NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report # 3369

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

DAILY REPORT # 3369

PERIOD COVERED: DOY 142

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

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.

ACS/WFC 9351

Determining Hubble’s Constant from Observations of Cepheids in the Host
Galaxy
of SN Ia 1994ae

We propose to determine the luminosity of the type Ia supernova {SN Ia}
1994ae
by observing Cepheids in the host spiral galaxy NGC 3370. Modern CCD
photometry
has yielded an extremely tight Hubble diagram for SNe Ia with a precisely
determined intercept {i.e., Delta H_0/H_0} 1 measurement of the true
Hubble
constant is still limited by the calibration. The HST calibration of all
but a
few SNe Ia observed to date is significantly compromised by the
systematics of
photographic photometry and host galaxy extinction, as well as by the
photometric uncertainties associated with WFPC2. In contrast, SN 1994ae
is one
of the very best-observed SNe Ia with CCD photometry. The exquisite B, V,
R, and
I light curves are well-sampled beginning 10 days before maximum
brightness, and
they indicate little reddening. From our supernova photometry and the
current
provisional SN Ia calibration we would find a distance of 30 +/- 2.1 Mpc,
well
within the range where ACS can accurately observe Cepheid light curves
and
distinguish Cepheids from nonvariable stars.

NICMOS/STIS CCD 9405

The Origin of Gamma-Ray Bursts

The rapid and accurate localization of gamma-ray bursts {GRBs} promised
by a
working HETE-2 during the coming year may well revolutionize our ability
to
study these enigmatic, highly luminous transients. We propose a program
of HST
and Chandra observations to capitalize on this extraordinary opportunity.
We
will perform some of the most stringent tests yet of the standard model,
in
which GRBs represent collimated relativistic outflows from collapsing
massive
stars. NICMOS imaging and STIS CCD spectroscopy will detect broad atomic
features of supernovae underlying GRB optical transients, at luminosities
more
than three times fainter than SN 1998bw. UV, optical, and X-ray
spectroscopy
will be used to study the local ISM around the GRB. Chandra spectroscopy
will
investigate whether the GRB X-ray lines are from metals freshly ripped
from the
stellar core by the GRB. HST and CTIO infra-red imaging of the GRBs and
their
hosts will be used to determine whether `dark’ bursts are the product of
unusually strong local extinction; imaging studies may for the first time
locate
the hosts of `short’ GRBs. Our early polarimetry and late-time broadband
imaging
will further test physical models of the relativistic blast wave that
produces
the bright GRB afterglow, and will provide unique insight into the
influence of
the GRB environment on the afterglow.

ACS/WFPC2 9481

Pure Parallel Near-UV Observations with WFPC2 within High-Latitude ACS
Survey
Fields

In anticipation of the allocation of ACS high-latitude imaging survey{s},
we
request a modification of the default pure parallel program for those
WFPC2
parallels that fall within the ACS survey field. Rather than duplicate
the red
bands which will be done much better with ACS, we propose to observe in
the
near-ultraviolet F300W filter. These data will enable study of the
rest-frame
ultraviolet morphology of galaxies at 0<z<1. We will determine the
morphological
k-correction, and the location of star formation within galaxies, using a
sample
that is likely to be nearly complete with multi-wavelength photometry and
spectroscopic redshifts. The results can be used to interpret
observations of
higher redshift galaxies by ACS.

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.

ACS 9583

The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey: Imaging with ACS

We propose a Treasury program of ACS imaging as part of the Great
Observatories
Origins Deep Survey {GOODS}, covering 320{square}’, or 32* the area of
the two
original WFPC2 HDFs, to within 0.5–0.8 mag of their depth in four ACS
bands,
BViz. The two GOODS fields, the Hubble Deep Field North and Chandra Deep
Field
South, are the premier deep survey areas from X– ray to radio
wavelengths. ACS
data will provide unique angular resolution, sensitivity, and wavelength
coverage to close the gap between the deepest Chandra and SIRTF
observations.
Supported by extensive imaging and spectroscopy from the VLT, Keck,
Subaru,
NOAO, Gemini, VLA, JCMT, and other facilities, the combined GOODS data
set will
make it possible to map the evolution of the Hubble sequence with
redshift,
reconstruct the history of galaxy mass assembly, star formation and
nuclear
activity from the epoch of reionization to the present, trace the growth
of
density perturbations via cosmic shear, and, with properly phased z–band
observations, detect ~ 12 Type Ia supernovae at 1.2<z<1.8 to test the
cosmic
acceleration and the presence of dark energy. All HST, SIRTF, Chandra,
and
supporting GOODS data are non– proprietary, with science–quality images
and
catalogs released on a timescale of months. This will constitute the
deepest,
largest, and most uniform panchromatic data set ever assembled to study
the
distant universe.

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

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.

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.) None

COMPLETED OPS REQs: None

OPS NOTES EXECUTED: None

                         SCHEDULED     SUCCESSFUL    FAILURE TIMES
FGS
GSacq             5                          5



FGS REacq             10                        10
FHST Update           10                        10
LOSS of LOCK

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
HST FSW 2.3c Ops Acceptance Test for RAM installation, back out, and
EEPROM
installation scheduled 143/10:00Z – 144/01:00Z with GDOC, HITT, SE, and
VEST
using CCS "B" and "C" Strings 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 EEPROM installation procedure in an
operational scenario.