NASA Hubble Space Telescope Daily Status Report #4228
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE DAILY REPORT # 4228
– Continuing to collect World Class Science
PERIOD COVERED: UT October 26, 2006 (DOY 299)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED ACS/WFC 10551
Gamma-Ray Bursts from Start to Finish: A Legacy Approach
The progenitors of long-duration GRBs are now known to be massive stars. This result lends credence to the collapsar model, where a rotating massive star ends its life leaving a black hole or a highly magnetized neutron star, and confirms its essential aspects. The focus of attention now is on the black hole or magnetar engines that power the bursts. Somehow these engines create the most highly relativistic and highly collimated outflows that we know of, through mechanisms that no current theory can explain. These astrophysical laboratories challenge our understanding of relativistic shocks, of mechanisms for extracting energy from a black hole, and of how physics works in extreme conditions. The launch of Swift is bringing us into a new era, where we can make broadband observations that will enable us to study these fascinating physical processes. We propose here an ambitious, comprehensive program to obtain the datasets that will become the standard that any successful model for the central engine must explain. This programs leverages the HST observations to the maximum extent by our commitment of Swift observations, a Large program at the VLA, and extensive ground-based optical resources. By studying the engines and searching for jets in a variety of events, this program will investigate the conditions necessary for the engine and jet formation itself.
ACS/WFC/NIC3 10632
Searching for galaxies at z>6.5 in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field
We propose to obtain deep ACS {F606W, F775W, F850LP} imaging in the area of the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field NICMOS parallel fields and – through simultaneous parallel observations – deep NICMOS {F110W, F160W} imaging of the ACS UDF area. Matching the extreme imaging depth in the optical and near-IR bands will result in seven fields with sufficiently sensitive multiband data to detect the expected typical galaxies at z=7 and 8. Presently no such a field exist. Our combined optical and near-IR ultradeep fields will be in three areas separated by about 20 comoving Mpc at z=7. This will allow us to give a first assessment of the degree of cosmic variance. If reionization is a process extending over a large redshift interval and the luminosity function doesn’t evolve strongly beyond z=6, these data will allow us to identify of the order of a dozen galaxies at 6.5
FGS 10989
Astrometric Masses of Extrasolar Planets and Brown Dwarfs
We propose observations with HST/FGS to estimate the astrometric elements {perturbation orbit semi-major axis and inclination} of extra-solar planets orbiting six stars. These companions were originally detected by radial velocity techniques. We have demonstrated that FGS astrometry of even a short segment of reflex motion, when combined with extensive radial velocity information, can yield useful inclination information {McArthur et al. 2004}, allowing us to determine companion masses. Extrasolar planet masses assist in two ongoing research frontiers. First, they provide useful boundary conditions for models of planetary formation and evolution of planetary systems. Second, knowing that a star in fact has a plantary mass companion, increases the value of that system to future extrasolar planet observation missions such as SIM PlanetQuest, TPF, and GAIA.
NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8793
NICMOS Post-SAA calibration – CR Persistence Part 4
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, 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: 10488 – GSacq(2,1,2) Failed to RGA control The GSacq(2,1,2)scheduled at 299/14:02:41 failed due to receiving a QF2STOPF on FGS 2. The OBAD before the GSacq showed errors of V1=-0.54, V2= 0.47, V3=-4.39, RSS= 4.45. The Map at 14:10:02 showed errors of V1=0.94, V2=5.14, V3=0.18, RSS=5.23.
COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)
COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS GSacq 08 07
FGS REacq 07 07
OBAD with Maneuver 28 28
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)
