HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class
Science
DAILY REPORT #4760
PERIOD COVERED: 5am December 18 - 5am December 19, 2008
(DOY
353/1000z-354/1000z)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
WFPC2 10877
A Snapshot Survey of the Sites of Recent, Nearby
Supernovae
During the past few years, robotic {or nearly robotic}
searches for
supernovae {SNe}, most notably our Lick Observatory
Supernova Search
{LOSS}, have found hundreds of SNe, many of them in quite
nearby
galaxies {cz < 4000 km/s}. Most of the objects were
discovered before
maximum brightness, and have follow-up photometry and
spectroscopy; they
include some of the best-studied SNe to date. We propose
to conduct a
snapshot imaging survey of the sites of some of these
nearby objects, to
obtain late-time photometry that {through the shape of the
light and
color curves} will help reveal the origin of their
lingering energy. The
images will also provide high-resolution information on
the local
environments of SNe that are far superior to what we can
procure from
the ground. For example, we will obtain color-color and
color-magnitude
diagrams of stars in these SN sites, to determine the SN
progenitor
masses and constraints on the reddening. Recovery of the
SNe in the new
HST images will also allow us to actually pinpoint their
progenitor
stars in cases where pre- explosion images exist in the
HST archive.
This proposal is an extension of our successful Cycle 13
snapshot survey
with ACS. It is complementary to our Cycle 15 archival
proposal, which
is a continuation of our long-standing program to use
existing HST
images to glean information about SN environments.
FGS 11870
Calibrating FGS1R's Optical Field Angle Distortion (OFAD),
Second Epoch
This proposal gathers the data needed to calibrate the
optical field
angle distortions in FGS1r to the level of accuracy
required for
astrometry science. Selected stars from the galactic
cluster M35 are
repeatedly observed in POSITION mode by FGS1r with F583W
filter at a
variety of spacecraft pointings and telescope roll angles.
Ideally the
observations are to occur at a time when this ecliptic
star field is
near the anti-sun direction so that HST's roll angle is
unconstrained.
Unfortunately this is not possible under two gyro
operations. Therefore,
the observations in this proposal are somewhat very
constrained in roll.
However, this test should suffice as an adequate update to
the original
FGS1r OFAD that executed in December 2000. For each visit,
the desired
telescope pointing is specified by POS TARG and ORIENT
special
requirements.
FGS 11943
Binaries at the Extremes of the H-R Diagram
We propose to use HST/Fine Guidance Sensor 1r to survey
for binaries
among some of the most massive, least massive, and oldest
stars in our
part of the Galaxy. FGS allows us to spatially resolve
binary systems
that are too faint for ground-based, speckle or optical
long baseline
interferometry, and too close to resolve with AO. We
propose a
SNAP-style program of single orbit FGS TRANS mode
observations of very
massive stars in the cluster NGC 3603, luminous blue
variables, nearby
low mass main sequence stars, cool subdwarf stars, and
white dwarfs.
These observations will help us to (1) identify systems
suitable for
follow up studies for mass determination, (2) study the
role of binaries
in stellar birth and in advanced evolutionary states, (3)
explore the
fundamental properties of stars near the main
sequence-brown dwarf
boundary, (4) understand the role of binaries for X-ray
bright systems,
(5) find binaries among ancient and nearby subdwarf stars,
and (6) help
calibrate the white dwarf mass - radius relation.
WFPC2 11944
Binaries at the Extremes of the H-R Diagram
We propose to use HST/Fine Guidance Sensor 1r to survey
for binaries
among some of the most massive, least massive, and oldest
stars in our
part of the Galaxy. FGS allows us to spatially resolve
binary systems
that are too faint to observe using ground-based, speckle
or optical
long baseline interferometry, and too close to resolve
with AO. We
propose a SNAP-style program of single orbit FGS TRANS
mode observations
of very massive stars in the cluster NGC 3603, luminous
blue variables,
nearby low mass main sequence stars, cool subdwarf stars,
and white
dwarfs. These observations will help us to (1) identify
systems suitable
for followup studies for mass determination, (2) study the
role of
binaries in stellar birth and in advanced evolutionary
states, (3)
explore the fundamental properties of stars near the main
sequence-brown
dwarf boundary, (4) understand the role of binaries for
X-ray bright
systems, (5) find binaries among ancient and nearby
subdwarf stars, and
(6) help calibrate the white dwarf mass - radius relation.
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:
18375-0 - Safe NICMOS
COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED
SUCCESSFUL
FGS GSacq
14
14
FGS
REacq
0
0
OBAD with Maneuver
27
27
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
Flash Report NICMOS Safe:
At 353/19:32:26 UTC, NICMOS was commanded to safe mode to
reduce any
NICMOS parasitic heat effects during the NCS cooldown
period.