HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY
REPORT # 4546
PERIOD
COVERED: UT February 12, 2007 (DOY 043)
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
11210
The
Architecture of Exoplanetary Systems
Are
all planetary systems coplanar? Concordance cosmogony makes that
prediction.
It is, however, a prediction of extrasolar planetary system
architecture
as yet untested by direct observation for main sequence
stars
other than the Sun. To provide such a test, we propose to carry
out
FGS astrometric studies on four stars hosting seven companions. Our
understanding
of the planet formation process will grow as we match not
only
system architecture, but formed planet mass and true distance from
the
primary with host star characteristics for a wide variety of host
stars
and exoplanet masses. We propose that a series of FGS astrometric
observations
with demonstrated 1 millisecond of arc per-observation
precision
can establish the degree of coplanarity and component true
masses
for four extrasolar systems: HD 202206 {brown dwarf+planet}; HD
128311
{planet+planet}, HD 160691 = mu Arae {planet+planet}, and HD
222404AB
= gamma Cephei {planet+star}. In each case the companion is
identified
as such by assuming that the minimum mass is the actual mass.
For
the last target, a known stellar binary system, the companion orbit
is
stable only if coplanar with the AB binary orbit.
FGS
11228
Extrasolar
Planet XO-2b
We
propose observations of the newly discovered extrasolar planet XO-2b
and
its twin star XO- 2. When combined with the transit light curve, the
FGS-derived
parallax will constrain the stellar mass of the host star
XO-2.
From the high signal-to-noise near-IR time series resulting from
NICMOS
grism spectroscopy, we will refine the system parameters, in
particular
radii of the star and planet. From the same data, we will
search
for evidence of water vapor in the atmosphere via transmission
spectroscopy.
Differential observations with NICMOS in the spectroscopic
mode
will be used to search for the small spectral changes that occur
during
planetary transits resulting from absorption of stellar light as
it
passes through the planetary atmosphere. Water is an important
constituent,
the detection of which would provide information on Oxygen,
and
it has a convenient strong band well-positioned for NICMOS.
NIC1/NIC2/NIC3
8795
NICMOS
Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 6
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 DARKS. 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 i
mages.
Each observation will need its own CRMAP, as different SAA
passages
leave different imprints on the NICMOS detectors.
NIC2
11142
Revealing
the Physical Nature of Infrared Luminous Galaxies at 0.3
We
aim to determine physical properties of IR luminous galaxies at
0.3<z<2.7
by requesting coordinated HST/NIC2 and MIPS 70um observations
of
a unique, 24um flux-limited sample with complete Spitzer mid-IR
spectroscopy.
The 150 sources investigated in this program have S{24um}
>
0.8mJy and their mid-IR spectra have already provided the majority
targets
with spectroscopic redshifts {0.3<z<2.7}. The proposed
150~orbits
of NIC2 and 66~hours of MIPS 70um will provide the physical
measurements
of the light distribution at the rest-frame ~8000A and
better
estimates of the bolometric luminosity. Combining these
parameters
together with the rich suite of spectral diagnostics from the
mid-IR
spectra, we will {1} measure how common mergers are among LIRGs
and
ULIRGs at 0.3<z<2.7, and establish if major mergers are the drivers
of
z>1 ULIRGs, as in the local Universe. {2} study the co-evolution of
star
formation and blackhole accretion by investigating the relations
between
the fraction of starburst/AGN measured from mid-IR spectra vs.
HST
morphologies, L{bol} and z. {3} obtain the current best estimates of
the
far-IR emission, thus L{bol} for this sample, and establish if the
relative
contribution of mid-to-far IR dust emission is correlated with
morphology
{resolved vs. unresolved}.
WFPC2
11040
Geometric
Distortion / Astrometry Closeout
These
observations will serve as a final characterization of the
geometric
distortion and astrometric calibration. The Omega-Cen inner
calibration
field is used. Filters F300W, F555W, and F814W are observed
at
5 roll angles spanning 180 degrees; F218W is observed at a single
roll
angle.
WFPC2
11083
The
Structure, Formation and Evolution of Galactic Cores and Nuclei
A
surprising result has emerged from the ACS Virgo Cluster Survey
{ACSVCS},
a program to obtain ACS/WFC gz imaging for a large, unbiased
sample
of 100 early-type galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. On subarcsecond
scales
{i.e., <0.1"-1"}, the HST brightness profiles vary systematically
from
the brightest giants {which have nearly constant surface brightness
cores}
to the faintest dwarfs {which have compact stellar nuclei}.
Remarkably,
the fraction of galaxy mass contributed by the nuclei in the
faint
galaxies is identical to that contributed by supermassive black
holes
in the bright galaxies {0.2%}. These findings strongly suggest
that
a single mechanism is responsible for both types of Central Massive
Object:
most likely internally or externally modulated gas inflows that
feed
central black holes or lead to the formation of "nuclear star
clusters".
Understanding the history of gas accretion, star formation
and
chemical enrichment on subarcsecond scales has thus emerged as the
single
most pressing question in the study of nearby galactic nuclei,
either
active or quiescent. We propose an ambitious HST program {199
orbits}
that constitutes the next, obvious step forward:
high-resolution,
ultraviolet {WFPC2/F255W} and infrared {NIC1/F160W}
imaging
for the complete ACSVCS sample. By capitalizing on HST's unique
ability
to provide high-resolution images with a sharp and stable PSF at
UV
and IR wavelengths, we will leverage the existing optical HST data to
obtain
the most complete picture currently possible for the history of
star
formation and chemical enrichment on these small scales. Equally
important,
this program will lead to a significant improvement in the
measured
structural parameters and density distributions for the stellar
nuclei
and the underlying galaxies, and provide a sensitive measure of
"frosting"
by young stars in the galaxy cores. By virtue of its superb
image
quality and stable PSF, NICMOS is the sole instrument capable of
the
IR observations proposed here. In the case of the WFPC2
observations,
high-resolution UV imaging {< 0.1"} is a capability unique
to
HST, yet one that could be lost at any time.
WFPC2
11202
The
Structure of Early-type Galaxies: 0.1-100 Effective Radii
The
structure, formation and evolution of early-type galaxies is still
largely
an open problem in cosmology: how does the Universe evolve from
large
linear scales dominated by dark matter to the highly non-linear
scales
of galaxies, where baryons and dark matter both play important,
interacting,
roles? To understand the complex physical processes
involved
in their formation scenario, and why they have the tight
scaling
relations that we observe today {e.g. the Fundamental Plane}, it
is
critically important not only to understand their stellar structure,
but
also their dark-matter distribution from the smallest to the largest
scales.
Over the last three years the SLACS collaboration has developed
a
toolbox to tackle these issues in a unique and encompassing way by
combining
new non-parametric strong lensing techniques, stellar
dynamics,
and most recently weak gravitational lensing, with
high-quality
Hubble Space Telescope imaging and VLT/Keck spectroscopic
data
of early-type lens systems. This allows us to break degeneracies
that
are inherent to each of these techniques separately and probe the
mass
structure of early-type galaxies from 0.1 to 100 effective radii.
The
large dynamic range to which lensing is sensitive allows us both to
probe
the clumpy substructure of these galaxies, as well as their
low-density
outer haloes. These methods have convincingly been
demonstrated,
by our team, using smaller pilot-samples of SLACS lens
systems
with HST data. In this proposal, we request observing time with
WFPC2
and NICMOS to observe 53 strong lens systems from SLACS, to obtain
complete
multi-color imaging for each system. This would bring the total
number
of SLACS lens systems to 87 with completed HST imaging and
effectively
doubles the known number of galaxy-scale strong lenses. The
deep
HST images enable us to fully exploit our new techniques, beat down
low-number
statistics, and probe the structure and evolution of
early-type
galaxies, not only with a uniform data-set an order of
magnitude
larger than what is available now, but also with a fully
coherent
and self-consistent methodological approach!
FLIGHT
OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant
Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports
of potential
non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)
HSTARS:
11187-
GSAcq (1,2,2) failed to RGA Hold
At 044/06:54:29 GSAcq (1,2,2) scheduled from 044/06:50:57 -
06:58:19
failed to RGA Hold (Gyro Control) due to QSTOP and QF1STOPF flags
on FGS
1. Received two 486 ESB (1808), TxG FHST Sanity Check Failed
messages.
OBAD #1 RSS = 879.59 a-s. OBAD #2 = 9.44 a-s. An OBAD MAP was not
scheduled. Additionally, received 19 ACS 779 Status Buffer Messages
("Fold Mechanism Move was Blocked") following the
failure of the GSacq.
This resulted in the TDF to be down when the Fold mechanism move
was
commanded.
11188-
GSAcq (2,1,1) failed due to Scan Step Limit Exceeded on FGS 2
At 044/08:58:38 GSAcq (2,1,1) scheduled from 08:55:36 - 09:03:04
failed
due to Scan Step Limit Exceeded on FGS 2. No 486 ESB messages
received.
OBAD #1 RSS = 1206.37 a-s. OBAD #2 RSS = 5.23 a-s. An OBAD MAP was
not
scheduled.
COMPLETED
OPS REQUEST: (None)
COMPLETED
OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED
SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSacq
10
08
FGS
REacq
05
05
OBAD
with Maneuver
30
30
SIGNIFICANT
EVENTS: (None)