HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science
DAILY
REPORT #4938
PERIOD
COVERED: 5am September 24 - 5am September 25, 2009 (DOY 267/09:00z-268/09:00z)
OBSERVATIONS
SCHEDULED
COS/NUV
11651
Is
the Atmosphere of the Hottest Known Transiting Exoplanet Evaporating?
WASP-12
is the hottest and the largest currently known transiting
exoplanet.
It has the shortest orbital period and is the closest to its
host
star. Previous spectacular HST observations revealed that the
atmosphere
of HD 209458b appears to be evaporating away, though this
interpretation
has recently been questioned. We propose ultraviolet
observations
of WASP-12 to learn whether it is in a state of
hydrodynamic
'blow-off' as the work on HD 209458b would suggest. We will
obtain
a precise radius for the planet, free from systematic errors
caused
by the earth's atmosphere. We will use our data to hone models of
exoplanet
atmospheres.
COS/NUV/FUV/WFC3/UVIS/IR
11520
COS-GTO:
QSO Absorbers, Galaxies and Large-Scale Structures in the Local
Universe
This
is a program to probe the large scale structure of baryons in the
universe,
including addressing questions of baryon fraction, physical
conditions
and relationships between absorbers and large-scale
structures
of galaxies. Besides these specific goals, this proposed GTO
program
also probes a large enough total path length in Ly alpha and OVI
to
add significantly to what STIS/FUSE has already observed. Several
Galactic
High Velocity Cloud Complexes also are probed by these
sightlines,
particularly the M Complex. The total path length of this
proposed
program for Ly alpha large-scale structure surveys is
delta_z~5.5.
We
have selected a variety of targets to address these questions, under
the
following subcategories:
1.
Target 8 bright BL Lac objects to search for low contrast Ly alpha
absorbers
from the warm-hot interstellar medium (WHIM).
2.
Ly alpha cloud sizes: The targets are a bright AGN pair which yield
tangential
distance separations of 100--500 kpc at z=0.01--0.05, where
galaxy
surveys are excellent. This pair has two filaments and two voids
in
this distance range.
3.
Probes of starburst outflows: The targets are bright AGN, <= 100 kpc
in
projection out of the minor axis of nearby starburst galaxies.
4.
A large galaxy's gaseous halo: Three probes of the kinematics and
metallicity
of a single L* galaxy halo. These observations includes
G130M,
G160M exposures at SNR~20 and G285M at 2850A and SNR~10 for MgII.
The
2L* galaxy, ESO 157-G049 (cz=1678 km/s), being probed by these
sightlines
has an available H I 21cm map from ATCA, H alpha imaging from
CTIO
and long-slit spectra from MSSSO.
5.
Dwarf galaxy winds: These targets probe the kinematics and
metallicities
of outflows from active and inactive (in terms of star
formation)
dwarfs.
COS/NUV/FUV/WFC3/UVIS/IR
11534
COS-GTO:
Atmosphere of a Transiting Planet
COS
observations of a transiting planet at different orbital locations
will
be useful in identifying the chemical content, size, temperature,
and
flows in the atmosphere of a transiting planet.
NIC1/NIC2/NIC3
11947
Extended
Dark Monitoring
This
program takes a series of darks to obtain darks (including
amplifier
glow, dark current, and shading profiles) for all three
cameras
in the read-out sequences used in Cycle 17. A set of 12 orbits
will
be observed every two months for a total of 72 orbits for a 12
month
Cycle 17. This is a continuation of Cycle 16 program 11330 scaled
down
by ~80%.
The
first orbit (Visit A0) should be scheduled in the NICMOS SMOV after
the
DC Transfer Test (11406) and at least 36h before the Filter Wheel
Test
(11407). Data download using fast track.
The
following 28 orbits (visit A1-N2) should be scheduled AFTER the SMOV
Proposal
11407 (Filter Wheel Test). This is done in order to monitor the
dark
current following an adjustment of the NCS set-point. These visits
should
be executed until the final temperature is reached during SMOV.
NIC1/NIC2/NIC3
8795
NICMOS
Post-SAA Calibration - CR Persistence Part 6
This
is 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 'Use After' 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 darks. 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/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/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 1x1, 1x2,
2x1,
and 2x2 bin settings at gain=1, and 1x1 at gain = 4, to build up
high-S/N
superbiases and track the evolution of hot columns.
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
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 3x3 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:
18711-0
- Adjust NCS PID Control Setpoints, Part Deux @ 267/1502z
COMPLETED
OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSAcq 04 04
FGS
REAcq 10 10
OBAD
with Maneuver 04 04
SIGNIFICANT
EVENTS:
FLASH
REPORT: NCS PID Control Setpoint Adjustment (77 K)
OR
18711-0 to adjust the NCS PID control setpoint temperature was
successfully
completed at 267/15:02:35 UTC. The Prime (inactive - dewar)
setpoint
was changed from 79.8 K to 81.8 K, and the Alternate (active -
weighted-average
neon) setpoint was changed from 75.0 K to 77.0 K