2 9709
POMS Test Proposal: WFII parallel archive proposal
This is the 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 2002 Parallels Working Group.
WFPC2 9710
POMS Test Proposal: WFII backup parallel archive proposal
This is a POMS test proposal designed to simulate scientific plans.
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of
potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)
HSTAR 9039: GS Acquisition (2,3,2) @ 140/16:12:02Z (began in ZOE) failed to
RGA control
due to SRLE on primary FGS 2 (Search Radius = 55
arcsec). Prior FHST FM Updates
showed good error vectors. Subsequent FHST Map @
140/16:34:46Z showed
RSS = 8.3 arcsec three axes error. Subsequent GS
Re-acquisitions @ 140/17:48:33Z
and 140/19:27:59Z also failed due to SRLE on FGS 2.
FHST Map @ 140/18:31Z showed
14.108 arcsec RSS error. Under investigation.
COMPLETED OPS REQs: None
OPS NOTES EXECUTED: None
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES
FGS GSacq 8 7 140/1612z
(HSTAR # 9039)
FGS REacq 8 6 140/1748z
and 140/1927z
FHST Update 17 17
LOSS of LOCK
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
HST FSW 2.3c Ops Acceptance Test for RAM Installation, Back Out, and EEPROM
installation
scheduled 141/10:00Z – 142/01:00Z with GDOC, HITT, SE, and VEST using CCS
BString with
CCS Release 4.0.2.2 and PRD O06100R1T. The purpose of this testing is to
verify installation
and back out procedures for the RAM version of FSW 2.2c and to verify EEPROM
installation
in an operational scenario.
