HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class
Science
DAILY REPORT #4771
PERIOD COVERED: 5am January 13 - 5am January 14, 2009 (DOY
013/1000z-014/1000z)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
WFPC2 11130
AGNs with Intermediate-mass Black Holes: Testing the Black
Hole-Bulge
Paradigm, Part II
The recent progress in the study of central black holes in
galactic
nuclei has led to a general consensus that supermassive
{10^6-10^9 solar
mass} black holes are closely connected with the formation
and
evolutionary history of large galaxies, especially their
bulge
component. Two outstanding issues, however, remain
unresolved. Can
central black holes form in the absence of a bulge? And
does the mass
function of central black holes extend below 10^6 solar
masses?
Intermediate-mass black holes {<10^6 solar masses}, if
they exist, may
offer important clues to the nature of the seeds of
supermassive black
holes. Using the SDSS, our group has successfully
uncovered a new
population of AGNs with intermediate-mass black holes that
reside in
low-luminosity galaxies. However, very little is known
about the
detailed morphologies or structural parameters of the host
galaxies
themselves, including the crucial question of whether they
have bulges
or not. Surprisingly, the majority of the targets of our
Cycle 14 pilot
program have structural properties similar to dwarf
elliptical galaxies.
The statistics from this initial study, however, are
really too sparse
to reach definitive conclusions on this important new
class of black
holes. We wish to extend this study to a larger sample, by
using the
Snapshot mode to obtain WFPC2 F814W images from a parent
sample of 175
AGNs with intermediate- mass black holes selected from our
final SDSS
search. We are particularly keen to determine whether the
hosts contain
bulges, and if so, how the fundamental plane properties of
the host
depend on the mass of their central black holes. We will
also
investigate the environment of this unique class of AGNs.
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 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 11966
The Recent Star Formation History of SINGS Galaxies
The Spitzer Legacy project SINGS provided a unique view of
the current
state of star formation and dust in a sample of galaxies
of all Hubble
types. This multi-wavelength view allowed the team to
create current
star formation diagnostics that are independent of the
dust content and
increased our understanding of the dust in galaxies. Even
so, using the
SINGS data alone we can only make rough estimates of the
recent star
formation history of these galaxies. The lack of high
resolution
observations (especially U-band and H-alpha) means that it
is impossible
to estimate the ages of young clusters. In addition, the
low resolution
of the Spitzer and ground-based observations means that
what appear to
be individual Spitzer sources can actually be composed of
many
individual clusters with varying ages. We need to know the
ages, star
formation histories, and extinction of these individual
clusters to
understand how these clusters form and age and thus
influence the
evolution of the galaxy. In this proposal we address this
missing area
of SINGS by obtaining high-resolution WFPC2 UBVI &
H-alpha observations
to not only accurately locate and determine the ages of
the young
stellar clusters in the actively star forming SINGS
galaxies but to also
address a variety of other scientific issues. Over 500 HST
orbits and
500 hours of Spitzter observing time have been dedicated
to observations
of the SINGS sample. But the HST observations have not
been systematic.
By adding a relatively small fraction of this time for
these requested
observations, we will greatly enhance the legacy value of
the SINGS
observations by creating a uniform high resolution
multi-wavelength HST
archive that matches the quality of the lower resolution
SINGS archive.
WFPC2 11968
The Light Echoes Around V838 Monocerotis: Cycle 16 DD
This is a DD program in which we propose to obtain WFPC2
imaging of the
light echo around V838 Mon in late 2008 or early 2009. We
were awarded
Cycle 17 time to image the echo with ACS at 2 epochs (3+4
orbits). To
obtain data of similar quality with WFPC2 requires 7
orbits at 2
different pointings. Because of the SM4 delay, we are
therefore
requesting a 14-orbit DD program for Cycle 16, leaving the
Cycle 17
allocation unchanged for continued monitoring of the event
in late 2009
and 2010.
V838 Monocerotis, which burst upon the astronomical scene
in early 2002,
is a completely unanticipated new object. It underwent a
large-amplitude
and very luminous outburst, during which its spectrum
remained that of
an extremely cool supergiant. A rapidly evolving set of
light echoes
around V838 Mon was discovered soon after the outburst,
quickly becoming
the most spectacular display of the phenomenon yet seen.
These light
echoes provide the means to accomplish three unique types
of
measurements based on continued HST imaging: (1) study MHD
turbulence at
high resolution and in 3 dimensions; (2) construct the
first unambiguous
and fully 3-D map of a circumstellar dust envelope; (3)
study dust
physics in a unique setting where the spectrum and light
curve of the
illumination, and the scattering angle, are unambiguously
known. We have
also used our HST data to determine the distance to V838
Mon through a
novel geometric technique.
Because of the extreme rarity of light echoes, this
program of regular
monitoring provides the only opportunity to achieve such
results during
the HST lifetime. We propose WFPC2 imaging in late
2008/early 2009, in
order to continue the mapping of the circumstellar dust
and to
accomplish the other goals listed above.
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are
preliminary reports
of potential non-nominal performance that will be
investigated.)
HSTARS:
11638 - GSAcq (1,3,3) scheduled from 10:00:51 - 10:08:12
failed to RGA Hold due
to
QF1STOPF & QSTOP flags on FGS-1.
Observations affected: WFPC Proposal 11966, observation 56
COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)
COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED
SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSacq
04
03
FGS
REacq
10
10
OBAD with Maneuver
28
28
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)