NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report # 3419
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
DAILY REPORT # 3419
PERIOD COVERED: DOY 216
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
WFPC2 9458
Probing the Formation & Evolution of M31’s Outer Disk and Halo
The fossil record of galaxy formation and evolution is imprinted on the
ACS 9470
Deep Lyman alpha images of starburst galaxies
We propose a pilot study to obtain deep ACS Ly-alpha images of a carefully
WFPC2 9589
WFPC2 Decontaminations and Associated Observations Pt. 1/3
This proposal is for the monthly WFPC2 decons. Also included are instrument
WFPC2 9595
WFPC2 CYCLE 11 SUPPLEMENTAL DARKS pt3/3
This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to provide
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
STIS 9612
STIS CCD Hot Pixel Annealing Cycle 11
The effectiveness of the CCD hot pixel annealing process is assessed by
ACS 9675
CCD Daily Monitor
This program consists of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the
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
WFPC2 9710
POMS Test Proposal: WFII backup parallel archive proposal
This is a POMS test proposal designed to simulate scientific plans.
ACS/WFC 9842
A Snapshot Search for Halo Very-Low-Mass Binaries
We propose a snapshot search for binary M subdwarf stars. These nearby stars
ACS/HRC 9976
The Parallaxes and Proper Motions of Two Nearby Neutron Stars
We propose to measure the parallax of two nearby neutron stars to the
ACS 9984
Cosmic Shear With ACS Pure Parallels
Small distortions in the shapes of background galaxies by foreground mass
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of
COMPLETED OPS REQs: None
OPS NOTES EXECUTED:
{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
spatial
distribution, ages and metallicities of galactic stellar populations. The
observations proposed here build significantly upon our extensive
ground-based
and archival WFPC2 programs and aim to constrain the formation and evolution
of
our nearest large neighbor, M31. We propose deep imaging of 8 fields in the
outer disk and halo, several of which have been identified from our
panoramic
ground-based CCD survey {covering ~ 26 square degrees} to possess
significant
stellar density and/or potential metallicity variations. Deep
colour-magnitude
diagrams reaching ~2-3 magnitudes below the horizontal branch will be
constructed, allowing detailed characterization of the luminous evolved
stellar
populations via the red giant metallicity distribution, the luminous
asymptotic
giant branch, the horizontal branch morphology and the red clump, as well
as the
detection of a main-sequence that may be present from any younger
component. Our
primary goals are to: {i} quantify the stellar population variations
associated
with M31 halo substructure, including the newly- discovered giant stellar
stream, and {ii} derive stringent constraints on the age and metallicity of
stars in the far outer disk. These observations will directly address two
key
predictions of cold dark matter hierarchical galaxy formation models.
selected sample of local starburst galaxies. Ly-alpha imaging of such
objects
has become feasible with ACS. These observations will bring unprecedented
insight into the processes regulating the luminosity of the cosmologically
important Ly-alpha line. Our targets cover the full range of observed
Ly-alpha
properties. They have been chosen to investigate the effects of dust, the
starburst luminosity, and outflows within the ISM. The sample is optimized
for a
most favorable trade-off between the relevant parameter space and the
minimum
number of orbits. We can build on this pilot study for a much larger
follow-up
survey in a later cycle. Deep H Alpha and H Beta high-resolution images
from the
ground will allow us to quantify the Ly-alpha emission {or its lack} and its
attenuation as a function of the local dust content. The H Alpha emission at
a
given location will constrain the intrinsic intensity of the expected
Ly-alpha
emission. A non-detection will allow us to quantify the fraction of Ly-
alpha
photons destroyed within the neutral gas, and to correlate this fraction
with
the properties of the neutral gas and dust. Since Ly-alpha emitters are used
to
identify and study galaxies at redshift 3-6, our study will document the
circumstances when a star–forming galaxy shows Ly-alpha emission. This will
be
an important first step towards an empirical calibration of the relation
between
Ly-alpha and the star–formation rate.
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.
data
for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels.
1×1
at gain = 4, to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the evolution of hot
columns.
measuring the dark current behavior before and after annealing and by
searching
for any window contamination effects. In addition CTE performance is
examined by
looking for traps in a low signal level flat. Follows on from proposal 8906.
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.
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.
have high velocities and low metallicies that identify them as members of
the
old Galactic halo {Population II}. ACS imaging is requested to search for
secondary companions. This supplements a previous snapshot program that only
obtained 10 observations. The observed binary fraction will be compared to
the
disk M dwarf fraction to look for differences in star formation. It is
likely
that a system suitable for orbital mass determinations will be found. In
this
case, future HST observations could determine the first masses for
very-low-mass, low-metallicity stars.
highest
possible level of accuracy, ~.0.5 mas. The primary goal is to determine the
neutron-star radius at infinity with better than 1 km precision, and
therewith
obtain a direct constraint on the equation of state of matter at
supra-nuclear
density. The required flux and temperature determinations are easiest for
the
so-called isolated or radio-quiet neutron stars because of their apparently
completely thermal spectrum. We argue that the importance of the possible
results warrants a study to the best possible level of the best possible
sources, and request 24 orbits for the two brightest isolated neutron stars,
RX
J1856.5-3754 and RX J0720.4-3125. We will also determine whether the
enigmatic
RX J0720.4-3125 is an old magnetar or an accreting source, based on its
luminosity and proper motion.
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.
potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) None
0911-0 Limit Management During WFPC2 Decontamination (M001) @ 217/0112z
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES
FGS GSacq 04 04
FGS REacq 11 11
FHST Update 09 09
LOSS of LOCK
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
Intercept load being process for SMS216, the intercept time is 218/0329z.
Completed Long Duration System Loading and Command Communication Controller
testing
Day 213 – 216 using CCS “C” and “D” Strings. Test was successful, however,
each
test encountered Network and/or System errors. During the CCC checkout, a
Network
problem developed at approximately 213/13:51Z. System load test had
clients loaded
on Core = 100, Backbone = 479, and HSTnet = 354 which ran the duration of
the weekend.
