Status Report

NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report # 3440

By SpaceRef Editor

September 4, 2003

Filed under Hubble Space Telescope, Space Telescope Science Institute, US

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

DAILY REPORT # 3440

PERIOD COVERED: DOY 246

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS 9657

ACS Internal Flat Field Stability

The flat field stability and characterization obtained during the
ground calibration and SMOV phases will be tested and verified through
a sub-sample of the filter set. Only internal exposures with the
calibration lamps will be required.

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.

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.

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.

NIC2 9875

The Fundamental Plane of Massive Gas-Rich Mergers

We propose deep NICMOS H-band imaging of a carefully selected sample
of 33 luminous, late-stage galactic mergers. This program is part of a
comprehensive investigation of the most luminous mergers in the nearby
universe, the ultraluminous infrared galaxies {ULIGs}. The
high-resolution HST images will complement an extensive set of
ground-based data that include long-slit NIR spectra from a recently
approved Large VLT Programme. This unique dataset will allow us to
derive with unprecedented precision structural -and- kinematic
parameters for a large unbiased sample of objects spanning the entire
ULIG luminosity function. These data will refine the fundamental plane
of massive gas-rich mergers and enable us to answer the following
questions: {1} Do ultraluminous mergers form elliptical galaxies, and
in particular, giant ellipticals? {2} Do ULIGs evolve into optically
bright QSOs? The results from this detailed study of massive mergers
in the local universe will be relevant to understanding galaxy
formation and evolution at earlier epochs, and in particular, the
dusty sub-mm population that accounts for more than half of the star
formation at z > 1.

NIC3/ACS/HRC/WFC 9803

Deep NICMOS Images of the UDF

The ACS Ultra Deep Field {UDF} images will greatly enhance the rich
suite of deep multi-wavelength images in the Chandra Deep Field South
{CDF–S}. We propose to complete the image set with deep near-IR
NICMOS images at 1.1 and 1.6 microns over a significant fraction of
the UDF, providing a critical link between the HST ACS and SIRTF
observations. The timely addition of the near-IR images ensures that
investigators will have images that span the spectrum from X-ray to
far IR. In recognition of the value of the near IR images this
proposal is submitted as a Treasury proposal with no proprietary
period. The proposal team will deliver science quality images,
mosaiced images covering 4.9 sq arc min, and a photometric catalog
complete to an AB mag of 28.2 in both the F110W and F160W filters. The
program also delivers a parallel extremely deep ACS field, 8′ away,
that reaches to within 0.6 mag of the UDF in the same filters as the
UDF. The scientific program of the proposal team focuses on the star
formation history of the universe, evolved galaxies at high redshift,
galaxies at the epoch of reionization, and the redshift evolution of
AGNs and ULIRGs. The HDF-N is currently the only field with
spatially-coincident deep HST imaging in both the optical and near-IR.
The small size of the HDF-N means that large scale structure is the
dominant error in the results from the HDF-N. Providing observations
in a field that is spatially uncorrelated is critically important. The
UDF/CDF-S fulfills that goal. The depth of the UDF ACS imaging, and
the wealth of Great Observatory and ground based observations in the
CDF-S, make these NICMOS observations uniquely valuable. An
extraordinarily rich array of science opportunities await the
community from the NICMOS UDF data.

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.

NICMOS 9639

Photometric Stability

This NICMOS calibration proposal carries out photometric monitoring
observations during cycle 11.

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 9612

STIS CCD Hot Pixel Annealing Cycle 11

The effectiveness of the CCD hot pixel annealing process is assessed
by 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.

STIS/CCD 10000

STIS Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 12

This is the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during
cycle 12.

STIS/CCD 9838

The Upper End of the Supermassive Black Hole Mass Function: Pushing
the 10 Billion Solar Mass Limit.

In 1994, HST provided the first secure detection of a supermassive
black hole {SBH} in a galactic nucleus. The galaxy was M87, the black
hole almost 4 billion solar masses. Since then, two dozen additional
SBH detections have been the outcome of the several hundred orbits of
HST time devoted to this cause. Yet, M87’s black hole is still the
most massive known, and in only two other galaxies have SBHs in excess
of a billion solar masses been detected. The aim of this proposal is
to characterize the high mass end of the local SBH mass function. Four
brightest cluster galaxies have been carefully selected. Their large
masses, luminosites and stellar velocity dispersions, as well as their
having a merging history which is unmatched by galaxies in less
crowded environments, make these galaxies the most promising hosts of
the most massive SBHs in the local Universe. It is in the high mass
regime that the unavoidable link between the evolution of supermassive
black holes and the hierarchical build-up of galaxies leaves its
clearest signature. It is these galaxies that are expected to be the
relicts of the most luminous high redshift quasars, those so
spectacularly targeted by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Expanding {and
extending} the high mass end of the local SBH mass function is the
next obligatory step we need to take to improve our understanding of
how SBHs, and their hosts, formed and evolved.

STIS/CCD 9839

Recombination Lines and Temperature Structure in Planetary Nebulae

A high-spatial resolution study of recombination lines {RLs} in bright
compact planetary nebulae {PNs} is proposed. Many PNs show a large
discrepancy between abundances derived from O II RLs and those derived
from [O III]. Others show little or no discrepancy. The PNs with small
discrepancies are more compact and high surface brightness. This
program seeks to understand why PNs show such differences by studying
the RLs at high spatial resolution in the compact PNs NGC 6572 and NGC
6790, which show no discrepancy between O II and [O III], to compare
with ground-based studies of the larger PNs NGC 6153 and NGC 6720. The
goal is to determine if the distribution of RL emission in NGC 6572
and NGC 6790 is more consistent with radiative recombination than in
NGC 6720, where the RL emission is more centrally peaked than [O III].
This will allow us to demonstrate whether or not it is the RLs that
are preferentially enhanced in the nebulae with large discrepancies.
The Cat’s Eye nebula NGC 6543 will also be observed, to determine if
the enhanced RL emission is connected to the presence of X-ray
emitting gas, as might be expected if the enhanced RLs are a result of
high temperature dielectronic recombination.

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.

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.

WFPC2 9712

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

WFPC2/ACS/WFC 9761

A morphological study of EROs and sub-mm sources in a unique deep field

We propose a deep I-band ACS WFC survey in a unique deep field,
focusing on two classes of high-redshift galaxy which are believed to
be the progenitors of today’s massive ellipticals: {1} our
recently-studied deep sample of 158 "extremely red objects" {EROs};
{2} a complete flux-limited sample of 14 SCUBA sub-mm sources, which
may represent the formation episode of the most massive galaxies at
high redshift. The basic goals are to go deep enough to obtain
morphological parameters for this large sample {e.g. scale-lengths and
shape parameters} to investigate whether, for example, the EROs have
sizes comparable to present day elliptical galaxies. Likewise, what
are the typical size scales and morphologies for the SCUBA sources?
Can we visualize their formation from smaller fragments? We can
achieve both goals in a single contiguous field with a mosaic of 8
deep ACS WFC fields, requiring 16 orbits.

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 7 7 FGS REacq 8 8 FHST Update 18 18 LOSS of LOCK

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: None