Notice: For the foreseeable future, the daily reports may
contain
apparent discrepancies between some proposal descriptions
and the listed
instrument usage. This is due to the conversion of
previously approved
ACS WFC or HRC observations into WFPC2, or NICMOS
observations
subsequent to the loss of ACS CCD science capability in
late January.
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class
Science
DAILY REPORT # 4373
PERIOD COVERED: UT May 30, 2007 (DOY 150)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
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}.
FGS 11214
HST/FGS Astrometric Search for Young Planets Around Beta
Pic and AU Mic
Beta Pic and AU Mic are two nearby Vega-type debris disk
stars. Both of
these disk systems have been spatially resolved in
exquisite detail,
predominantly via the ACS coronagraph and WFPC-2 cameras
onboard HST.
These images exhibit a wealth of morphological features
which provide
compelling indirect evidence that these systems likely
harbor
short-period planetary body{ies}. We propose to use the
superlative
astrometric capabilities of HST/FGS to directly detect
these planets,
hence provide the first direct planet detection in a
Vega-type system
whose disk has been imaged at high spatial resolution.
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 10603
Multiwavelength Imaging of Edge-on Protoplanetary Disks:
Quantifying the
Growth of Circumstellar Dust
Young, edge-on circumstellar disks are uniquely valuable
laboratories
for the study of planet formation. In these objects, the
central star is
occulted from direct view, significant PSF artifacts are
absent, and the
disk is clearly seen as a central dust lane flanked by
faint disk
reflected light. The detailed morphology of these nebulae
and its
variation with wavelength provide crucial information on
the disk
internal structure and the properties of its constituent
dust grains. A
key observable is the slope defining the wavelength
dependence of the
dust scattering opacity, which becomes shallower when
grain growth has
taken place; multiwavelength resolved disk images are the
key dataset
enabling such measurements. Recent analyses of three
different edge-on
disks have revealed a diversity in their dust properties
that is
indicative of different degrees of dust grain evolution
having taken
place in each system. This characterization of disk grain
growth, when
applied comparatively to a larger sample of these objects,
would enable
the construction of an evolutionary sequence of young
disks at
successive stages on the road to planet formation. In
pursuit of this
goal, we have identified a sample of 15 edge-on disks
previously
discovered by HST or groundbased telescopes, but for which
high
fidelity, high spatial resolution images do not yet exist
in both the
optical and near-infrared. We propose broad- band
multicolor imaging
with NICMOS of all these targets, and ACS imaging of nine
of these
targets In combination with existing data, the proposed
images will form
a complete database of high resolution optical/near-IR
images for these
15 disk systems. Scattered light modeling will be used to
derive the
disk structure and dust properties, yielding results that
will be of
fundamental importance for our understanding of grain
properties during
protoplanetary disk evolution.
NIC2 11157
NICMOS Imaging Survey of Dusty Debris Around Nearby Stars
Across the
Stellar Mass Spectrum
Association of planetary systems with dusty debris disks
is now quite
secure, and advances in our understanding of planet
formation and
evolution can be achieved by the identification and
characterization of
an ensemble of debris disks orbiting a range of central
stars with
different masses and ages. Imaging debris disks in
starlight scattered
by dust grains remains technically challenging so that
only about a
dozen systems have thus far been imaged. A further advance
in this field
needs an increased number of imaged debris disks. However,
the technical
challege of such observations, even with the superb
combination of HST
and NICMOS, requires the best targets. Recent HST imaging
investigations
of debris disks were sample-limited not limited by the
technology used.
We performed a search for debris disks from a
IRAS/Hipparcos cross
correlation which involved an exhaustive background
contamination check
to weed out false excess stars. Out of ~140 identified
debris disks, we
selected 22 best targets in terms of dust optical depth
and disk angular
size. Our target sample represents the best currently
available target
set in terms of both disk brightness and resolvability.
For example, our
targets have higher dust optical depth, in general, than
newly
identified Spitzer disks. Also, our targets cover a wider
range of
central star ages and masses than previous debris disk
surveys. This
will help us to investigate planetary system formation and
evolution
across the stellar mass spectrum. The technical
feasibility of this
program in two-gyro mode guiding has been proven with on-
orbit
calibration and science observations during HST cycles 13,
14, and 15.
NIC3 11080
Exploring the Scaling Laws of Star Formation
As a variety of surveys of the local and distant Universe
are
approaching a full census of galaxy populations, our
attention needs to
turn towards understanding and quantifying the physical
mechanisms that
trigger and regulate the large-scale star formation rates
{SFRs} in
galaxies.
NIC3 11082
NICMOS Imaging of GOODS: Probing the Evolution of the
Earliest Massive
Galaxies, Galaxies Beyond Reionization, and the High
Redshift Obscured
Universe
Deep near-infrared imaging provides the only avenue
towards
understanding a host of astrophysical problems, including:
finding
galaxies and AGN at z > 7, the evolution of the most
massive galaxies,
the triggering of star formation in dusty galaxies, and
revealing
properties of obscured AGN. As such, we propose to observe
60 selected
areas of the GOODS North and South fields with NICMOS
Camera 3 in the
F160W band pointed at known massive M > 10^11 M_0
galaxies at z > 2
discovered through deep Spitzer imaging. The depth we will
reach {26.5
AB at 5 sigma} in H_160 allows us to study the internal
properties of
these galaxies, including their sizes and morphologies,
and to
understand how scaling relations such as the Kormendy
relationship
evolved. Although NIC3 is out of focus and undersampled,
it is currently
our best opportunity to study these galaxies, while also
sampling enough
area to perform a general NIR survey 1/3 the size of an
ACS GOODS field.
These data will be a significant resource, invaluable for
many other
science goals, including discovering high redshift
galaxies at z > 7,
the evolution of galaxies onto the Hubble sequence, as
well as examining
obscured AGN and dusty star formation at z > 1.5. The
GOODS fields are
the natural location for HST to perform a deep NICMOS
imaging program,
as extensive data from space and ground based
observatories such as
Chandra, GALEX, Spitzer, NOAO, Keck, Subaru, VLT, JCMT,
and the VLA are
currently available for these regions. Deep
high-resolution
near-infrared observations are the one missing ingredient
to this
survey, filling in an important gap to create the deepest,
largest, and
most uniform data set for studying the faint and distant
universe. The
importance of these images will increase with time as new
facilities
come on line, most notably WFC3 and ALMA, and for the
planning of future
JWST observations.
WFPC2 10902
The Nearest Luminous Blue Compact Galaxies: A Window on
Galaxy Formation
As we move to intermediate and high redshifts, Luminous
Blue Compact
Galaxies {LBCGs} become increasingly common. The nearest
LBCGs, with
their violent starbursts and rich populations of super
star clusters
{SSCs} and globular clusters {GCs}, thus provide ideal
laboratories for
studying galaxy evolution. Many LBCGs appear to be
involved in mergers
between dwarf galaxies, triggering their starbursts. The
starburst
regions in LBCGs consist of numerous young star clusters,
whose
populations are both easily measurable with HST and easily
modelled.
Studying cluster populations provides a powerful probe of
the starburst
and merger history which is possible neither for closer
objects {of
which there are too few} or for those at high redshift
{which are too
far away}. We have previously studied the closest LBCG
with WFPC2 and
found hundreds of bright compact SSCs and GCs. In
particular, we found a
population of intermediate-age {~2 Gyr} GCs, indicating a
past event of
massive cluster formation. We now propose a
multi-wavelength study of
the three other LBCGs with the highest known number of
SSCs. The
extinction is small in these galaxies and age estimates
robust. The age
distribution of GCs and SSCs will be used to study the
past evolution of
the galaxies. For each LBCG, we will map its cluster
formation history,
unveiling its merger and starburst history, and thereby
shed light on
some of the processes involved in galaxy evolution at high
redshift.
WFPC2 11022
WFPC2 Cycle 15 Decontaminations and Associated
Observations
This proposal is for the WFPC2 decons. Also included are
instrument
monitors tied to decons: photometric stability check,
focus monitor,
pre- and post-decon internals {bias, intflats, kspots,
& darks}, UV
throughput check, VISFLAT sweep, and internal UV flat
check.
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)
SCHEDULED
SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSacq
09
09
FGS
REacq
04
04
OBAD with Maneuver
26
26
COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)