Date: January 19th 2007

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 4281

PERIOD COVERED: UT January 18, 2007 (DOY 018)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/HRC/WFPC2/NIC3 10842

A Cepheid Distance to the Coma Cluster

We propose to use the Advanced Camera for Surveys to search for Cepheid variables in two spiral galaxies in the core of the Coma cluster A direct application of the canonical primary distance indicator at 100 Mpc will measure the far-field Hubble constant free of many of the systematic uncertainties which beset current determinations relying on secondary indicators Establishing the far-field H_o with Cepheids will provide one of the strongest links in the extragalactic distance scale and will directly calibrate the fiducial fundamental plane of elliptical galaxies in Coma With ACS/HRC, S/N=5 to 10 or better can be reached for Cepheids with periods of 40d to 70d at mean light in 5 orbits with the F606W filter if H_o=72 km/s/Mpc Efficient detection and phasing can be done with twelve epochs optimally spaced for periods of 40-70d

ACS/SBC 10862

Comprehensive Auroral Imaging of Jupiter and Saturn during the International Heliophysical Year

A comprehensive set of observations of the auroral emissions from Jupiter and Saturn is proposed for the International Heliophysical Year in 2007, a unique period of especially concentrated measurements of space physics phenomena throughout the solar system We propose to determine the physical relationship of the various auroral processes at Jupiter and Saturn with conditions in the solar wind at each planet This can be accomplished with campaigns of observations, with a sampling interval not to exceed one day, covering at least one solar rotation The solar wind plasma density approaching Jupiter will be measured by the New Horizons spacecraft, and a separate campaign near opposition in May 2007 will determine the effect of large-scale variations in the interplanetary magnetic field {IMF} on the Jovian aurora by extrapolation from near-Earth solar wind measurements A similar Saturn campaign near opposition in Jan 2007 will combine extrapolated solar wind data with measurements from a wide range of locations within the Saturn magnetosphere by Cassini In the course of making these observations, it will be possible to fully map the auroral footprints of Io and the other satellites to determine both the local magnetic field geometry and the controlling factors in the electromagnetic interaction of each satellite with the corotating magnetic field and plasma density Also in the course of making these observations, the auroral emission properties will be compared with the properties of the near-IR ionospheric emissions {from ground-based observations} and non thermal radio emissions, from ground-based observations for Jupiter?s decametric radiation and Cassini plasma wave measurements of the Saturn Kilometric Radiation {SKR}

ACS/WFC 10886

The Sloan Lens ACS Survey: Towards 100 New Strong Lenses

As a continuation of the highly successful Sloan Lens ACS {SLACS} Survey for new strong gravitational lenses, we propose one orbit of ACS-WFC F814W imaging for each of 50 high- probability strong galaxy-galaxy lens candidates These observations will confirm new lens systems and permit immediate and accurate photometry, shape measurement, and mass modeling of the lens galaxies The lenses delivered by the SLACS Survey all show extended source structure, furnishing more constraints on the projected lens potential than lensed-quasar image positions In addition, SLACS lenses have lens galaxies that are much brighter than their lensed sources, facilitating detailed photometric and dynamical observation of the former When confirmed lenses from this proposal are combined with lenses discovered by SLACS in Cycles 13 and 14, we expect the final SLACS lens sample to number 80--100: an approximate doubling of the number of known galaxy-scale strong gravitational lenses and an order-of-magnitude increase in the number of optical Einstein rings By virtue of its homogeneous selection and sheer size, the SLACS sample will allow an unprecedented exploration of the mass structure of the early-type galaxy population as a function of all other observable quantities This new sample will be a valuable resource to the astronomical community by enabling qualitatively new strong lensing science, and as such we will waive all but a short {3-month} proprietary period on the observations

ACS/WFC 10918

Reducing Systematic Errors on the Hubble Constant: Metallicity Calibration of the Cepheid PL Relation

Reducing the systematic errors on the Hubble constant is still of significance and of immediate importance to modern cosmology One of the largest remaining uncertainties in the Cepheid- based distance scale {which itself is at the foundation of the HST Key Project determination of H_o} which can now be addressed directly by HST, is the effect of metallicity on the Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation Three chemically distinct regions in M101 will be used to directly measure and thereby calibrate the change in zero point of the Cepheid PL relation over a range of metallicities that run from SMC-like, through Solar, to metallicities as high as the most metal- enriched galaxies in the pure Hubble flow ACS for the first time offers the opportunity to make a precise calibration of this effect which currently accounts for at least a third of the total systematic uncertainty on Ho The calibration will be made in the V and I bandpasses so as to be immediately and directly applicable to the entire HST Cepheid-based distance scale sample, and most especially to the highest-metallicity galaxies that were hosts to the Type Ia supernovae, which were then used to extend the the distance scale calibration out to cosmologically significant distances

ACS/WFC/WFPC2 10890

Morphologies of the Most Extreme High-Redshift Mid-IR-Luminous Galaxies

The formative phase of the most massive galaxies may be extremely luminous, characterized by intense star- and AGN-formation Till now, few such galaxies have been unambiguously identified at high redshift, restricting us to the study of low-redshift ultraluminous infrared galaxies as possible analogs We have recently discovered a sample of objects which may indeed represent this early phase in galaxy formation, and are undertaking an extensive multiwavelength study of this population These objects are bright at mid-IR wavelengths {F[24um]>0 8mJy}, but deep ground based imaging suggests extremely faint {and in some cases extended} optical counterparts {R~24-27} Deep K-band images show barely resolved galaxies Mid-infrared spectroscopy with Spitzer/IRS reveals that they have redshifts z ~ 2-2 5, suggesting bolometric luminosities ~10^{13-14}Lsun! We propose to obtain deep ACS F814W and NIC2 F160W images of these sources and their environs in order to determine kpc-scale morphologies and surface photometry for these galaxies The proposed observations will help us determine whether these extreme objects are merging systems, massive obscured starbursts {with obscuration on kpc scales!} or very reddened {locally obscured} AGN hosted by intrinsically low-luminosity galaxies

ACS/WFC/WFPC2 10904

Star formation in extended UV disk {XUV-disk} galaxies

The Galaxy Evolution Explorer {GALEX} has discovered the existence of extended UV-disk {XUV-disk} galaxies This class of intriguing spiral galaxies is distinguished by UV-bright regions of star formation located at extreme galactocentric radii, commonly reaching many times the optical extent of each target XUV-disks represent a population of late-type galaxies still actively building, or significantly augmenting, their stellar disk in the outer, low-density environment Prior to GALEX, such regions were considered to be far more stable against star formation than now realized Our work on these targets has led to the recognition of the XUV phenomenon as probing a diverse population of galaxies which, although having certain commonality in terms of their present XUV star formation, have apparently experienced different star formation histories {as judged by their outer disk UV-optical colors and morphology} In ordinary spirals, disk formation occurred at a much earlier epoch, making today's XUV-disks useful templates for commonplace, high z galaxies The diverse XUV-disks in our sample may represent snapshots of different phases in the disk building process We seek to characterize the demographics of star forming regions occupying this environmental range, especially in contrast to their inner disk counterparts HST imaging is needed to accurately characterize the massive stars and clusters which have, in fact, managed to form The GALEX observations are limited by 5" resolution Deep ACS FUV, B, V, I, and H-alpha imaging {along with parallel WFPC2 data} will allow: {1} photometric classification of the OB star population, {2} constraint on the cluster mass function and age distribution, {3} critical accounting for possible leakage of Lyman continuum photons in a porous ISM or an IMF change, and {4} population synthesis modeling of the field SFH on Gyr timescales We benefit from extensive archival HST observations of our target galaxies, although the outer disk has yet to be probed

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 10849

Imaging Scattered Light from Debris Disks Discovered by the Spitzer Space Telescope around 21 Sun-like Stars

We propose to use the high-contrast capability of the NICMOS coronagraph to image a sample of newly discovered circumstellar disks associated with Sun-like stars These systems were identified by their strong thermal infrared {IR} emission with the Spitzer Space Telescope as part of the Spitzer Legacy Science program titled "The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems" {FEPS, P I : M Meyer} Modeling of the thermal excess emission from the spectral energy distributions alone cannot distinguish between narrowly confined high-opacity disks and broadly distributed, low-opacity disks By resolving light scattered by the circumstellar material, our proposed NICMOS observations can break this degeneracy, thus revealing the conditions under which planet formation processes are occuring or have occured For three of our IR-excess stars that have known radial-velocity planets, resolved imaging of the circumstellar debris disks may further offer an unprecedented view of planet-disk interactions in an extrasolar planetary system Even non-detections of the light scattered by the circumstellar material will place strong constraints on the disk geometries, ruling out disk models with high optical depth Unlike previous disk imaging programs, our program contains a well-defined sample of ~1 solar mass stars covering a range of ages from 3 Myr to 3 Gyr, thus allowing us to study the evolution of disks from primordial to debris for the first time The results from our program will greatly improve our understanding of the architecture of debris disks around Sun-like stars, and will create a morphological context for the existence of our own solar system This proposal is for a continuation of an approved Cycle 14 program {GO/10527, P I : D Hines}

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 The Hubble Space Telescope is the only instrument in the world that can make these IR measurements of Cepheids beyond the Local Group, and it is the only telescope in the world that can be used to find and follow supernovae at z > 1 Our program exploits both of these unique capabilities of HST to learn more about one of the greatest mysteries in science

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: 17991-0 - RF Transfer Switch Scrub

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                     SCHEDULED      SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSacq 06 06 FGS REacq 09 09 OBAD with Maneuver 30 30

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: Flash Report -- RF Transfer Switch Scrub Complete Normal Operations Request (17991-0) execution succeeded today on Jan 18, 07 The semiannual RF Transfer Switch Scrub was executed with nominal and expected Eb/No values

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