Status Report

NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report # 3570

By SpaceRef Editor
March 17, 2004
Filed under , ,

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE – Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 3570

PERIOD COVERED: DOY 75

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/HRC 9747

An Imaging Survey of the Statistical Frequency of Binaries Among
Exceptionally-Young Dynamical Families in the Main Asteroid Belt

We propose an ambitious SNAPSHOT program to determine the frequency of
binaries
among two very young asteroid families in the Main Belt, with potentially
profound implications. These families {of C- and S-type} have recently been
discovered {Nesvorny et al. 2002, Nature 417, 720}, through dynamical
modeling,
to have been formed at 5.8 MY and 8.3 MY ago in catastrophic impact events.
This
is the first time such precise and young ages have been assigned to a
family.
Main-belt binaries are almost certainly produced by collisions, and we would
expect a young family to have a significantly higher frequency of binaries
than
the background, because they may not yet have been destroyed by impact or
longer-term gravitational instabilities. In fact, one of the prime
observables
from such an event should be the propensity for satellites. This is the
best way
that new numerical models for binary production by collisions {motivated
largely
by our ground-based discoveries of satellites among larger asteroids}, can
be
validated and calibrated. We will also measure two control
clusters, one being an “old” family, and the other a collection of
background
asteroids that do not have a family association, and further compare with
our
determined value for the frequency of large main-belt binaries {2%}. We
request
visits to 180 targets, using ACS/HRC.

ACS/HRC/WFC 10059

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/HRC/WFC/NIC2 9753

Morphologies of EROs and Field Galaxies in SIRTF’s First Look Survey: A Rich
Early Release Dataset

The SIRTF First Look Survey {FLS} will be the first scientific program
undertaken with NASA’s next Great Observatory. The FLS provides the first
large
sample of dusty galaxies to redshifts to z < 2 and a census of large-scale global IR properties {luminosities, color temperatures, total dust mass, etc.} HST observations to measure morphology are critical to provide insight into the mechanisms which build up the various galaxy components--disks, bulges as well as chaotic morphologies. We will measure quantitative morphology of fifty extremely red objects {EROs} with targeted NICMOS pointings and hundreds of field galaxies with ACS in parallel in the FLS. We aim to understand how EROs fit into the evolutionary sequence of galaxy formation. The combined HST and SIRTF observations will provide clues into the physical processes responsible for generating powerful far-IR sources or, conversely, may explain why some galaxies are inactive in the far-IR. Ancillary ground-based optical, near-IR, and radio data have already been obtained and DEIMOS spectra are scheduled for June, 2003. We waive the proprietary period for the HST observations and if executed early in Cycle 12 the FLS will be the first complete SIRTF+HST survey made available to the astronomical community, well in advance of the majority of the Legacy observations and all of the GTO surveys.

ACS/WFC/HRC 9977

Gravitational Microlensing in the NGC 3314A-B Galaxy Pair

Determining the composition of the dark matter that dominates the masses of
galaxies is an important unsolved problem, and the results of the MACHO
Collaboration suggest that some of Milky Way’s dark matter may be in the
form of
very old white dwarfs. However, some have argued that the excess of
microlensing
events seen by MACHO are due to a larger than expected microlensing rate for
lens stars in the LMC itself or its tidal debris. We propose to address this
question by detecting microlensing events in the line-of-sight galaxy pair
NGC
3314 A & B. The large line-of-sight distance between these galaxies gives an
optical depth that is 3-4 orders of magnitude larger than if the source
stars
and lenses were in the same galaxy, and the fact that the background galaxy
is a
spiral ensures that there will be a sufficient number of bright,
non-variable
source stars. Our proposed observations should have the sensitivity to
detect
microlensing by both ordinary stars and dark matter in NGC 3314A {the
foreground
galaxy}. If there are dark matter microlensing events to be found, they can
be
clearly distinguished from stellar microlensing events because they will
occur
outside the visible disk of NGC 3314A. If baryonic dark matter is detected
in
NGC 3314A, we will be able to map its radial density variation.

ACS/WFC/WFPC2 9822

The COSMOS 2-Degree ACS Survey

We will undertake a 2 square degree imaging survey {Cosmic Evolution
Survey —
COSMOS} with ACS in the I {F814W} band of the VIMOS equatorial field. This
wide
field survey is essential to understand the interplay between Large Scale
Structure {LSS} evolution and the formation of galaxies, dark matter and
AGNs
and is the one region of parameter space completely unexplored at present by
HST. The equatorial field was selected for its accessibility to all
ground-based
telescopes and low IR background and because it will eventually contain
~100,
000 galaxy spectra from the VLT-VIMOS instrument. The imaging will detect
over 2
million objects with I> 27 mag {AB, 10 sigma}, over 35, 000 Lyman Break
Galaxies
{LBGs} and extremely red galaxies out to z ~ 5. COSMOS is the only HST
project
specifically designed to probe the formation and evolution of structures
ranging
from galaxies up to Coma-size clusters in the epoch of peak galaxy, AGN,
star
and cluster formation {z ~0.5 to 3}. The size of the largest structures
necessitate the 2 degree field. Our team is committed to the assembly of
several
public ancillary datasets including the optical spectra, deep XMM and VLA
imaging, ground-based optical/IR imaging, UV imaging from GALEX and IR data
from
SIRTF. Combining the full-spectrum multiwavelength imaging and spectroscopic
coverage with ACS sub-kpc resolution, COSMOS will be Hubble’s ultimate
legacy
for understanding the evolution of both the visible and dark universe.

NIC/NIC3 9865

The NICMOS Parallel Observing Program

We propose to continue managing the NICMOS pure parallel program. Based on
our
experience, we are well prepared to make optimal use of the parallel
opportunities. The improved sensitivity and efficiency of our observations
will
substantially increase the number of line-emitting galaxies detected. As our
previous work has demonstrated, the most frequently detected line is Halpha
at
0.7 NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8792

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration – CR Persistence Part 3

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.

NIC3 9999

The COSMOS 2-Degree ACS Survey NICMOS Parallels

The COSMOS 2-Degree ACS Survey NICMOS Parallels. This program is a companion
to
program 9822.

STIS/CCD 10017

CCD Dark Monitor-Part 1

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS/CCD 10019

CCD Bias Monitor – Part 1

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/CCD 10029

Slit Wheel Repeatability

Test the repeatability of the slit wheel by taking a sequence of comparison
lamp
spectra with grating G230MB {2697} and the three smallest long slits
{52X0.2,
52X0.1, and 52X0.05}. This is a clone of Cycle 11 Program 9626.

STIS/CCD 10085

STIS Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 12

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

WFPC2 10068

WFPC2 CYCLE 12 Standard Darks

This dark calibration program obtains dark frames every week in order to
provide
data for the ongoing calibration of the CCD dark current rate, and to
monitor
and characterize the evolution of hot pixels. Over an extended period these
data
will also provide a monitor of radiation damage to the CCDs.

WFPC2 10070

WFPC2 CYCLE 12 Supplemental Darks Part 2/3

This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to provide
data
for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels.

WFPC2 10072

WFPC2 CYCLE 12 INTERNAL MONITOR

This calibration proposal is the Cycle 12 routine internal monitor for
WFPC2, to
be run weekly to monitor the health of the cameras. A variety of internal
exposures are obtained in order to provide a monitor of the integrity of
the CCD
camera electronics in both bays {gain 7 and gain 15}, a test for quantum
efficiency in the CCDs, and a monitor for possible buildup of contaminants
on
the CCD windows.

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             10                       10
FGS REacq             03                        03
FHST Update           16                        16
LOSS of LOCK

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

VEST HST-SIMSS Release 1.0 Validation Testing scheduled 076/11:00Z – 21:00Z
with GDOC, HITT, SE, SOC, and VEST using CCS “B” String with CCS Release
4.0.3.1
and PRD O06300T. The purpose of this testing is to verify the
functionality of
the HST-SIMSS Release 1.0 interface between the VEST Structure and the
STOCC CCS.

SpaceRef staff editor.