Date: January 23rd 2007

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 4282

PERIOD COVERED: UT January 19,20,21, 2007 (DOY 019,020,021)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

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

ACS/SBC 11074

ACS/SBC Darks in Support of Specific SBC Science Observations

This program provides SBC DARK visits to be scheduled in conjuction with certain specific science observations which require the SBC to be turned on in the orbit preceeding the science observation

NIC3 11064

CYCLE 15 NICMOS SPECTROPHOTOMETRY CALIBRATION PROGRAM

Now that the spectrophotometric capabilities of the NICMOS grism have been established, cycle 15 observations are needed to refine the sensitivity estimates, to check for sensitivity loss with time, to improve the accuracy of the linearity correction, to improve the secondary flux standards by re-observation, and to expand the G206 data set now that the sky subtraction technique has been shown to produce useful fluxes for some of the fainter secondary standards These faint secondary IR standards will be a significant step towards establishing flux standards for JWST, as well as for SNAP, Spitzer, and SOFIA 1 Re-observe the 3 primary WDs GD71, G191B2b, & GD153 twice each, once at the beginning and once near the end of the 18 month cycle To date, we have only 2 observation of each star, while the corresponding STIS data set for these primary standards ranges from 6 to 23 obs No observations exist for GD71 or GD153 with G206, so that the current G206 sensitivity is defined solely by G191B2B Purposes: Refine sensitivities, measure sens losses Orbits: 2 for each of 6 visits = 12 2 Re-observe WD1057 & WD1657 plus another P041C lamp-on visit to improve the scatter in the non-lin measurements per Fig 8 of NIC ISR 2006-02 The WD stars require 2 orbits each, while the lamp-on test is done in one The very faintest and most crucial standard WD1657 has 2 good visits already, so to substantially improve the S/N, two visits of two orbits are needed Include G206 for P041C in the lamp-off baseline part of that orbit Orbits: WD1057-2, WD1657-4, P041C-1 --> 7 3 Re-observe 9 secondary standards to improve S/N of the faint ones and to include G206 for all 9 BD+17 {3 obs} is not repeated in this cycle Four are bright enough to do in one orbit: VB8, 2M0036+18, P330E, and P177D Orbits:2*5+4=14 Grand Total orbits over 18 month cycle 15 is 12+6+14=32 {Roelof will submit the P041C lamp-on visit in a separate program }

NIC3 11062

NICMOS non-linearity tests

This program incorporates a number of tests to analyse the count rate dependent non-linearity seen in NICMOS spectro-photometric observations We will observe a field with stars of a range in luminosity in NGC3603 with NICMOS in NIC1: F090M, F110W, F140W, F160W NIC2: F110W, F160W, F187W, F205W, and F222M NIC3: F110W, F150W, F160W, F175W, and F222M We will repeat the observations with flatfield lamp on, creating artificially high count-rates, allowing tests of NICMOS linearity as function of count rate We first take exposures with the lamp off, then exposures with the lamp on, and repeat at the end with lamp off Finally, we continue with taking darks during occultation We will furthermore observe spectro-photometric standard P041C using the G096, G141, and G206 grisms in NIC3, and repeat the lamp off/on/off test to artificially create a high background

NIC3/NIC1/NIC2 11059

Flats Stability

This calibration proposal is the Cycle 15 NICMOS flat field monitor program A series of camera 1, 2, & 3 flat fields will be obtained to monitor the health of the cameras

ACS/HRC 11041

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 For cycle 15 the program will cover 18 months 12 1 06->05 31 08 and it has been divied into three different proposal each covering six months The three proposals are 11041-11042-11043

WFPC2/ACS/HRC/WFPC 11020

Cycle 15 Focus Monitor

The focus of HST is measured primarily with ACS/HRC over full CVZ orbits to obtain accurate mean focus values via a well sampled breathing curve Coma and astigmatism are also determined from the same data in order to further understand orbital effects on image quality and optical alignments To monitor the stability of ACS to WFPC2 relative focii, we've carried over from previous focus monitor programs parallel observations taken with the two cameras at suitable orientations of previously observed targets, and interspersed them with the HRC CVZ visits

FGS 10998

Exoplanet XO-1b: light curve and parallax

We propose to measure the radius of the recently-discovered transiting extrasolar planet XO-1b XO-1b's nominal radius is 1 30 times the radius of Jupiter, which is nearly as large as HD 209458b {1 32 R_J} We will use two independent methods to measure XO-1b's radius: 1} precision light curve analysis, and 2} measurement of its trigonometric parallax combined with its spectroscopically-determined effective temperature and its apparent magnitude

FGS 10931

Dynamical Masses and Radii of Four White Dwarf Stars

We will use FGS1R in its high angular resolution observing mode (TRANS) to resolve the white dwarf binary systems Each exposure will be comprised of about 20 scans The interferograms derived from each scan will be cross- correlated and co-added to yield a high SNR To further surpress the noise (these targets are near the FGS's faint limiting magnitude), the co-added inteferograms will be carefully smoothed by being represented as a piece-wise smooth segmanted polynomial These observations will yield the separation and position angle of the binary components, as well as the brightness of each In addition, the binary and field stars simultaneously in the FGS FOV will be observed in POS mode to accurately determine the relative positions of the stars This will facilitate the construction of an inertial reference frame for the binary, thereby allowing the relative orbit that will be ultimately determined from the TRANS data to be converted into a physical orbit This will allow us to determine the relative mass of each white dwarf in the binarty system In addition, the POS mode data will give the proper motion and parallax of the binary, which will allow us to compute the mass and radius of each white dwarf

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

NIC1 10879

A search for planetary-mass companions to the nearest L dwarfs - completing the survey

We propose to extend the most sensitive survey yet undertaken for very low-mass companions to ultracool dwarfs We will use NICMOS to complete imaging of an all-sky sample of 87 L dwarfs in 80 systems within 20 parsecs of the Sun The combination of infrared imaging and proximity allows us to search for companions with mass ratios q>0 25 at separations exceeding ~3 AU, while probing companions with q>0 5 at ~1 5 AU separation This resolution is crucial, since no ultracool binaries are known in the field with separations exceeding 15 AU Fifty L dwarfs from the 20-parsec sample have high-resolution imaging, primarily through our Cycle 13 HST proposal which identified six new binaries, including an L/T system Here, we propose to target the remaining 30 dwarfs

ACS/HRC 10878

An ACS Prism Snapshot Survey for z~2 Lyman Limit Systems

We propose to conduct a spectroscopic survey of Lyman limit absorbers at redshifts 1 7 < z < 2 2, using ACS/HRC and the PR200L prism We have selected 100 quasars at 2 3 < z < 2 6 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Spectroscopic Quasar sample, for which no BAL signature is found at the QSO redshift and no strong metal absorption lines are present at z > 2 3 along the lines of sight The survey has three main observational goals First, we will determine the redshift frequency dN/dz of the LLS over the column density range 16 3

ACS/HRC 10877

A Snapshot Survey of the Sites of Recent, Nearby Supernovae

During the past few years, robotic {or nearly robotic} searches for supernovae {SNe}, most notably our Lick Observatory Supernova Search {LOSS}, have found hundreds of SNe, many of them in quite nearby galaxies {cz < 4000 km/s} Most of the objects were discovered before maximum brightness, and have follow-up photometry and spectroscopy; they include some of the best-studied SNe to date We propose to conduct a snapshot imaging survey of the sites of some of these nearby objects, to obtain late-time photometry that {through the shape of the light and color curves} will help reveal the origin of their lingering energy The images will also provide high-resolution information on the local environments of SNe that are far superior to what we can procure from the ground For example, we will obtain color-color and color-magnitude diagrams of stars in these SN sites, to determine the SN progenitor masses and constraints on the reddening Recovery of the SNe in the new HST images will also allow us to actually pinpoint their progenitor stars in cases where pre- explosion images exist in the HST archive This proposal is an extension of our successful Cycle 13 snapshot survey with ACS It is complementary to our Cycle 15 archival proposal, which is a continuation of our long-standing program to use existing HST images to glean information about SN environments

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}

NIC3 10861

An ACS Treasury Survey of the Coma cluster of galaxies

We propose to use the unique spatial resolution of HST and ACS to construct a Treasury imaging survey of the core and infall region of the richest local cluster, Coma We will observe samples of thousands of galaxies down to magnitude B=27 3 with the aim of studying in detail the dwarf galaxy population which, according to hierarchical models of galaxy formation, are the earliest galaxies to form in the universe Our initial scientific objectives are: 1} A study of the structure of the dwarf galaxies, including scaling laws, nuclear structure and morphology, to compare with hierarchical and evolutionary models of their formation 2} A study of the stellar populations from colors and color gradients, and how the internal chemical evolution of galaxies is affected by interaction with the cluster gaseous and galaxy environment 3} To determine the effect of the cluster environment upon morphological features, disks, bulges and bars, by comparing these structure in the Coma sample with field galaxy samples 4} Identification of dwarf galaxy samples for further study with the new generation of multi-object and integral-field spectrographs on 8-10 metre class telescopes such as Keck, Subaru, Gemini, and GTC This is the first such survey of a nearby rich cluster It will provide a key database for studies of galaxy formation and evolution, and a very needed reference for comparison with similar galaxy surveys both in lower density environments in the nearby universe, and in high density environments at high redshifts

ACS/HRC 10844

Following Eta Carinae's Change of State

Eta Carinae is now known to be undergoing some unusually rapid changes on a timescale of several years They are probably essential for modeling the star's long-term recovery from its Giant Eruption 160 years ago -- the prototype "supernova impostor" event Since high spatial resolution is needed to isolate the central star, and the present state will probably not recur in the future, it is important to obtain HST data during the next two years We propose a cost- effective set of ACS observations with three goals: {1} to obtain a continuing record of the star's rapid UV and visual brightening; {2} to lengthen the temporal baseline of ACS images enough to settle an important question concerning ejecta ages; and {3} to extend the record of morphological changes in the inner ejecta past the midpoint of eta Car's 5 5-year cycle

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

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

ACS/WFC 10793

A Survey for Supernovae in Massive High-Redshift Clusters

We propose to continue our ongoing program designed to measure, to an unprecedented 30% accuracy, the SN-Ia rate in a sample of massive z=0 5-0 9 galaxy clusters The SN-Ia rate is a poorly known observable, especially at high z, and in cluster environments The SN rate and its redshift dependence can serve as powerful discrimiminants for a number of key issues in astrophysics and cosmology Our observations will: 1 Put clear constraints on the characteristic SN-Ia "delay time," the typical time between the formation of a stellar population and the explosion of some of its members as SNe-Ia Such constraints can exclude entire categories of SN-Ia progenitor models, since different models predict different delays 2 Help resolve the question of the dominant source of the high metallicity in the intracluster medium {ICM} - SNe-Ia, or core-collapse SNe from an early stellar population with a top-heavy IMF, perhaps those population III stars responsible for the early re-ionization of the Universe Since clusters are excellent laboratories for studying enrichment {they generally have a simple star-formation history, and matter cannot leave their deep potentials}, the results will be relevant for understanding metal enrichment in general, and the possible role of first generation stars in early Universal enrichment Observations obtained so far during cycle 14 yield many SNe in our cluster fields, but our follow-up campaign reveals most are not in cluster galaxies Our interim results indicate a cluster SN rate at the very low end of the range considered, and its accuracy is limited by the small number of cluster SNe We request additional visits to increase the number of cluster SNe and achieve a measurement that is not limited by Poisson errors A detailed progress report is included

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS: 10636 - GSAcq(2,1,1) failed to RGA Hold (Gyro Control) Upon acquisition of signal at 019/20:59:51, the GSAcq(2,1,1) scheduled at 019/20:42:58 - 20:51:03 was observed to have failed to RGA Hold due to scan step limit exceeded on FGS 2 Pre-acquisition OBADs showed (RSS) attitude correction values of 2176 64 and 8 64 arcseconds Post-acquisition OBAD/MAP showed 3-axis (RSS) error value of 1 03 arcseconds Subsequent REacq(2,1,1) scheduled at 019/22:16:53 was successful

10637 - GSAcq(1,0,1) failed due to Scan step limit exceeded on FGS 1 GSAcq failed at 11:10:58 1st OBAD RSS 3708 38 as 2nd OBAD RSS 17 60 as

REacq scheduled at 14:06:10 failed due to stop flag on FGS 1 1st OBAD RSS 62 00 as 2nd OBAD RSS 11 31 as

REacq failed at 14:10:46 with QF1STOPF and QSTOP flags MAP V1 1 69, V2 76 44, V3 -0 62, RSS 76 46 as

10638 - REAcq (1,3,1) Loss of Lock Following successful REAcq (1,3,1) scheduled at 021/09:16:01, FGS-3, the sub-dominate guider lost lock at 021/09:41:05 The mnemonic QDVFGSM0 (FGS Attitude Error Angle) broke limit at 021/09:41:10 with a Red High value of 0 00179952 radians the spacecraft entered M2G Mode at 021/09:48:08 The TERM EXP was not scheduled until 021/10:12:29

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                    SCHEDULED      SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSacq 27 25 FGS REacq 17 15 OBAD with Maneuver 88 88

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

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