NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report # 3417
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT # 3417
PERIOD COVERED: DOY 212
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
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.
GO 9387
The Natural Occulting Disk and Host Galaxy of the Red BAL Quasar FIRST
J1556+3517
We propose an innovative imaging observation of the host galaxy of the
red, broad absorption line {BAL} quasar FIRST J1556+3517. This object
is already noteworthy as being the first radio-loud BAL quasar, and
moreover a member of the very rare class of “Fe-LoBAL” quasars.
FIRST J1556+3517 also has the unique property {out of some 60+
BALQSOs} of having unpolarized BAL troughs wider than the bandpass of
the linear ramp filter of ACS. This unpolarized trough light most
likely arises from stars comprising the host galaxy of FIRST
J1556+3517. In this special quasar exists a natural occulting disk —
the BAL outflow — and the opportunity to image a quasar host galaxy
at high redshift without the complications of separating out the
quasar. Red low-ionization BAL quasars like FIRST J1556+3517 have been
hypothesized to be young merger products with high accretion rates and
active star formation, perhaps representing a key evolutionary state
in the lifetime of massive galaxies.
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.
STIS 9487
UV Sounding of the M-Giant Atmosphere in the Symbiotic Binary EG-AND
EG-AND is an eclipsing system which provides us with the capability to
study the structure of a fairly normal non- variable red giant
point-by-point through its atmosphere. The white dwarf secondary
provides a bright far-UV continuum source against which absorption
from a broad range of ionization levels can be seen, ranging from
molecular hydrogen close to the giant star to ionized material further
away. The systemic velocity is such that these features are well
resolved from the intervening ISM component. In addition, the system
has low extinction {A_V = 0.15}, has never been observed to undergo an
eruption, and has a circular orbit, so there is no periodic
disturbance of the giant atmosphere. Both calculation and direct
observation show that the effect of the dwarf star’s ionizing
continuum on the red giant is minimal. We have an on-going FUSE
program that has covered part of the orbital cycle. We have proposed
for FUSE Cycle 3, and we request observing time with STIS to complete
the picture. The resolution of the FUSE and STIS spectra are
well-matched and suitable for detailed comparison of the intrinsic
atmospheric features. Existing archival IUE data is insufficient for
our purposes due to low resolution and/or low S/N. HRS data is of low
S/N, partial wavelength coverage, and may suffer from instrumental
scattered light. Even when both datasets are combined, some phases
have never been observed in the UV.
WFPC2 9595
WFPC2 CYCLE 11 SUPPLEMENTAL DARKS pt3/3
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 9675
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.
STIS 9783
The Ages of Nuclear Star Clusters in Early-type Spiral Galaxies
We propose to obtain STIS G430L spectra of the previously identified
nuclear star cluster in a sample of 16 spiral galaxies of early to
intermediate Hubble type. HST’s spatial resolution is required to
separate the nuclear cluster from the underlying galaxy bulge.
Analysis of the spectra with population synthesis methods will reveal
the cluster ages. We will use the age distribution to constrain the
duty cycle of nuclear cluster formation. Comparison of the results to
those for a larger sample of nuclear clusters in late-type, bulgeless
galaxies will allow us to investigate possible differences between the
formation mechanisms of nuclear clusters in early and late Hubble
types. Such differences might be expected because galaxy bulges show a
dichotomy: in late Hubble types, the surface brightness profiles are
best described by an exponential, while they follow a de Vaucouleurs
law in earlier types. Although the reason for this dichotomy is still
unknown, it is plausible that galaxy bulges have different formation
mechanisms at the two ends of the Hubble sequence. We know that {1}
nuclear cluster formation is linked to the funneling of gas towards
the nucleus via gravitational torques from stellar bars, {2} a nuclear
mass concentration can make bars unstable, and {3} unstable bars can
form bulges. Therefore, the age distribution of nuclear star clusters
contains important clues to the evolution of galaxy centers and
promises new insight into the origin of the Hubble sequence.
STIS 9973
Intensive Coverage of the Eta Carinae Event in 2003
For a variety of reasons, HST can provide a very special and unique
data set when Eta Car experiences its next spectroscopic event in
mid-2003. Explaining the phenomenon is only part of the motivation.
This star and its ejecta have unique characteristics that make them
important for several branches of astrophysics; and when a
spectroscopic event occurs, it’s like varying the parameters in an
experiment {or rather, set of experiments}. The 2003 event may be the
only chance in the forseeable future to obtain such a data set,
especially with HST. Eta Carinae has extreme parameters; it is
mysterious in surprisingly basic ways; and HST/STIS can gather useful
data on it at a terrific rate. As we explain below, the proposed data
set will be valuable in several independent ways: It will help solve a
specific set of current problems, it will constitute a large and
unique archival data base for both stellar and nebular astrophysics,
and it will be well-suited for educational uses.
ACS 9984
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.
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary
reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be
investigated.)
COMPLETED OPS REQs: 17013-2 NICMOS EEPROM Dump @ 212/2110z
OPS NOTES EXECUTED: 0915-1 HSTAR Documentation for FHST Map/Update
Failures @ 212/18:46:57z
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES FGS GSacq 06 06 FGS REacq 08 08
FHST Update 16 15 212/18:46:57z LOSS of LOCK
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
Successfully completed the restore of the nominal FULROC limit for
battery rate-of-charge safing test and re-enabled the Over Charge
Avoidance Routine @ 212/12:55Z. Anticipate placing FSW in 6-battery
configuration at approximately 213/14:23Z.
Successfully completed playback of Continuous Engineering Record data
@ 212/14:52:35Z, recorded during earlier Battery 5 Capacity Test (OR
17012-1 with attached script).
Following modification of the NICMOS Gain Tables, the FSW Team
requested a copy of the on-board NICMOS EEPROM code. Successfully
completed dumped copy of NICMOS EEPROM code @ 212/21:10Z (OR 17013-2
with attached COP 19.20 NICMOS Memory Dump). SSA Transmitter 1 ON/OFF
212/21:07:38Z 21:28:46Z.
Completed CCS Release 5.0.3 Engineering Telemetry Monitoring and
Compare testing 211/11:25Z 17:12Z and 212/11:00Z 15:56Z using CCS
D B and C Strings in Test account and database S07200S and
S07200. Testing was successful with a couple of issues. CCS Release
5.0.3 nominally ingested several telemetry formats in normal and fixed
mode. Real-time telemetry was also ingested. Several CCL directives
were issued to manipulate the FEP to ingest telemetry down irregular
channels (e.g., I-channel telemetry ingested in Q-channel). Corrupted
telemetry was also ingested by CCS and responded correctly. CCS
Release 5.0.3 compared identically against CCS Release 4.0.3 and
4.0.2.2. Two issues were recorded in the CCS Release 5.0.3 Issues
Matrix: Command failure with No MF Increment when commanding in E
Format and Pages existed in list for Page Search but would not
populate when launched.
Successfully completed CCS Release 4.0.3 Desktop Functionality testing
212/17:30Z 15:45Z using CCS B String with CCS Release 4.0.3 and
PRD O06100T1R. Sequence 1 through 18 were tested against the
re-deployed CCS Release 4.0.3. All tools/utilities tested worked as
expected.