Date: August 12th 2010

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Daily Report #5155 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/28fb14bb3c258cca?hl=en
Daily Report #5156 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/f419e4b93baa7ec0?hl=en
Daily Report #5157 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/c5359488c341b1d3?hl=en

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5155

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/28fb14bb3c258cca?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Mon, Aug 9 2010 7:04Ã‚Â am From: "Cooper, Joe"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5155

PERIOD COVERED: 5am August 6 - 5am August 9, 2010 (DOY 218/09:00z-221/09:00z)

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated )

HSTARS:

12351 - GSAcq (1,2,1) scheduled at 218/10:49:29z and REAcqs(1,2,1) scheduled at 218/11:51:11z, at 218/13:27:02z, and at 218/15:09:02z all results in fine lock backup (1,0,1) using FGS-1, scan step limit exceeded on FGS-2

Observations possibly affected: WFC3 113-118 Proposal ID#11694; COS 132 Proposal ID#11579; ACS 124-125 Proposal ID#11996; STIS 22-23 Proposal ID#11845; STIS 24, 25, 26 Proposal ID#11847

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

             SCHEDULED      SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq 15 15 FGS REAcq 24 24 OBAD with Maneuver 11 11

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

ACS/WFC/WFC3/IR/UV 12056

A Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury - I

We propose to image the north east quadrant of M31 to deep limits in the UV, optical, and near-IR HST imaging should resolve the galaxy into more than 100 million stars, all with common distances and foreground extinctions UV through NIR stellar photometry (F275W, F336W with WFC3/UVIS, F475W and F814W with ACS/WFC, and F110W and F160W with WFC3/NIR) will provide effective temperatures for a wide range of spectral types, while simultaneously mapping M31's extinction Our central science drivers are to: understand high-mass variations in the stellar IMF as a function of SFR intensity and metallicity; capture the spatially-resolved star formation history of M31; study a vast sample of stellar clusters with a range of ages and metallicities These are central to understanding stellar evolution and clustered star formation; constraining ISM energetics; and understanding the counterparts and environments of transient objects (novae, SNe, variable stars, x-ray sources, etc ) As its legacy, this survey adds M31 to the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds as a fundamental calibrator of stellar evolution and star-formation processes for understanding the stellar populations of distant galaxies Effective exposure times are 977s in F275W, 1368s in F336W, 4040s in F475W, 4042s in F814W, 699s in F110W, and 1796s in F160W, including short exposures to avoid saturation of bright sources These depths will produce photon-limited images in the UV Images will be crowding-limited in the optical and NIR, but will reach below the red clump at all radii The images will reach the Nyquist sampling limit in F160W, F475W, and F814W

S/C 12046

COS FUV DCE Memory Dump

Whenever the FUV detector high voltage is on, count rate and current draw information is collected, monitored, and saved to DCE memory Every 10 msec the detector samples the currents from the HV power supplies (HVIA, HVIB) and the AUX power supply (AUXI) The last 1000 samples are saved in memory, along with a histogram of the number of occurrences of each current value

In the case of a HV transient (known as a "crackle" on FUSE), where one of these currents exceeds a preset threshold for a persistence time, the HV will shut down, and the DCE memory will be dumped and examined as part of the recovery procedure However, if the current exceeds the threshold for less than the persistence time (a "mini-crackle" in FUSE parlance), there is no way to know without dumping DCE memory By dumping and examining the histograms regularly, we will be able to monitor any changes in the rate of "mini-crackles" and thus learn something about the state of the detector

ACS/WFC 11996

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 3)

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 308 orbits (19 25 weeks) from 21 June 2010 to 1 November 2010

WFC3/IR/S/CCD 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/IR 11920

WFC3 IR Image Quality

The IR imaging performance over the detector will be assessed periodically (every 4 months) in two passbands to check for image stability The field around star 58 in the open cluster NGC188 is the chosen target because it is sufficiently dense to provide good sampling over the FOV while providing enough isolated stars to permit accurate PSF (point spread function) measurement It is available year-round and used previously for ACS image quality assessment The field is astrometric, and astrometric guide stars will be used, so that the plate scale and image orientation may also be determined if necessary (as in SMOV proposals 11437 and 11443) Full frame images will be obtained at each of 4 POSTARG offset positions designed to improve sampling over the detector in F098M, F105W, and F160W The PSFs will be sampled at 4 positions with subpixel shifts in filters F164N and F127M

This proposal is a periodic repeat (once every 4 months) of the visits in SMOV proposal 11437 (activity ID WFC3-24) The data will be analyzed using the code and techniques described in ISR WFC3 2008-41 (Hartig) Profiles of encircled energy will be monitored and presented in an ISR If an update to the SIAF is needed, (V2, V3) locations of stars will be obtained from the Flight Ops Sensors and Calibrations group at GSFC, the (V2, V3) of the reference pixel and the orientation of the detector will be determined by the WFC3 group, and the Telescopes group will update and deliver the SIAF to the PRDB branch

The specific PSF metrics to be examined are encircled energy for aperture diameter 0 25, 0 37, and 0 60 arcsec, FWHM, and sharpness (See ISR WFC3 2008-41 tables 2 and 3 and preceding text ) ~20 stars distributed over the detector will be measured in each exposure for each filter The mean, rms, and rms of the mean will be determined for each metric The values determined from each of the 4 exposures per filter within a visit will be compared to each other to see to what extent they are affected by "breathing" Values will be compared from visit to visit, starting with the values obtained during SMOV after the fine alignment has been performed, to see if the measures of the compactness of the PSF indicate degradation over time The analysis will be repeated for stars on the inner part of the detector and stars on the outer part of the detector to check for differential degradation of the PSF

As an example of the analysis, one can examine the sharpness of the F160W PSF exposures made during thermal vacuum testing (ISR WFC3 2008-41) To compare two samples, one can define the PSFs on each half of the detector (lower and upper) as a sample (with 7 and 8 PSFs, respectively) The mean, rms, and rms of the mean sharpness are 0 0826, 0 0067, and 0 0027 for one half, and 0 0773, 0 0049, and 0 0019 for the other The difference of the means is 0 0053 and the statistical error in that difference is 0 0033, so the difference is not significant

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

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/UV 11904

UVIS Droplets

To characterize the effects of the contamination (i e , droplets) on the UVIS window, we will observe a star cluster in three wide band filters (F225W, F555W, and F814W) as well as a narrow band filter (F502N) and step the stars in the cluster across randomly located droplets The step size is 20 pixels, and we execute a five point line dither for each filter This should provide for observations both on and off the droplets, for the same star Internal flat fields are also obtained, but, due to the high f/# of the internal calibration system, the flats will be of limited utility, but will serve to map and crudely track any changes in the droplets The cluster needs to contain both hot and cool stars, and therefore we select NGC 6752, a nearby globular with a hot horizontal branch Note, although the total population of HB stars may be larger in systems such as NGC 2419, NGC 6715, and NGC 2808, those clusters are much further away and will not provide a high density of stars over the global image (the droplets are located over the entire frame) There will be three visits (initial, 7 days later, and 30 days later), with each visit requiring 4 orbits The total program thus requires 12 orbits total

COS/NUV 11900

NUV Internal/External Wavelength Scale Monitor

This program monitors the offsets between the wavelength scale set by the internal wavecal versus that defined by absorption lines in external targets This is accomplished by observing two external radial velocity standard targets: HD187691 with G225M and G285M and HD6655 with G285M and G230L The two standard targets have little flux in the wavelength range covered by G185M and so Feige 48 (sdO) is observed with this grating Both Feige 48 and HD6655 are also observed in SMOV The cenwaves observed in this program are a subset of the ones used during Cycle 17 Observing all cenwaves would require a considerably larger number of orbits Constraints on scheduling of each target are placed so that each target is observed once every ~2-3 months Observing the three targets every month would also require a considerably larger number of orbits

STIS/CCD 11847

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 2

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

STIS/CCD 11845

CCD Dark Monitor Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD

COS/NUV/FUV 11741

Probing Warm-Hot Intergalactic Gas at 0 5 < z < 1 3 with a Blind Survey for O VI, Ne VIII, Mg X, and Si XII Absorption Systems

Currently we can only account for half of the baryons (or less) expected to be found in the nearby universe based on D/H and CMB observations This "missing baryons problem" is one of the highest-priority challenges in observational extragalatic astronomy Cosmological simulations suggest that the baryons are hidden in low-density, shock-heated intergalactic gas in the log T = 5 - 7 range, but intensive UV and X-ray surveys using O VI, O VII, and O VIII absorption lines have not yet confirmed this prediction We propose to use COS to carry out a sensitive survey for Ne VIII and Mg X absorption in the spectra of nine QSOs at z(QSO) > 0 89 For the three highest-redshift QSOs, we will also search for Si XII This survey will provide more robust constraints on the quantity of baryons in warm-hot intergalactic gas at 0 5 < z < 1 3, and the data will provide rich constraints on the metal enrichment, physical conditions, and nature of a wide variety of QSO absorbers in addition to the warm-hot systems By comparing the results to other surveys at lower redshifts (with STIS, FUSE, and from the COS GTO programs), the project will also enable the first study of how these absorbers evolve with redshift at z < 1 By combining the program with follow-up galaxy redshift surveys, we will also push the study of galaxy-absorber relationships to higher redshifts, with an emphasis on the distribution of the WHIM with respect to the large-scale matter distribution of the universe

WFC3/IR 11696

Infrared Survey of Star Formation Across Cosmic Time

We propose to use the unique power of WFC3 slitless spectroscopy to measure the evolution of cosmic star formation from the end of the reionization epoch at z>6 to the close of the galaxy- building era at z~0 3 Pure parallel observations with the grisms have proven to be efficient for identifying line emission from galaxies across a broad range of redshifts The G102 grism on WFC3 was designed to extend this capability to search for Ly-alpha emission from the first galaxies Using up to 250 orbits of pure parallel WFC3 spectroscopy, we will observe about 40 deep (4-5 orbit) fields with the combination of G102 and G141, and about 20 shallow (2-3 orbit) fields with G141 alone

Our primary science goals at the highest redshifts are: (1) Detect Lya in ~100 galaxies with z>5 6 and measure the evolution of the Lya luminosity function, independent of of cosmic variance; 2) Determine the connection between emission line selected and continuum-break selected galaxies at these high redshifts, and 3) Search for the proposed signature of neutral hydrogen absorption at re-ionization At intermediate redshifts we will (4) Detect more than 1000 galaxies in Halpha at 0 5

To identify single-line Lya emitters, we will exploit the wide 0 8--1 9um wavelength coverage of the combined G102+G141 spectra All [OII] and [OIII] interlopers detected in G102 will be reliably separated from true LAEs by the detection of at least one strong line in the G141 spectrum, without the need for any ancillary data We waive all proprietary rights to our data and will make high-level data products available through the ST/ECF

WFC3/IR 11694

Mapping the Interaction Between High-Redshift Galaxies and the Intergalactic Environment

With the commissioning of the high-throughput large-area camera WFC3/IR, it is possible for the first time to undertake an efficient survey of the rest-frame optical morphologies of galaxies at the peak epoch of star formation in the universe We therefore propose deep WFC3/IR imaging of over 320 spectroscopically confirmed galaxies between redshift 1 6 < z < 3 4 in well-studied fields which lie along the line of sight to bright background QSOs The spectra of these bright QSOs probe the IGM in the vicinity of each of the foreground galaxies along the line of sight, providing detailed information on the physical state of the gas at large galactocentric radii In combination with our densely sampled UV/IR spectroscopy, stellar population models, and kinematic data in these fields, WFC3/IR imaging data will permit us to construct a comprehensive picture of the structure, dynamics, and star formation properties of a large population of galaxies in the early universe and their effect upon their cosmological environment

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/IR 11631

Binary Brown Dwarfs and the L/T Transition

Brown dwarfs traverse spectral types M, L and T as their atmospheric structure evolves and they cool into oblivion This SNAPSHOT program will obtain WFC3-IR images of 45 nearby late-L and early-T dwarfs to investigate the nature of the L/T transition Recent analyses have suggested that a substantial proportion of late-L and early-T dwarfs are binaries, comprised of an L dwarf primary and T dwarf secondary WFC3-IR observations will let us quantify this suggestion by expanding coverage to a much larger sample, and permitting comparison of the L/T binary fraction against 'normal' ultracool dwarfs Only eight L/T binaries are currently known, including several that are poorly resolved: we anticipate at least doubling the number of resolved systems The photometric characteristics of additional resolved systems will be crucial to constraining theoretical models of these late-type ultracool dwarfs Finally, our data will also be eminently suited to searching for extremely low luminosity companions, potentially even reaching the Y dwarf regime

WFC3/ACS/UVIS 11613

GHOSTS: Stellar Outskirts of Massive Spiral Galaxies

We propose to continue our highly successful GHOSTS HST survey of the resolved stellar populations of nearby, massive disk galaxies using SNAPs These observations provide star counts and color-magnitude diagrams 2-3 magnitudes below the tip of the Red Giant Branch of the outer disk and halo of each galaxy We will measure the metallicity distribution functions and stellar density profiles from star counts down to very low average surface brightnesses, equivalent to ~32 V-mag per square arcsec

This proposal will substantially improve our unique sampling of galaxy outskirts Our targets cover a range in galaxy mass, luminosity, inclination, and morphology As a function of these galaxy properties, this survey provides: - the most extensive, systematic measurement of radial light profiles and axial ratios of the diffuse stellar halos and outer disks of spiral galaxies; - a comprehensive analysis of halo metallicity distributions as function of galaxy type and position within the galaxy; - an unprecedented study of the stellar metallicity and age distribution in the outer disk regions where the disk truncations occur; - the first comparative study of globular clusters and their field stellar populations

We will use these fossil records of the galaxy assembly process to test halo formation models within the hierarchical galaxy formation scheme

ACS/SBC/COS/NUV/FUV 11579

The Difference Between Neutral- and Ionized-Gas Metal Abundances in Local Star-Forming Galaxies with COS

The metallicity of galaxies and its evolution with redshift is of paramount importance for understanding galaxy formation Abundances in the interstellar medium (ISM) are typically determined using emission-line spectroscopy of HII regions However, since HII regions are associated with recent SF they may not have abundances typical for the galaxy as a whole This is true in particular for star-forming galaxies (SFGs), in which the bulk of the metals may be contained in the neutral gas It is therefore important to directly probe the metal abundances in the neutral gas This can be done using absorption lines in the Far UV We have developed techniques to do this in SFGs, where the absorption is measured for sightlines toward bright SF regions within the galaxy itself We have successfully applied this technique to a sample of galaxies observed with FUSE The results have been very promising, suggesting in I Zw 18 that abundances in the neutral gas may be up to 0 5 dex lower than in the ionized gas However, the interpretation of the FUSE data is complicated by the very large FUSE aperture (30 arcsec), the modest S/N, and the limited selection of species available in the FUSE bandpass The advent of COS on HST now allows a significant advance in all of these areas We will therefore obtain absorption line spectroscopy with G130M in the same sample for which we already have crude constraints from FUSE We will obtain ACS/SBC images to select the few optimal sightlines to target in each galaxy The results will be interpreted through line-profile fitting to determine the metal abundances constrained by the available lines The results will provide important new insights into the metallicities of galaxies, and into outstanding problems at high redshift such as the observed offset between the metallicities of Lyman Break Galaxies and Damped Lyman Alpha systems

WFC3/ACS/IR 11563

Galaxies at z~7-10 in the Reionization Epoch: Luminosity Functions to <0 2L* from Deep IR Imaging of the HUDF and HUDF05 Fields

The first generations of galaxies were assembled around redshifts z~7-10+, just 500-800 Myr after recombination, in the heart of the reionization of the universe We know very little about galaxies in this period Despite great effort with HST and other telescopes, less than ~15 galaxies have been reliably detected so far at z>7, contrasting with the ~1000 galaxies detected to date at z~6, just 200-400 Myr later, near the end of the reionization epoch WFC3 IR can dramatically change this situation, enabling derivation of the galaxy luminosity function and its shape at z~7-8 to well below L*, measurement of the UV luminosity density at z~7-8 and z~8-9, and estimates of the contribution of galaxies to reionization at these epochs, as well as characterization of their properties (sizes, structure, colors) A quantitative leap in our understanding of early galaxies, and the timescales of their buildup, requires a total sample of ~100 galaxies at z~7-8 to ~29 AB mag We can achieve this with 192 WFC3 IR orbits on three disjoint fields (minimizing cosmic variance): the HUDF and the two nearby deep fields of the HUDF05 Our program uses three WFC3 IR filters, and leverages over 600 orbits of existing ACS data, to identify, with low contamination, a large sample of over 100 objects at z~7-8, a very useful sample of ~23 at z~8-9, and limits at z~10 By careful placement of the WFC3 IR and parallel ACS pointings, we also enhance the optical ACS imaging on the HUDF and a HUDF05 field We stress (1) the need to go deep, which is paramount to define L*, the shape, and the slope alpha of the luminosity function (LF) at these high redshifts; and (2) the far superior performance of our strategy, compared with the use of strong lensing clusters, in detecting significant samples of faint z~7-8 galaxies to derive their luminosity function and UV ionizing flux Our recent z~7 4 NICMOS results show that wide-area IR surveys, even of GOODS-like depth, simply do not reach faint enough at z~7-9 to meet the LF and UV flux objectives In the spirit of the HDF and the HUDF, we will waive any proprietary period, and will also deliver the reduced data to STScI The proposed data will provide a Legacy resource of great value for a wide range of archival science investigations of galaxies at redshifts z~2-9 The data are likely to remain the deepest IR/optical images until JWST is launched, and will provide sources for spectroscopic follow up by JWST, ALMA and EVLA

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5156

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/f419e4b93baa7ec0?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Tues, Aug 10 2010 8:38Ã‚Â am From: "Cooper, Joe"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5156

PERIOD COVERED: 5am August 9 - 5am August 10, 2010 (DOY 221/09:00z-222/09:00z)

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 10 10 FGS REAcq 8 8 OBAD with Maneuver 7 7

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/WFC 11996

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 3)

ACS/WFC3 11735

The LSD Project: Dynamics, Merging and Stellar Populations of a Sample of Well-Studied LBGs at z~3

A large observational effort with the ground-based ESO/VLT telescopes allowed us to obtain deep, spatially-resolved, near-IR spectra of complete sample of 11 Lyman-Break Galaxies at z~3 1 These observations were used to obtain, for the first time, the metallicity and the dynamical properties of a sample of objects that, albeit small, is representative of the total population of the LBGs We propose to use HST to obtain high-resolution optical and near-IR images of this sample of LBGs in order to study the broad-band morphology and the stellar light distribution of these galaxies These images, exploiting the superior spatial resolution of HST images and the low-background : 1- will allow a precise measure of the dynamical mass from the velocity field derived with spectroscopy; 2- will permit a comparison of the distribution of star formation (from the line emission) with the underlying stellar population, and, 3- will be used to check if the complex velocity field and the multiple line-emitting regions detected in most targets can be ascribed to on-going mergers This accurate study will shed light on a number of unsolved problems still affecting the knowledge of the LBGs

COS/FUV 11895

FUV Detector Dark Monitor

Monitor the FUV detector dark rate by taking long science exposures without illuminating the detector The detector dark rate and spatial distribution of counts will be compared to pre-launch and SMOV data in order to verify the nominal operation of the detector Variations of count rate as a function of orbital position will be analyzed to find dependence of dark rate on proximity to the SAA Dependence of dark rate as function of time will also be tracked

COS/NUV 11894

NUV Detector Dark Monitor

The purpose of this proposal is to measure the NUV detector dark rate by taking long science exposures with no light on the detector The detector dark rate and spatial distribution of counts will be compared to pre-launch and SMOV data in order to verify the nominal operation of the detector Variations of count rate as a function of orbital position will be analyzed to find dependence of dark rate on proximity to the SAA Dependence of dark rate as function of time will also be tracked

COS/NUV 11896

NUV Spectroscopic Sensitivity Monitoring

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor sensitivity of each NUV grating mode to detect any changes due to contamination or other causes

COS/NUV 12052

COS NUV Grating Efficiency Test

We will perform two more grating efficiency tests to enable better comparison of results of grating efficiency tests done on the ground with external target spectroscopic sensitivity monitoring on orbit

The GETS contains 10 NUV exposures designed to get the same S/N of various emission lines throughout the NUV band The sequence and duration of exposures in this NUV GET are the same as used by the IDT on the ground from 2004-2009 to monitor the relative efficiencies of the NUV gratings The sequence starts with a 20-minute wait, to ensure that the lamp has cooled from any usage in a previous visit

STIS/CC 11845

CCD Dark Monitor Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD

STIS/CC 11847

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 2

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

STIS/CCD 11849

STIS CCD Hot Pixel Annealing

This purpose of this activity is to repair radiation induced hot pixel damage to the STIS CCD by warming the CCD to the ambient instrument temperature and annealing radiation-damaged pixels

Radiation damage creates hot pixels in the STIS CCD Detector Many of these hot pixels can be repaired by warming the CCD from its normal operating temperature near -83 deg C to the ambient instrument temperature (~ +5 deg C) for several hours The number of hot pixels repaired is a function of annealing temperature The effectiveness of the CCD hot pixel annealing process is assessed by measuring the dark current behavior before and after annealing and by searching for any window contamination effects

STIS/CCD 12228

Probing for Exoplanets Hiding in Dusty Debris Disks: Inner (<10 AU) Disk Imaging, Characterization, and Exploration

We propose new visible-light observations of a well-selected sample of circumstellar (CS) debris disks, all with HST pedigree, using STIS PSF-subtracted multi-roll coronagraphic imaging Our new observations will probe the interior CS regions of these debris systems (with inner working distances of < approximately 8 AU for half the stars in this sample), corresponding to the giant planet and Kuiper belt regions within our own solar system These new images will enable us to directly inter-compare the architectures of these exoplanetary debris systems in the context of our own Solar System These observations will also permit us, for the first time, to characterize the material in these regions at high spatial resolution and to look for sub-structures within the disks that are the sign posts of planetary formation and evolution; in particular, asymmetries and non-uniform debris structures signal the presence of co-orbiting perturbing planets Additionally, all of our objects have been observed previously at longer wavelengths (but much lower spatial resolution and imaging efficacy) with NICMOS, but with an inner working angle comparable to STIS multi-roll coronagraphy The combination of new optical and existing near-IR imaging will strongly constrain the dust properties, thus enabling an assessment of grain processing and planetesimal populations These results will directly inform upon the posited planet formation mechanisms that occur after the ~ 10 My epoch of gas depletion, at a time in our solar system when giant planets were migrating and the terrestrial planets were forming, and directly test theoretical models of these processes The outer reaches (only) of most of these systems were previously observed with a much larger (~ 6x on average), spatially limiting, effective inner working angle of the ACS coronagraph The previous ACS images are therefore completely inadequate to address our science goals of imaging the inner structures of these CS disks Our proposed investigation, enabled ONLY with HST STIS visible-light coronagraphy, will uniquely probe into the interior regions of these systems for the first time with spatial resolution comparable to ACS and with augmenting NICMOS near-IR disk photometry in hand

WFC3/ACS/IR 11563

Galaxies at z~7-10 in the Reionization Epoch: Luminosity Functions to <0 2L* from Deep IR Imaging of the HUDF and HUDF05 Fields

WFC3/IR 11671

Kinematic Reconstruction of the Origin and IMF of the Massive Young Clusters at the Galactic Center

We propose to exploit the wide field capabilities of Wide Field Camera 3 to study star formation at the Galactic center By studying young stars located in the most physically extreme region of our Galaxy, we can test star formation theories, which suggest that such environments should favor high mass stars and, in extreme cases, should suppress star formation entirely Specifically, we will measure the proper motions and photometry of stars over the full extent of the three massive young clusters that have been identified at the Galactic Center (Arches, Quintuplet, and the Young Nuclear Star Cluster) These observations are a factor of ?2000 more efficient than what can be done with ground-based adaptive optics Our goals are two-fold First, we hope to establish the initial sites of star formation in order to obtain an accurate estimate of the conditions that led to the stellar populations within these clusters Answering this question for the Young Nuclear Star Cluster is particularly important as it establishes whether or not star formation can indeed proceed within 0 1 pc of our Galaxy's supermassive black hole Second, we will measure the IMF in the Arches and Quintuplet, where dynamical evolution is less severe, using proper motions to determine membership and to reveal the tidal radius Probing how the properties of the emergent stellar populations within our Galaxy may be affected by the physical environment in which they arise is an important first step to understanding how they might vary as a function of cosmic time and thereby affect our models of galaxy formation and evolution

WFC3/IR 11926

IR Zero Points

We will measure and monitor the zeropoints through the IR filters using observations of the white dwarf standard stars, GD153, GD71 and GD191B2B and the solar analog standard star, P330E Data will be taken monthly during Cycle 17 Observations of the star cluster, NGC 104, are made twice to check color transformations We expect an accuracy of 2% in the wide filter zeropoints relative to the HST photometric system, and 5% in the medium- and narrow-band filters

WFC3/UVIS 11630

Monitoring Active Atmospheres on Uranus and Neptune

We propose Snapshot observations of Uranus and Neptune to monitor changes in their atmospheres on time scales of weeks and months, as we have been doing for the past seven years Previous Hubble Space Telescope observations (including previous Snapshot programs 8634, 10170, 10534, and 11156), together with near-IR images obtained using adaptive optics on the Keck Telescope, reveal both planets to be dynamic worlds which change on time scales ranging from hours to (terrestrial) years Uranus equinox occurred in December 2007, and the northern hemisphere is becoming fully visible for the first time since the early 1960s HST observations during the past several years (Hammel et al 2005, Icarus 175, 284 and references therein) have revealed strongly wavelength-dependent latitudinal structure, the presence of numerous visible-wavelength cloud features in the northern hemisphere, at least one very long- lived discrete cloud in the southern hemisphere, and in 2006 the first clearly defined dark spot seen on Uranus Long term ground-based observations (Lockwood and Jerzekiewicz, 2006, Icarus 180, 442; Hammel and Lockwood 2007, Icarus 186, 291) reveal seasonal brightness changes that seem to demand the appearance of a bright northern polar cap within the next few years Recent HST and Keck observations of Neptune (Sromovsky et al 2003, Icarus 163, 256 and references therein) show a general increase in activity at south temperate latitudes until 2004, when Neptune returned to a rather Voyager-like appearance with discrete bright spots rather than active latitude bands Further Snapshot observations of these two dynamic planets will elucidate the nature of long-term changes in their zonal atmospheric bands and clarify the processes of formation, evolution, and dissipation of discrete albedo features

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

WFC3/UVIS 11912

UVIS Internal Flats

This proposal will be used to assess the stability of the flat field structure for the UVIS detector throughout the 15 months of Cycle 17 The data will be used to generate on-orbit updates for the delta-flat field reference files used in the WFC3 calibration pipeline, if significant changes in the flat structure are seen

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5157

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/c5359488c341b1d3?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Wed, Aug 11 2010 10:47Ã‚Â am From: "Cooper, Joe"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5157

PERIOD COVERED: 5am August 10 - 5am August 11, 2010 (DOY 222/09:00z-223/09:00z)

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 7 7 FGS REAcq 8 8 OBAD with Maneuver 6 6

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

COS/NUV/FUV 11728

The Impact of Starbursts on the Gaseous Halos of Galaxies

Perhaps the most important (yet uncertain) aspects of galaxy evolution are the processes by which galaxies accrete gas and by which the resulting star formation and black hole growth affects this accreting gas It is believed that both the form of the accretion and the nature of the feedback change as a function of the galaxy mass At low mass the gas comes in cold and the feedback is provided by massive stars At high mass, the gas comes in hot, and the feedback is from an AGN The changeover occurs near the mass where the galaxy population transitions from star-forming galaxies to red and dead ones The population of red and dead galaxies is building with cosmic time, and it is believed that feedback plays an important role in this process: shutting down star formation by heating and/or expelling the reservoir of cold halo gas To investigate these ideas, we propose to use COS far-UV spectra of background QSOs to measure the properties of the halo gas in a sample of galaxies near the transition mass that have undergone starbursts within the past 100 Myr to 1 Gyr The galactic wind associated with the starburst is predicted to have affected the properties of the gaseous halo To test this, we will compare the properties of the halos of the post-starburst galaxies to those of a control sample of galaxies matched in mass and QSO impact parameter Do the halos of the post-starburst galaxies show a higher incidence rate of Ly-Alpha and metal absorption-lines? Are the kinematics of the halo gas more disturbed in the post-starbursts? Has the wind affected the ionization state and/or the metallicity of the halo? These data will provide fresh new insights into the role of feedback from massive stars on the evolution of galaxies, and may also offer clues about the properties of the QSO metal absorption-line systems at high-redshift

COS/NUV/S/CCD/FUV 12082

Extending COS/G130M Coverage Down to 905A With Two New Central Wavelengths

These exploratory observations will provide sensitivity, wavelength range, and resolution measurements for two new COS FUV G130M central wavelength settings These new settings will extend COS/G130M coverage down to 905? in two new bandpasses; 1021-1171? (BLUE) and 905-1055? (Ultra-BLUE) The modes are chosen to provide continuous coverage from 905? to the existing coverage in the G130M/1291? setting with approximately 30? of overlap in each mode for cross-calibration purposes No focus adjustments will be made for these settings, as this is deemed an unnecessary risk to COS

These new modes have the potential to provide greater than FUSE sensitivity at moderate (3, 000-5, 000) resolution

Three WD targets are defined;

1) GD50 (GSC-04717-00588; a well observed standard WD) 2) WD0320-539 (GSC-08493-00891, one of the targets used in exploring the G140L sensitivity), 3) REJ0503-289 (WD-5001-289 = GSC-04717-00588, a hot EUVE bright WD)

But only target 2) is used at this time

In the observations section, G130M/1291A is a placeholder for the BLUE and Super-BLUE settings

STIS/CCD 11845

CCD Dark Monitor Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD

STIS/CCD 11847

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 2

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

STIS/CCD 11849

STIS CCD Hot Pixel Annealing

This purpose of this activity is to repair radiation induced hot pixel damage to the STIS CCD by warming the CCD to the ambient instrument temperature and annealing radiation-damaged pixels

STIS/CCD/MA2 11568

A SNAPSHOT Survey of the Local Interstellar Medium: New NUV Observations of Stars with Archived FUV Observations

We propose to obtain high-resolution STIS E230H SNAP observations of MgII and FeII interstellar absorption lines toward stars within 100 parsecs that already have moderate or high-resolution far-UV (FUV), 900-1700 A, observations available in the MAST Archive Fundamental properties, such as temperature, turbulence, ionization, abundances, and depletions of gas in the local interstellar medium (LISM) can be measured by coupling such observations Due to the wide spectral range of STIS, observations to study nearby stars also contain important data about the LISM embedded within their spectra However, unlocking this information from the intrinsically broad and often saturated FUV absorption lines of low-mass ions, (DI, CII, NI, OI), requires first understanding the kinematic structure of the gas along the line of sight This can be achieved with high resolution spectra of high-mass ions, (FeII, MgII), which have narrow absorption lines, and can resolve each individual velocity component (interstellar cloud) By obtaining short (~10 minute) E230H observations of FeII and MgII, for stars that already have moderate or high- resolution FUV spectra, we can increase the sample of LISM measurements, and thereby expand our knowledge of the physical properties of the gas in our galactic neighborhood STIS is the only instrument capable of obtaining the required high resolution data now or in the foreseeable future

WFC3/ACS/IR 11563

Galaxies at z~7-10 in the Reionization Epoch: Luminosity Functions to <0 2L* from Deep IR Imaging of the HUDF and HUDF05 Fields

WFC3/IR 11671

Kinematic Reconstruction of the Origin and IMF of the Massive Young Clusters at the Galactic Center

We propose to exploit the wide field capabilities of Wide Field Camera 3 to study star formation at the Galactic center By studying young stars located in the most physically extreme region of our Galaxy, we can test star formation theories, which suggest that such environments should favor high mass stars and, in extreme cases, should suppress star formation entirely Specifically, we will measure the proper motions and photometry of stars over the full extent of the three massive young clusters that have been identified at the Galactic Center (Arches, Quintuplet, and the Young Nuclear Star Cluster) These observations are a factor of ?2000 more efficient than what can be done with ground-based adaptive optics Our goals are two-fold First, we hope to establish the initial sites of star formation in order to obtain an accurate estimate of the conditions that led to the stellar populations within these clusters Answering this question for the Young Nuclear Star Cluster is particularly important as it establishes whether or not star formation can indeed proceed within 0 1 pc of our Galaxy?s supermassive black hole Second, we will measure the IMF in the Arches and Quintuplet, where dynamical evolution is less severe, using proper motions to determine membership and to reveal the tidal radius Probing how the properties of the emergent stellar populations within our Galaxy may be affected by the physical environment in which they arise is an important first step to understanding how they might vary as a function of cosmic time and thereby affect our models of galaxy formation and evolution

WFC3/IR 11696

Infrared Survey of Star Formation Across Cosmic Time

WFC3/UVIS 11903

UVIS Photometric Zero Points

This proposal obtains the photometric zero points in 53 of the 62 UVIS/WFC3 filters: the 18 broad-band filters, 8 medium-band filters, 16 narrow-band filters, and 11 of the 20 quad filters (those being used in cycle 17) The observations will be primary obtained by observing the hot DA white dwarf standards GD153 and G191-B2B A redder secondary standard, P330E, will be observed in a subset of the filters to provide color corrections Repeat observations in 16 of the most widely used cycle 17 filters will be obtained once per month for the first three months, and then once every second month for the duration of cycle 17, alternating and depending on target availability These observations will enable monitoring of the stability of the photometric system Photometric transformation equations will be calculated by comparing the photometry of stars in two globular clusters, 47 Tuc and NGC 2419, to previous measurements with other telescopes/instruments

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

WFC3/UVIS 11908

Cycle 17: UVIS Bowtie Monitor

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