HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class
Science
DAILY REPORT # 4554
PERIOD COVERED: UT February 25, 2008 (DOY 056)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
WFPC2 11024
WFPC2 CYCLE 15 INTERNAL MONITOR
This calibration proposal is the Cycle 15 routine internal
monitor for
WFPC2, to be run weekly to monitor
the health of the cameras. A variety
of internal exposures are obtained
in order to provide a monitor of the
integrity of the CCD camera electronics in
both bays {both gain 7 and
gain 15 -- to test stability of
gains and bias levels}, a test for
quantum efficiency in the CCDs, and a monitor for possible buildup of
contaminants on the CCD windows. These also
provide raw data for
generating annual super-bias reference
files for the calibration
pipeline.
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 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 i
mages. Each observation will need its
own CRMAP, as different SAA
passages leave different imprints on the
NICMOS detectors.
NIC2 11135
Extreme makeovers: Tracing the transformation of massive
galaxies at
z~2.5
To obtain a full spectroscopic census of the universe at
z~2.5 we have
conducted a near-infrared spectroscopic
survey for K-selected galaxies.
We found that, in contrast to the local universe, massive
high-redshift
galaxies span a wide range of
properties, varying from (dusty) star
burst to "red and dead"
galaxies. This may imply that massive galaxies
transform from star-forming to quiescent
galaxies in the targeted
redshift range. To understand whether
the 9 quiescent galaxies in our
sample are the progenitors of local
elliptical, we are observing them in
the current cycle with NIC2. For
cycle 16 we propose to complete our
sample of massive z~2.5 galaxies and
image the remaining 10 galaxies,
which all have emission lines. Based
on emission-line diagnostics, 6 of
these galaxies are identified as
star-forming objects and 4 harbor an
active galactic nucleus. The goals are
to 1) determine whether star
formation in massive z~2.5 galaxies takes
place in disks or is triggered
by merger activity, 2) derive the
contribution of AGNs to the rest-frame
optical emission, and 3) test whether
the morphologies are consistent
with the idea that the star-forming
galaxies, AGNs, and quiescent
galaxies represent subsequent phases of
an evolutionary sequence. The
combination of both programs will provide
the first morphological study
of a spectroscopically
confirmed massive galaxy sample at z~2.5.
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 black hole
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}.
NIC3 11120
A Paschen-Alpha Study of Massive
Stars and the ISM in the Galactic
Center
The Galactic center (GC) is a unique site for a detailed
study of a
multitude of complex astrophysical phenomena,
which may be common to
nuclear regions of many galaxies.
Observable at resolutions
unapproachable in other galaxies, the GC
provides an unparalleled
opportunity to improve our understanding of
the interrelationships of
massive stars, young stellar clusters,
warm and hot ionized gases,
molecular clouds, large scale magnetic
fields, and black holes. We
propose the first large-scale hydrogen Paschen alpha line survey of the
GC using NICMOS on the Hubble
Space Telescope. This survey will lead to
a high resolution and high
sensitivity map of the Paschen alpha line
emission in addition to a map of
foreground extinction, made by
comparing Paschen
alpha to radio emission. This survey of the inner 75
pc of the Galaxy will provide an
unprecedented and complete search for
sites of massive star formation. In
particular, we will be able to (1)
uncover the distribution of young
massive stars in this region, (2)
locate the surfaces of adjacent
molecular clouds, (3) determine
important physical parameters of the ionized
gas, (4) identify compact
and ultra-compact HII regions
throughout the GC. When combined with
existing Chandra and Spitzer surveys as
well as a wealth of other
multi-wavelength observations, the results will
allow us to address such
questions as where and how massive stars
form, how stellar clusters are
disrupted, how massive stars shape and
heat the surrounding medium, and
how various phases of this medium
are interspersed.
WFPC2 11070
WFPC2 CYCLE 15 Standard Darks - part II
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.
WFPC2 11176
Location and the Origin of Short Gamma-Ray Bursts
During the past decade extraordinary progress has been
made in
determining the origin of long- duration
gamma-ray bursts. It has been
conclusively shown that these objects derive
from the deaths of massive
stars. Nonetheless, the origin of
their observational cousins,
short-duration gamma-ray bursts {SGRBs} remains a mystery. While SGRBs
are widely thought to result from
the inspiral of compact binaries, this
is a conjecture. A number of hosts
of SGRBs have been identified, and
have been used by some to argue that
SGRBs derive primarily from an
ancient population {~ 5 Gyr}; however, it is not known whether this
conclusion more accurately reflects selection
biases or astrophysics.
Here we propose to employ a variant of a technique that we
pioneered and
used to great effect in elucidating
the origins of long-duration bursts.
We will examine the degree to which SGRB locations trace
the red or blue
light of their hosts, and thus old or
young stellar populations. This
approach will allow us to study the
demographics of the SGRB population
in a manner largely free of the
distance dependent selection effects
which have so far bedeviled this
field, and should give direct insight
into the age of the SGRB progenitor
population.
WFPC2 11289
SL2S: The Strong Lensing Legacy
Survey
Recent systematic surveys of strong galaxy-galaxy lenses
{CLASS, SLACS,
GOODS, etc.} are producing
spectacular results for galaxy masses roughly
below a transition mass M~10^13 Mo.
The observed lens properties and
their evolution up to z~0.2,
consistent with numerical simulations, can
be described by isothermal
elliptical potentials. In contrast, modeling
of giant arcs in X-ray luminous
clusters {halo masses M >~10^13 Mo}
favors NFW mass profiles, suggesting
that dark matter halos are not
significantly affected by baryon cooling.
Until recently, lensing
surveys were neither deep nor extended
enough to probe the intermediate
mass density regime, which is
fundamental for understanding the assembly
of structures. The CFHT Legacy
Survey now covers 125 square degrees, and
thus offers a large reservoir of
strong lenses probing a large range of
mass densities up to z~1. We have
extracted a list of 150 strong lenses
using the most recent CFHTLS data
release via automated procedures.
Following our first SNAPSHOT proposal in cycle 15, we
propose to
continue the Hubble follow-up targeting
a larger list of 130 lensing
candidates. These are intermediate mass
range candidates {between
galaxies and clusters} that are selected
in the redshift range of 0.2-1
with no a priori X-ray selection.
The HST resolution is necessary for
confirming the lensing
candidates, accurate modeling of the lenses, and
probing the total mass concentration in
galaxy groups up to z~1 with the
largest unbiased sample available to
date.
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)
COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED
SUCCESSFUL
FGS GSacq
11
11
FGS REacq
03
03
OBAD with Maneuver 28
28
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)
-Lynn
____________________________________________________________
Lynn F. Bassford
Hubble Space Telescope
CHAMP Mission
Operations Manager
CHAMP Flight Operations Team Manager
Lockheed Martin Mission
Services (LMMS)
NASA 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