HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class
Science
DAILY REPORT #
4167
PERIOD COVERED: UT July 31, 2006 (DOY 212)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
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/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.
ACS/WFC 10829
Secular Evolution at the End of the Hubble Sequence
The bulgeless disk galaxies at the end of the Hubble Sequence evolve
at
a glacial pace relative to their more violent, earlier-type cousins.
The
causes of their internal, or secular evolution are important because
secular evolution represents the future fate of all galaxies in our
accelerating Universe and is a key ingredient to understanding
galaxy
evolution in lower-density environments at present. The rate of
secular
evolution is largely determined by the stability of the cold ISM
against
collapse, star formation, and the buildup of a central bulge. Key
diagnostics of the ISM's stability are the presence of compact
molecular
clouds and narrow dust lanes. Surprisingly, edge-on, pure disk
galaxies
with circular velocities below 120 km/s do not appear to contain
such
dust lanes. We propose to obtain ACS/WFC F606W images of a
well-selected
sample of extremely late-type disk galaxies to measure the
characteristic scale size of the cold ISM and determine if they
possess
the unstable, cold ISM necessary to drive secular evolution. Our
sample
has been carefully constructed to include disk galaxies above and
below
the critical circular velocity of 120 km/s where the dust properties
of
edge-on disks change so remarkably. We will then use surface
brightness
profiles to search for nuclear star clusters and pseudobulges, which
are
early indicators that secular evolution is at work, as well as
measure
the pitch angle of the dust lanes as a function of radius to
estimate
the central mass concentrations.
ACS/WFC 10911
Calibration of ACS F814W Surface Brightness Fluctuations
The surface brightness fluctuations {SBF} method has emerged as the
primary distance indicator for mapping local large-scale structures
{Virgo, Fornax}, as well as the velocity field out to nearly 15,000
km/s
{z < 0.05}. This is because other precision distance indicators
either
lack the requisite depth {Cepheids, TRGB} or are too rare for
adequate
sampling {supernovae}, while more traditional methods {Tully-Fisher,
fundamental plane} lack the necessary precision. The SBF method is
now
being used with great success in several major ACS Wide Field Camera
programs. However, whereas the band of choice for the nearby
structure
studies has been F850LP, for the distant large-scale flow studies it
is
F814W because of its much greater throughput. As a result, the
current
calibration for the more distant studies is inadequate. We propose
to
establish the first systematic calibration of the SBF method in the
important F814W ACS WFC bandpass. We will do this by measuring SBF in
an
optimized sample of galaxies in the nearby compact Fornax cluster.
Given
the large amount of effort and HST time being dedicated to F814W SBF
measurements, it is imperative that we correct this outstanding
calibration problem while time remains. For an extremely modest
expenditure of orbits, we will remove a significant systematic error
and
vastly improve the overall accuracy of the ongoing ACS F814W SBF
work.
These data will also greatly enhance the legacy value of the HST
archive
for future SBF studies.
ACS/WFC/HRC 10920
High-Resolution Imaging of Nearby Lyman Break Galaxy Analogs in the
GALEX All-Sky Survey
We have used the ultraviolet all-sky imaging survey currently being
conducted by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer {GALEX} to identify for
the
first time a rare population of low- redshift starbursts with
properties
remarkably similar to high-redshift Lyman Break Galaxies. These
compact
UV luminous galaxies {UVLGs} resemble Lyman Break Galaxies in terms
of
size, UV luminosity, star-formation rate, surface brightness, mass,
metallicity, kinematics, dust content, and color. They have
characteristic ``ages'' {stellar mass/SFR} of only a few hundred
Myr.
This population of galaxies is thus worthy of study in its own right
and
as a sample of local analogs of Lyman Break Galaxies. We propose to
image a sample of the 9 nearest and brightest compact UVLGs in the
near-ultraviolet, near-infrared, and H-alpha using ACS. With these
images we will 1} characterize their structure and morphology, 2}
look
for signs of interactions and mergers, 3} investigate the
distribution
and propogation of star formation over varying time scales, and 4}
quantify the stellar populations and star formation history, in order
to
determine whether a previous generation of stars formed long before
the
current burst. These data will perfectly complement our existing
Spitzer, GALEX, and SDSS data, and will provide important information
on
star- formation in the present-day universe as well as shed light on
the
earliest major episodes of star formation in high-redshift galaxies.
ACS/WFC/NIC2 10496
Decelerating and Dustfree: Efficient Dark Energy Studies with
Supernovae
and Clusters
We propose a novel HST approach to obtain a dramatically more useful
"dust free" Type Ia supernovae {SNe Ia} dataset than available
with the
previous GOODS searches. Moreover, this approach provides a
strikingly
more efficient search-and-follow-up that is primarily pre-scheduled.
The
resulting dark energy measurements do not share the major systematic
uncertainty at these redshifts, that of the extinction correction with
a
prior. By targeting massive galaxy clusters at z > 1 we obtain a
five-times higher efficiency in detection of Type Ia supernovae in
ellipticals, providing a well-understood host galaxy environment.
These
same deep cluster images then also yield fundamental calibrations
required for future weak lensing and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich measurements
of
dark energy, as well as an entire program of cluster studies. The
data
will make possible a factor of two improvement on supernova
constraints
on dark energy time variation, and much larger improvement in
systematic
uncertainty. They will provide both a cluster dataset and a SN Ia
dataset that will be a longstanding scientific resource.
NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8794
NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 5
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.
NIC2, ACS/WFC 10802
SHOES-Supernovae, HO, for the Equation of State of Dark energy
The present uncertainty in the value of the Hubble constant
{resulting
in an uncertainty in Omega_M} and the paucity of Type Ia supernovae
at
redshifts exceeding 1 are now the leading obstacles to determining
the
nature of dark energy. We propose a single, integrated set of
observations for Cycle 15 that will provide a 40% improvement in
constraints on dark energy. This program will observe known Cepheids
in
six reliable hosts of Type Ia supernovae with NICMOS, reducing the
uncertainty in H_0 by a factor of two because of the smaller
dispersion
along the instability strip, the diminished extinction, and the
weaker
metallicity dependence in the infrared. In parallel with ACS, at the
same time the NICMOS observations are underway, we will discover and
follow a sample of Type Ia supernovae at z > 1. Together, these
measurements, along with prior constraints from WMAP, will provide a
great
improvement in HST's ability to distinguish between a static,
cosmological constant and dynamical dark energy.
NIC2/ACS/WFC/WFPC2 10532
Kinematics and morphology of the most massive field disk galaxies at
z>1
We propose to obtain 1 orbit NIC-2 images of a sample of the 15 most
massive galaxies found at $1 < z < 1.3$. These were culled from
over 20,
000 Keck spectra collected as part of DEEP and are unique among high
redshift massive galaxy samples in being kinematically selected. We
intend to test whether these potentially very young galaxies are
likely
precursors to massive local disks, assuming no further merging.
NIC-2
images provide rest-frame optical morphologies that will show
whether
they are normal disky systems or instead more disturbed looking
objects
with multiple subcomponents, mergers, peculiar structure, etc. NIC-2
provides near-IR resolutions sufficient to enable measurements of
bulges
and disks subcomponents. The near-IR will fill a critical gap in the
broad-band SED photometry of the galaxy and its subcomponents to
estimate mean stellar ages and stellar masses and to assess whether
old
stellar bulges and disks are in place at that time. Finally, this
sample
will yield the first statistically significant results on the $z >
1$
evolution of the Tully-Fisher relation for massive galaxies. In
addition, we propose parallel observations with ACS WFC {V and I
bands}
and WFPC2 {I-band}. These will target up to 700 galaxies at
redshifts
0.7 ... 1.2 for which the DEEP2 survey has obtained precision
redshifts
and high-resolution kinematic data. The added HST morphology and
color
information will allow a variety of detailed studies on dynamical,
structural, and photometric evolution of galaxies.
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.
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant Spacecraft Anomalies:
(The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal
performance that will be investigated.)
HSTARS:
#10386 OBAD Failed Identification @ 213/06:07:06z
OBAD at
05:56:21 using FHST-1 and FHST-2 showed error corrections of V1
= -64.66,
V2 = 13978.37, V3 = -3.62, RSS = 13978.52 arcseconds. Second
OBAD at
06:04:16 showed error correction of V1 = -2.61, V2 = 0.26, V3 =
6.01, RSS
= 6.56. OBAD success flag (mnemonic GCHACL09) returned to the
"no
success" state (a value of 1) at 06:13:44. REACQ(2,1,2) at
06:09:25
failed due
to Search Radius Limit exceeded on FGS 2 at 06:14:16. Ops
Request
17543-2 was performed at 06:15 to dump OBAD tables 369 and 370.
#10387 REACQ(2,1,2) fails, Search Radius Limit on FGS 2 @
213/06:14:16z
REACQ(2,1,2) at 213/06:09:25 failed due to search radius limit
exceeded
on FGS 2
at 06:14:16. OBAD at 06:04:16 failed as described in HSTAR
10386.
Observation affected: ACS 60.
COMPLETED OPS REQUEST:
#17877-0 Secondary Mirror Focus Move @ 212/1447z
#17543-2 Dump OBAD tables after failed OBAD (Generic) @ 213/0615z
(HSTAR # 10386)
COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSacq
09
09
FGS
REacq
05
04
OBAD with Maneuver
28
27
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:
Secondary Mirror Focus Move Completed Flash Report
The
Secondary Mirror Move focus commanding was successfully completed
this
morning at 14:47 All of the telemetry verified correctly and the
guide star
acquisition following the mirror move was successful.
-Lynn
Lynn F. Bassford
CHAMP HST Missions Operations Manager
Lockheed Martin Technical Operations
GSFC PH#: 301-286-2876
"The Hubble Space Telescope is the astronomical observatory and
key to unlocking the most cosmic mysteries of the past, present and
future." - 7/26/6
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