Date: May 2nd 2006

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 4104

PERIOD COVERED: UT May 01, 2006 (DOY 121)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/HRC/WFC 10487

A Search for Debris Disks in the Coeval Beta Pictoris Moving Group

Resolved observations of debris disks present us with the opportunity of studying planetary evolution in other solar systems We propose to search for debris disks in the Beta Pictoris moving group {8-20 Myrs, 10-50 pc away} , which provides a coeval sample of multiple spectral types, and it has already produced two magnificent resolved debris disks: AU Mic and Beta Pic Such coeval sample will provide us with a snapshop of the crucial time in disk evolution in which the disk makes the transition from optically thick to optically thin, and it will be useful to study the stellar mass dependence of the disk evolution

ACS/HRC/WFC 10514

Kuiper Belt Binaries: Probes of Early Solar System Evolution

Binaries in the Kuiper Belt are a scientific windfall: in them we have relatively fragile test particles which can be used as tracers of the early dynamical evolution of the outer Solar System We propose a Snapshot program using the ACS/HRC that has a potential discovery efficiency an order of magnitude higher than the HST observations that have already discovered the majority of known transneptunian binaries By more than doubling the number of observed objects in dynamically hot and cold subpopulations we will be able to answer, with statistical significance, the question of whether these groups differ in the abundance of binaries as a result of their particular dynamical paths into the Kuiper Belt Today's Kuiper Belt bears the imprints of the final stages of giant-planet building and migration; binaries may offer some of the best preserved evidence of that long-ago era

ACS/HRC/WFC 10734

ACS CCD Flash Calibration

This activity provides a set of CCD FLASH exposure reference images for each current level/shutter-side/detector combination, for the pair of FLASH LEDs on the instrument side currently in use It also tests the short-term repeatability at the shortest FLASH exposure times that are expected to be used {1 0 sec}

ACS/HRC/WFC 10758

ACS CCDs daily monitor

This program consists of a set of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the development of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD detectors The files, biases and dark will be used to create reference files for science calibration This programme will be for the entire lifetime of ACS Changes from cycle 13:- The default gain for WFC is 2 e-/DN As before bias frames will be collected for both gain 1 and gain 2 Dark frames are acquired using the default gain {2} This program cover the period May, 31 2006- Oct, 1-2006 The first half of the program has a different proposal number: 10729

ACS/SBC 10568

Ultraviolet spectrum of the binary millisecond pulsar J0437-4715

PSR J0437-4715 is the nearest and the brightest millisecond {recycled} pulsar, and the only one detected at near-optical wavelengths We detected it with the HST STIS/FUV-MAMA detector and found that its FUV spectrum is consistent with being emitted from the neutron star surface with a temperature of about 0 1 MK, surprisingly high for such an old object We also found evidence of an emission line at 1372 A, tentatively interpreted as a Zeeman component of the hydrogen Ly-alpha line in a magnetic field of 700 MG Unfortunately, the spectrum was imaged in a region of strong detector background, which strongly hampered the spectral analyses We propose to re-observe the pulsar with the ACS/SBC in FUV and ACS/HRC in NUV to obtain the spectrum of the pulsar in a broad UV range The spectral analysis will allow us to measure the temperature of the full neutron star surface and probe the heating mechanisms operating in old neutron stars Confirmation of the spectral line would lead to a first direct measuremnt of the magnetic field and the radius of a spin-powered neutron star and uniquely constrain the equation of state of superdense matter The NUV spectrum will also probe the magnetospheric emission and the thermal structure of the cool white dwarf companion

ACS/WFC 10775

An ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters

We propose to conduct an ACS/WFC imaging survey of Galactic globular clusters We will construct the most extensive and deepest set of photometry and astrometry to-date for these systems reaching a main sequence mass of ~0 2 solar mass with S/N >= 10 We will combine these data with archival WFPC2 and STIS images to determine proper motions for the stars in our fields The resultant cleaned cluster CMDs will allow us to study a variety of scientific questions These include [but are not limited to] 1} the determination of cluster ages and distances 2} the construction of main sequence mass functions and the issue of mass segregation 3} the internal motions and dynamical evolution of globular clusters, and 4} absolute cluster motions, orbits, and the Milky Way gravitational potential We anticipate that the unique resource provided by the proposed treasury archive will play a central role in the field of globular cluster studies for decades, with a stature comparable to that of the Hubble Deep Field for high redshift studies

NICMOS 8791

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 2

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 USEAFTER 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 DARKSs 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

NICS3 10754

Spectrophotometric Standards for Cross-Observatory Calibration

This program will obtain NICMOS spectrophotometry of four main sequence A stars and four K giants, each selected from the Spitzer IRAC photometric calibration target and/or candidate calibration target lists These observations will supplement existing HST observations of DA white dwarfs and solar analogs, and will provide a broad base of stellar types for spectrophotometric cross calibration of HST, Spitzer, and eventually JWST The targets are chosen to be faint enough for unsaturated observations with JWST NIRSPEC, yet still bright enough for high signal to noise in relatively short observations with HST+NICMOS and with Spitzer+IRAC

WFPC2 10748

WFPC2 CYCLE 14 Standard Darks

This dark calibration program obtains dark frames every week in order to provide data for the ongoing calibration of the CCD dark current rate, and to monitor and characterize the evolution of hot pixels Over an extended period these data will also provide a monitor of radiation damage to the CCDs

WFPC2 10751

WFPC2 CYCLE 14 Intflat Linearity Check and Filter Rotation Anomaly Monitor

Intflat observations will be taken to provide a linearity check: the linearity test consists of a series of intflats in F555W, in each gain and each shutter A combination of intflats, visflats, and earthflats will be used to check the repeatability of filter wheel motions {Intflat sequences tied to decons, visits 1-18 in prop 10363, have been moved to the cycle 14 decon proposal 10744 for easier scheduling } Note: long-exposure WFPC2 intflats must be scheduled during ACS anneals to prevent stray light from the WFPC2 lamps from contaminating long ACS external exposures

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 08 08 FGS REacq 02 02 OBAD with Maneuver 20 20

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

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