NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #4255

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE DAILY REPORT # 4255

– Continuing to collect World Class Science

PERIOD COVERED: UT December 07, 2006 (DOY 341)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/HRC 10867

SAINTS – Supernova 1987A INTensive Survey

SAINTS is a program to observe SN 1987A, the brightest supernova in 383 years, as it morphs into the youngest supernova remnant at age 19. HST is a unique tool for spatially-resolved observations of the many physical components of SN 1987A. A violent encounter is now underway between the fastest-moving debris and the circumstellar ring: the collision excites “hotspots” that light up suddenly. The optical, infrared and X-ray fluxes are rising rapidly and vary significantly on 6-month time scales: regularly-spaced HST, SPITZER, and CHANDRA observations are needed to understand the physics of these shocked regions. In Cycle 15, the many separate hotspots may begin to fuse as the shock fully enters the circumstellar ring. Photons from these shocks may excite previously invisible gas outside the ring, revealing the true extent of the mass loss that preceded the explosion of Sanduleak -69 202. The inner debris of the explosion itself, still excited by radioactive isotopes produced in the explosion, is now resolved by ACS and seen to be aspherical, providing direct evidence on the asymmetry of the explosion. Many questions about SN 1987A remain unanswered despite our diligent efforts at observation and analysis since the launch of HST. How did the enigmatic three rings form? Precisely what took place in the core during the core collapse and bounce? Is a black hole or a neutron star left behind in the debris? The rich and deep data set from SAINTS will be a resource for current use and for future reference to help answer these central questions of supernova science.

ACS/HRC/WFC 10896

An Efficient ACS Coronagraphic Survey for Debris Disks around Nearby Stars

We propose to finish our Cycle 11 optical survey for nearby debris disks using the ACS/HRC coronagraph. Out of 43 orbits originally proposed for the survey, 23 orbits were allocated, leading to a survey of 22 stars, from which two new debris disks were imaged for the first time. Our analysis of the initial survey gives an empirical estimate for the detection rate of debris disks relative to heliocentric distance and dust optical depth. Our target list for Cycle 15 is now optimized to yield more frequent disk detections. Likewise our observing strategy is improved to maximize sensitivity per telescope orbit allocated. Therefore we present the most efficient survey possible. The scientific motivation is to obtain scattered light images of previously unresolved debris disks to determine their viewing geometry and physical architecture, both of which may characterize the underlying planetary system. We choose 25 debris disk targets for which we predict a detection rate of 25% ? 5%. Four targets have extrasolar planets from which the viewing geometry revealed by a disk detection will resolve the v sin{i} ambiguity in the planet masses. These targets present the remarkable opportunity of finally seeing a debris disk in system with known planets.

ACS/WFC 10521

ACS Imaging of a Unique Spitzer Field: Morphology of mid-IR Variable Sources

We propose to observe the IRAC Dark Field, an extragalactic field 15 arcminutes in diameter near the north ecliptic pole, using 50 orbits of ACS imaging at I-band. This field is extraordinarily deep and is uniquely suited to detecting variable objects in the mid-infrared. The high spatial resolution ACS imaging will be used to derive morphological information about the galaxies in the field, which will then be correlated with mid-infrared variable objects {specifically AGN and supernovae} we have discovered. This field is the dark current calibration target for the Spitzer Space Telescope, the infrared counterpart to HST. Because the field is observed frequently as part of routine operations, it is now similar in size and depth to the infrared component of the GOODS program, and is confusion-limited in the mid-infrared. More importantly, due to the periodicity of the observations, the Spitzer observations are sensitive to variability on week timescales, ultimately spanning a baseline of five years, and are the only mid-infrared dataset that will ever have this capability at this depth. By complementing our wide range of lower resolution imaging at optical and infrared wavelengths, we hope to exploit one of HST’s most unique capabilities – unparalleled spatial resolution in the optical. While our specific interest lies in analysis of variable sources, we will request no proprietary period on the ACS data so that it may be used by the community to complement the publicly available Spitzer data.

ACS/WFC/NIC2 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/WFPC2 10890

Morphologies of the Most Extreme High-Redshift Mid-IR-Luminous Galaxies

The formative phase of the most massive galaxies may be extremely luminous, characterized by intense star- and AGN-formation. Till now, few such galaxies have been unambiguously identified at high redshift, restricting us to the study of low-redshift ultraluminous infrared galaxies as possible analogs. We have recently discovered a sample of objects which may indeed represent this early phase in galaxy formation, and are undertaking an extensive multiwavelength study of this population. These objects are bright at mid-IR wavelengths {F[24um]>0.8mJy}, but deep ground based imaging suggests extremely faint {and in some cases extended} optical counterparts {R~24-27}. Deep K-band images show barely resolved galaxies. Mid-infrared spectroscopy with Spitzer/IRS reveals that they have redshifts z ~ 2-2.5, suggesting bolometric luminosities ~10^{13-14}Lsun! We propose to obtain deep ACS F814W and NIC2 F160W images of these sources and their environs in order to determine kpc-scale morphologies and surface photometry for these galaxies. The proposed observations will help us determine whether these extreme objects are merging systems, massive obscured starbursts {with obscuration on kpc scales!} or very reddened {locally obscured} AGN hosted by intrinsically low-luminosity galaxies.

FGS 11021

HST Pre-SM4 Focal Plane Alignment & ACS Absolute Scale

This proposal will determine and monitor the FGSs and SI positions and orientations in V2,V3 space. Accuracy goals are < 50 mas for position and between 0.04 and 0.004 degrees for angle {depending on SI}. An astrometric open cluster {M35} is observed using guidestars with positions determined to ~ 20 mas. One or more astrometric targets are placed in the available SIs' major channels as well as each FGS, and POS TARGs step the target{s} over a significant fraction of the detector. This proposal will serve to update the FGS and SI positions and angles, which have trended, uncalibrated, since ~2002, at a rate between 0.1 and 0.2 arcseconds or more per year. This will execute before 22 December 2006. A single orbit visit will execute later but before SM4/SMOV and will only include position/angle checks of any SI trends and not contain the more costly FGS-FGS alignment, which will need to be performed during SM4/SMOV. Finally, a special visit is included in this proposal which will yield the absolute scale of ACS/WFC with an accuracy of ~2x10-5 by observing a subset of M35 astrometric cluster members with relative positions known to < 1 mas and absolute separations known to ~2x10-5 {via FGS calibrations over mission life}. This transfers the well-determined FGS absolute scale knowledge onto ACS/WFC, with the goal of then impressing that calibration onto an HST-JWST common field {e.g. LMC} in order to support JWST calibration requirements.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8794

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration – CR Persistence Part 5

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.

NIC2 10906

The Fundamental Plane of Massive Gas-Rich Mergers: II. The QUEST QSOs

We propose deep NICMOS H-band imaging of a carefully selected sample of 23 local QSOs. This program is the last critical element of a comprehensive investigation of the most luminous mergers in the nearby universe, the ultraluminous infrared galaxies {ULIRGs} and the quasars. This effort is called QUEST: Quasar / ULIRG Evolutionary STudy. The high-resolution HST images of the QUEST QSOs will complement an identical set of images on the ULIRG sample obtained during Cycle 12, an extensive set of ground-based data that include long-slit NIR spectra from a Large VLT Program, and a large set of mid-infrared spectra from a Cycle 1 medium-size program with Spitzer. This unique dataset will allow us to derive with unprecedented precision structual, kinematic, and activity parameters for a large unbiased sample of objects spanning the entire ULIRG/QSO luminosity function. These data will refine the fundamental plane of massive gas-rich mergers and enable us to answer the following quesitons: {1} Do ultraluminous mergers form elliptical galaxies, and in particular, giant ellipticals? {2} Do ULIRGs evolve into optical bright QSOs? The results from this detailed study of massive mergers in the local universe will be relevant to understanding the basic physical processes involved in creating massive early-type host on the one hand, and growing/feeding embedded massive black holes on the other, in major galaxy mergers. This is an important question since 50% of cosmic star formation at high-z and most of the big BHs appear to be formed in this process.

NIC2, ACS/WFC 10802

SHOES-Supernovae, HO, for the Equation of State of Dark energy

The present uncertainty in the value of the Hubble constant {resulting in an uncertainty in Omega_M} and the paucity of Type Ia supernovae at redshifts exceeding 1 are now the leading obstacles to determining the nature of dark energy. We propose a single, integrated set of observations for Cycle 15 that will provide a 40% improvement in constraints on dark energy. This program will observe known Cepheids in six reliable hosts of Type Ia supernovae with NICMOS, reducing the uncertainty in H_0 by a factor of two because of the smaller dispersion along the instability strip, the diminished extinction, and the weaker metallicity dependence in the infrared. In parallel with ACS, at the same time the NICMOS observations are underway, we will discover and follow a sample of Type Ia supernovae at z > 1. Together, these measurements, along with prior constraints from WMAP, will provide a great improvement in HST’s ability to distinguish between a static, cosmological constant and dynamical dark energy. The Hubble Space Telescope is the only instrument in the world that can make these IR measurements of Cepheids beyond the Local Group, and it is the only telescope in the world that can be used to find and follow supernovae at z > 1. Our program exploits both of these unique capabilities of HST to learn more about one of the greatest mysteries in science.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

10549 – GSAcq (1,3,3) resulted in fine lock backup (1,0,1) GSAcq (1,3,3) scheduled at 341/23:23:36-23:30:54 resulted in fine lock back up using FGS-1 due to (QF3SSLEX) scan step limit exceeded on FGS-3.

OBAD #1: data unavailable due to LOS.

OBAD #2: RSS 4.41 a-s.

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                          SCHEDULED      SUCCESSFUL
FGS GSacq                09                    09
FGS REacq                01                    01
OBAD with Maneuver   20                    20

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)