HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science
DAILY
REPORT #5043
PERIOD
COVERED: 5am March 1 - 5am March 2, 2010 (DOY 060/10:00z-061/10:00z)
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.
ACS/WFC/WFC3/UV
11711
A
Definitive Distance to the Coma Core Ellipticals
As
the richest galaxy cluster in the local universe (cz < 10, 000 km/s),
the
Coma cluster continues to serve as the standard of comparison for
numerous
studies of galaxy properties and scaling relations in clusters.
The
central importance of Coma has been recognized with two recent HST
large
programs: a Treasury survey to study the dwarf galaxy population
by
imaging 82 different ACS/WFC pointings, and a program to measure
Cepheid
distances to two spiral galaxies projected within the Coma core
region.
An accurate distance to the Coma core is essential for comparing
the
galaxy luminosities and sizes to nearby galaxies in Virgo and
Fornax,
while an accurate peculiar velocity is needed for correctly
tying
to more distant clusters. However, experience dictates that
Cepheid
distances to clusters must be carefully verified against
accurate
measurements to the dominant early-type population, especially
for
such an unprecedented effort as the Coma Cepheid search (the
completion
of which remains uncertain). We propose to measure highly
accurate
(3-4% internal error per galaxy) SBF distances to the two giant
Coma
core ellipticals. The reliability of the SBF method with the
ACS/WFC
has been repeatedly demonstrated, and it is so efficient that it
requires
only 3% of the number of orbits dedicated to the two current
large
Coma programs. The precise ACS SBF Coma core distance will also
provide
a good constraint on the Coma peculiar velocity, thus improving
the
accuracy of comparisons to distant clusters. Finally, our program
will
answer some longstanding puzzles surrounding the rich globular
cluster
population in the core of this archetypal galaxy cluster.
COS/FUV
11687
SNAPing
Coronal Iron
This
is a Snapshot Survey to explore two forbidden lines of highly
ionized
iron in late-type coronal sources. Fe XII 1349 (T~ 2 MK) and Fe
XXI
1354 (T~ 10 MK) -- well known to Solar Physics -- have been detected
in
about a dozen cool stars, mainly with HST/STIS. The UV coronal
forbidden
lines are important because they can be observed with velocity
resolution
of better than 15 km/s, whereas even the state-of-the-art
X-ray
spectrometers on Chandra can manage only 300 km/s in the kilovolt
band
where lines of highly ionized iron more commonly are found. The
kinematic
properties of hot coronal plasmas, which are of great interest
to
theorists and modelers, thus only are accessible in the UV at
present.
The bad news is that the UV coronal forbidden lines are faint,
and
were captured only in very deep observations with STIS. The good
news
is that 3rd-generation Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, slated for
installation
in HST by SM4, in a mere 25 minute exposure with its G130M
mode
can duplicate the sensitivity of a landmark 25-orbit STIS E140M
observation
of AD Leo, easily the deepest such exposure of a late-type
star
so far. Our goal is to build up understanding of the properties of
Fe
XII and Fe XXI in additional objects beyond the current limited
sample:
how the lineshapes depend on activity, whether large scale
velocity
shifts can be detected, and whether the dynamical content of
the
lines can be inverted to map the spatial morphology of the stellar
corona
(as in "Doppler Imaging''). In other words, we want to bring to
bear
in the coronal venue all the powerful tricks of spectroscopic
remote
sensing, well in advance of the time that this will be possible
exploiting
the corona's native X-ray radiation. The 1290-1430 band
captured
by side A of G130M also contains a wide range of key plasma
diagnostics
that form at temperatures from below 10, 000 K (neutral
lines
of CNO), to above 200, 000 K (semi-permitted O V 1371), including
the
important bright multiplets of C II at 1335 and Si IV at 1400;
yielding
a diagnostic gold mine for the subcoronal atmosphere. Because
of
the broad value of the SNAP spectra, beyond the coronal iron project,
we
waive the normal proprietary rights.
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
11843
STIS
CCD Performance Monitor
This
activity measures the baseline performance and commandability of
the
CCD subsystem. Only primary amplifier D is used. Bias and Flatfield
exposures
are taken in order to measure bias level, read noise, CTE, and
gain.
Numerous bias frames are taken to permit construction of
"superbias"
frames in which the effects of read noise have been rendered
negligible.
Full frame and binned observations are made, with binning
factors
of 2 x 1, 1 x 2, 2 x 2. Bias frames are taken in subarray
readouts
to check the bias level for ACQ and ACQ/PEAK observations. All
exposures
are internals.
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/ACS/IR
11142
Revealing
the Physical Nature of Infrared Luminous Galaxies at 0.3<z<2.7
Using
HST and Spitzer
We
aim to determine physical properties of IR luminous galaxies at
0.3<z<2.7
by requesting coordinated HST/NIC2 and MIPS 70um observations
of
a unique, 24um flux-limited sample with complete Spitzer mid-IR
spectroscopy.
The 150 sources investigated in this program have S(24um)
>
0.8mJy and their mid-IR spectra have already provided the majority
targets
with spectroscopic redshifts (0.3<z<2.7). The proposed
150~orbits
of NIC2 and 66~hours of MIPS 70um will provide the physical
measurements
of the light distribution at the rest-frame ~8000A and
better
estimates of the bolometric luminosity. Combining these
parameters
together with the rich suite of spectral diagnostics from the
mid-IR
spectra, we will (1) measure how common mergers are among LIRGs
and
ULIRGs at 0.3<z<2.7, and establish if major mergers are the drivers
of
z>1 ULIRGs, as in the local Universe, (2) study the co-evolution of
star
formation and blackhole accretion by investigating the relations
between
the fraction of starburst/AGN measured from mid-IR spectra vs.
HST
morphologies, L(bol) and z, and (3) obtain the current best
estimates
of the far-IR emission, thus L(bol) for this sample, and
establish
if the relative contribution of mid-to-far IR dust emission is
correlated
with morphology (resolved vs. unresolved).
WFC3/ACS/UVIS/IR
11570
Narrowing
in on the Hubble Constant and Dark Energy
A
measurement of the Hubble constant to a precision of a few percent
would
be a powerful aid to the investigation of the nature of dark
energy
and a potent "end-to end" test of the present cosmological model.
In
Cycle 15 we constructed a new streamlined distance ladder utilizing
high-
quality type Ia supernova data and observations of Cepheids with
HST
in the near-IR to minimize the dominant sources of systematic
uncertainty
in past measurements of the Hubble constant and reduce its
total
uncertainty to a little under 5%. Here we propose to exploit this
new
route to reduce the remaining uncertainty by more than 30%,
translating
into an equal reduction in the uncertainty of the equation
of
state of dark energy. We propose three sets of observations to reach
this
goal: a mosaic of NGC 4258 with WFC3 in F160W to triple its sample
of
long period Cepheids, WFC3/F160W observations of the 6 ideal SN Ia
hosts
to triple their samples of Cepheids, and observations of NGC 5584
the
host of a new SN Ia, SN 2007af, to discover and measure its Cepheids
and
begin expanding the small set of SN Ia luminosity calibrations.
These
observations would provide the bulk of a coordinated program aimed
at
making the measurement of the Hubble constant one of the leading
constraints
on dark energy.
WFC3/IR/S/C
11929
IR
Dark Current Monitor
Analyses
of ground test data showed that dark current signals are more
reliably
removed from science data using darks taken with the same
exposure
sequences as the science data, than with a single dark current
image
scaled by desired exposure time. Therefore, dark current images
must
be collected using all sample sequences that will be used in
science
observations. These observations will be used to monitor changes
in
the dark current of the WFC3-IR channel on a day-to-day basis, and to
build
calibration dark current ramps for each of the sample sequences to
be
used by Gos in Cycle 17. For each sample sequence/array size
combination,
a median ramp will be created and delivered to the
calibration
database system (CDBS).
WFC3/UVIS
11657
The
Population of Compact Planetary Nebulae in the Galactic Disk
We
propose to secure narrow- and broad-band images of compact planetary
nebulae
(PNe) in the Galactic Disk to study the missing link of the
early
phases of post-AGB evolution. Ejected AGB envelopes become PNe
when
the gas is ionized. PNe expand, and, when large enough, can be
studied
in detail from the ground. In the interim, only the HST
capabilities
can resolve their size, morphology, and central stars. Our
proposed
observations will be the basis for a systematic study of the
onset
of morphology. Dust properties of the proposed targets will be
available
through approved Spitzer/IRS spectra, and so will the
abundances
of the alpha- elements. We will be able thus to explore the
interconnection
of morphology, dust grains, stellar evolution, and
populations.
The target selection is suitable to explore the nebular and
stellar
properties across the galactic disk, and to set constraints on
the
galactic evolutionary models through the analysis of metallicity and
population
gradients.
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).
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 05
05
FGS
REAcq 12
12
OBAD
with Maneuver 05
05
SIGNIFICANT
EVENTS: (None)