NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Report #5026

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE DAILY REPORT #5026

Continuing to Collect World Class Science

PERIOD COVERED: 5am February 3 – 5am February 4, 2010 (DOY 034/10:00z-035/10:00z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/WFC 11995

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 2)

This program comprises basic tests for measuring the read noise and dark current of the ACS WFC and for tracking the growth of hot pixels. The recorded frames are used to create bias and dark reference images for science data reduction and calibration. This program will be executed four days per week (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) for the duration of Cycle 17. To facilitate scheduling, this program is split into three proposals. This proposal covers 320 orbits (20 weeks) from 1 February 2010 to 20 June 2010.

NIC2/WFC3/IR 11548

Infrared Imaging of Protostars in the Orion A Cloud: The Role of Environment in Star Formation

We propose NICMOS and WFC3/IR observations of a sample of 252 protostars identified in the Orion A cloud with the Spitzer Space Telescope. These observations will image the scattered light escaping the protostellar envelopes, providing information on the shapes of outflow cavities, the inclinations of the protostars, and the overall morphologies of the envelopes. In addition, we ask for Spitzer time to obtain 55-95 micron spectra of 75 of the protostars. Combining these new data with existing 3.6 to 70 micron photometry and forthcoming 5-40 micron spectra measured with the Spitzer Space Telescope, we will determine the physical properties of the protostars such as envelope density, luminosity, infall rate, and outflow cavity opening angle. By examining how these properties vary with stellar density (i.e. clusters vs. groups vs. isolation) and the properties of the surrounding molecular cloud; we can directly measure how the surrounding environment influences protostellar evolution, and consequently, the formation of stars and planetary systems. Ultimately, this data will guide the development of a theory of protostellar evolution.

STIS/CC/MA 11516

COS-GTO: Cold ISM

With the COS, we will be able to observe interstellar spectra in a new regime, translucent clouds, for atomic, ionic, and molecular lines and bands, and extinction curves. The COS will allow us to observe stars with total visual extinctions up to 10 magnitudes, and the grain size indicator Rv up to 4.5. In translucent clouds we expect to see the transition from neutral and ionized carbon to mostly C I, and then from there, we should expect to see carbon increasingly locked up in molecular form, as CO. Other species are expected to make similar transitions, so we should find detectable abundances of molecules such as H2O, OH, CS, CH2, SiO, and others; also, lower ionization fractions of the metallic elements – and higher depletions of those elements as well. Given that we expect to find higher depletions, we should see an altered grain size distribution, which may show up in the extinction curves, probably as lower far-UV extinction than in diffuse clouds. Finally, we will search for neutral PAHs in absorption, as diffuse bands in the UV, paralleling the optical DIBs (which are thought by some scientists to be formed by singly-ionized PAHs). In translucent clouds, models show that the PAHs will be neutral, not in cationic form.

STIS/CCD 11844

CCD Dark Monitor Part 1

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS/CCD 11846

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 1

The purpose of this proposal is to 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/MA1/MA2 11857

STIS Cycle 17 MAMA Dark Monitor

This proposal monitors the behavior of the dark current in each of the MAMA detectors.

The basic monitor takes two 1380s ACCUM darks each week with each detector. However, starting Oct 5, pairs are only included for weeks that the LRP has external MAMA observations planned. The weekly pairs of exposures for each detector are linked so that they are taken at opposite ends of the same SAA free interval. This pairing of exposures will make it easier to separate long and short term temporal variability from temperature dependent changes.

For both detectors, additional blocks of exposures are taken once every six months. These are groups of five 1314s FUV-MAMA Time-Tag darks or five 3x315s NUV ACCUM darks distributed over a single SAA-free interval. This will give more information on the brightness of the FUV MAMA dark current as a function of the amount of time that the HV has been on, and for the NUV MAMA will give a better measure of the short term temperature dependence.

WFC3/ACS/UVIS 11724

Direct Age Determination of the Local Group dE Galaxies NGC 147 and NGC 185

The origin of dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies remains a mystery and the dE galaxies of the Local Group provide the best opportunity to study this galaxy class in detail. We propose to obtain ACS photometry of main sequence turnoff stars in the M31 dE satellites NGC 147 and NGC 185. Because these galaxies have little to no stars younger than 1 Gyr, resolving the main sequence turnoff is required to directly quantify their star formation histories. NGC 147 and NGC 185 are the only two dEs for which a clean measurement is feasible with the HST. This proposal was accepted in Cycle 15, but little data were taken before the failure of ACS. The main sequence turnoffs of NGC 147 and NGC 185 are expected to be at an apparent magnitude of V=29; we request F606W/F814W imaging one half magnitude fainter than this limit (three magnitudes fainter than the deepest previous dE observations). Quantifying the ratio of old to intermediate-age stars will allow us to discriminate between competing models of dE formation. On-going Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy of several hundred red giant stars in each of these two dE galaxies, coupled with dynamical modeling and spectral synthesis, will complement the ACS measurement by providing information on chemical abundance patterns, dark matter content and internal dynamics. The proposed ACS data will be the first to directly quantify the onset and duration of star formation episodes in dE galaxies, and will thereby form the cornerstone in what promises to be the most comprehensive study of this class of galaxies.

WFC3/IR 11915

IR Internal Flat Fields

This program is the same as 11433 (SMOV) and depends on the completion of the IR initial alignment (Program 11425). This version contains three instances of 37 internal orbits: to be scheduled early, middle, and near the end of Cycle 17, in order to use the entire 110-orbit allocation.

In this test, we will study the stability and structure of the IR channel flat field images through all filter elements in the WFC3-IR channel. Flats will be monitored, i.e. to capture any temporal trends in the flat fields and delta flats produced. High signal observations will provide a map of the pixel-to-pixel flat field structure, as well as identify the positions of any dust particles.

WFC3/IR 11926

IR Zero Points

We will measure and monitor the zeropoints through the IR filters using observations of the white dwarf standard stars, GD153, GD71 and GD191B2B and the solar analog standard star, P330E. Data will be taken monthly during Cycle 17. Observations of the star cluster, NGC 104, are made twice to check color transformations. We expect an accuracy of 2% in the wide filter zeropoints relative to the HST photometric system, and 5% in the medium- and narrow-band filters.

WFC3/UVIS 11594

A WFC3 Grism Survey for Lyman Limit Absorption at z=2

We propose to conduct a spectroscopic survey of Lyman limit absorbers at redshifts 1.8 < z < 2.5, using WFC3 and the G280 grism. This proposal intends to complete an approved Cycle 15 SNAP program (10878), which was cut short due to the ACS failure. We have selected 64 quasars at 2.3 < z < 2.6 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Spectroscopic Quasar Sample, for which no BAL signature is found at the QSO redshift and no strong metal absorption lines are present at z > 2.3 along the lines of sight. The survey has three main

observational goals. First, we will determine the redshift frequency dn/dz of the LLS over the column density range 16.0 < log(NHI) < 20.3 cm^-2. Second, we will measure the column density frequency distribution f(N) for the partial Lyman limit systems (PLLS) over the column density range 16.0 < log(NHI) < 17.5 cm^-2. Third, we will identify those sightlines which could provide a measurement of the primordial D/H ratio. By carrying out this survey, we can also help place meaningful constraints on two key quantities of cosmological relevance. First, we will estimate the amount of metals in the LLS using the f(N), and ground based observations of metal line transitions. Second, by determining f(N) of the PLLS, we can constrain the amplitude of the ionizing UV background at z~2 to a greater precision. This survey is ideal for a snapshot observing program, because the on-object integration times are all well below 30 minutes, and follow-up observations from the ground require minimal telescope time due to the QSO sample being bright. WFC3/UVIS 11905 WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor The behavior of the WFC3 UVIS CCD will be monitored daily with a set of full-frame, four-amp bias and dark frames. A smaller set of 2Kx4K subarray biases are acquired at less frequent intervals throughout the cycle to support subarray science observations. The internals from this proposal, along with those from the anneal procedure (Proposal 11909), will be used to generate the necessary superbias and superdark reference files for the calibration pipeline (CDBS). WFC3/UVIS 11907 UVIS Cycle 17 Contamination Monitor The UV throughput of WFC3 during Cycle 17 is monitored via weekly standard star observations in a subset of key filters covering 200-600nm and F606W, F814W as controls on the red end. The data will provide a measure of throughput levels as a function of time and wavelength, allowing for detection of the presence of possible contaminants. WFC3/UVIS 11908 Cycle 17: UVIS Bowtie Monitor Ground testing revealed an intermittent hysteresis type effect in the UVIS detector (both CCDs) at the level of ~1%, lasting hours to days. Initially found via an unexpected bowtie-shaped feature in flatfield ratios, subsequent lab tests on similar e2v devices have since shown that it is also present as simply an overall offset across the entire CCD, i.e., a QE offset without any discernable pattern. These lab tests have further revealed that overexposing the detector to count levels several times full well fills the traps and effectively neutralizes the bowtie. Each visit in this proposal acquires a set of three 3×3 binned internal flatfields: the first unsaturated image will be used to detect any bowtie, the second, highly exposed image will neutralize the bowtie if it is present, and the final image will allow for verification that the bowtie is gone. FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) HSTARS: (None) COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None) COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                        SCHEDULED  SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq               10              10

FGS REAcq               07              07

OBAD with Maneuver      09              09

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)