NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #3964

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE – Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 3964

PERIOD COVERED: UT October 11, 2005 (DOY 284)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/WFC 10496

Decelerating and Dustfree: Efficient Dark Energy Studies with Supernovae and Clusters

We propose a novel HST approach to obtain a dramatically more useful “dust free” Type Ia supernovae {SNe Ia} dataset than available with the previous GOODS searches. Moreover, this approach provides a strikingly more efficient search-and-follow-up that is primarily pre- scheduled. The resulting dark energy measurements do not share the major systematic uncertainty at these redshifts, that of the extinction correction with a prior. By targeting massive galaxy clusters at z > 1 we obtain a five-times higher efficiency in detection of Type Ia supernovae in ellipticals, providing a well-understood host galaxy environment. These same deep cluster images then also yield fundamental calibrations required for future weak lensing and Sunyaev-Zel’dovich measurements of dark energy, as well as an entire program of cluster studies. The data will make possible a factor of two improvement on supernova constraints on dark energy time variation, and much larger improvement in systematic uncertainty. They will provide both a cluster dataset and a SN Ia dataset that will be a longstanding scientific resource.

ACS/WFC 10569

A Last Look at the First Gravitational Lens

Strong gravitational lensing provides our best probe of the behavior of dark matter in galaxy halos and their substructure. We undertake ACS imaging to gain new strong and weak lensing data for the first-discovered lens system Q0957+561. We will make a weak lensing image spanning 6′ to map the potential of the cluster around the lens galaxy, and simultaneously obtain a deep image of more than 10 multiply-imaged features in the strong lensing region. This will complete HST’s legacy dataset for Q0957+561: a deep multicolor image of a rich multiple-image system, an extremely high-quality weak lensing map, and an existing deep NICMOS image of the Einstein ring. We will combine these three kinds of data into a single lens model–a first–to produce a sophisticated dark matter map that will provide a uniquely detailed view of the relation between visible and dark matter on galaxy scales, and the best available constraints on dark substructure. In addition, the best available $H_0$ measurement from lensing will potentially allow us to leverage the WMAP data into a more precise measurement of dark energy properties as well. Astrophysics with strong lensing depends crucially on HST’s unique capability for precise, well-resolved observations of low-surface-brightness structures next to bright objects, so it is a high priority to address outstanding questions before the demise of HST.

ACS/WFC 10588

The Host Galaxies of Post-Starburst Quasars

We propose to use ACS to conduct a snapshot imaging survey of post-starburst quasars now being discovered in signficant numbers by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Post-starburst quasars are broad-lined AGN that also possess Balmer jumps and high-n Balmer absorption lines indicative of luminous stellar populations on order of 100 Myr old. These objects, representing a few percent of the z < 0.5 quasar population, may be an evolutionary stage in the transition of ultraluminous infrared galaxies into normal quasars, or a type of galaxy interaction that triggers both star formation and nuclear activity. These sources may also illustrate how black hole mass/bulge mass correlations arise. Ground-based imaging of individual poststarburst quasars has revealed merger remnants, binary systems, and single point sources. Our ACS snapshots will enable us to determine morphologies and binary structure on sub-arcsecond scales {surely present in the sample and impossible to do without HST}, as well as basic host galaxy properties. We will be looking for relationships among morphology, particularly separation of double nuclei, the starburst age, the quasar black hole mass and accretion rate, that will lead to an understanding of the triggering activity and mutual evolution. This project will bring quantitative data and statistics to the previously fuzzy and anecdotal topic of the "AGN-starburst connection" and help test the idea that post-starburst quasars are an early evolutionary stage of normal quasars.

WFPC2 10360

WFPC2 CYCLE 13 INTERNAL MONITOR

This calibration proposal is the Cycle 13 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.

WFPC2 10745

WFPC2 CYCLE 14 INTERNAL MONITOR

This calibration proposal is the Cycle 14 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 {both gain 7 and gain 15 — to test stability of gains and bias levels}, a test for quantum efficiency in the CCDs, and a monitor for possible buildup of contaminants on the CCD windows. These also provide raw data for generating annual super-bias reference files for the calibration pipeline.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)

HSTARS: 9973 – GSacq(2,1,2) resulted in finelock backup (1,0,1) @ 285/06:26:28z
GSacq(2,1,2) scheduled at 285/06:22:21 resulted in finelock backup (1,0,1) due to scan step limit exceeded on FGS 2. The OBADS showed errors of:

OBAD1: V1=1110.39, V2=2669.34, V3=2167.53, RSS= 3613.38
OBAD2: V1= 1.44, V2= 3.15, V3= 0.87, RSS= 3.57

9974 – GSacq(2,1,2) failed @ 285/07:46:48z
GSacq(2,1,2) scheduled at 285/07:42:39 – 07:49:53 failed. A ESB 1805 (T2G Moving Target detected) was recieved at 07:46:50. Only stop flags QF1STOPF and QF2STOPF were recieved.

OBAD1: V1= -63.09, V2= -5124.02, V3= -46.36, RSS = 5124.62
OBAD2: V1= 13.93, V2= 7.64, V3= 4.68, RSS= 16.56
Map M1,2: V1= -1.94, V2= -137.35, V3= -4.88, RSS= 137.45

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST:

17569-0 Off-line +D and -AA SPA Trim Relays @ 284/14:50z

17537-1 Restore TMDIAG Slot 0 for VehConLaw.Integral Path Data (Generic OR) @ 284/14:56z

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                           SCHEDULED      SUCCESSFUL      FAILURE TIMES
FGS Gsacq                   6                     6
FGS 
Reacq                   4                     3 
285/07:46:38z (HSTAR# 9974)
OBAD with Maneuver    18                   18

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

Flash Report: Off Line +D and -AA strings (Ops Req #17569-0)
On DOY 2005/284, Ops Request 17569-0 was successfully executed to
command the +BB (Batt 3) and the +B (Batt 4) SPAs back on-line via
IP-097: Procedure to Modify Commanding of the +BB and the +B SPA Trim
Relays: Removal Procedure. The Ops Request also called upon IP-099:
Procedure to Modify Commanding of the -AA and +D SPA Trim Relays: Update
Procedure, to command -AA (Batt 4) and the +D (Batt 1) SPAs off-line.
Battery pressures, and temperatures performed nominally.

The Electrical Power Subsystem continues to perform as expected.