Date: April 15th 2010

sci astro hubble http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble?hl=en

sci astro hubble@googlegroups com

Today's topics:

Daily Rpt #5073 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/a94fc92676921b1e?hl=en
Daily Report #5074 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/d31f1c7807f6e741?hl=en

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Rpt #5073

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/a94fc92676921b1e?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Tues, Apr 13 2010 1:54Ã‚Â pm From: "Bassford, Lynn"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5073

PERIOD COVERED: 5am April 12 - 5am April 13, 2010 (DOY 102/09:00z-103/09:00z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/WFC 11995

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 2)

This program comprises basic tests for measuring the read noise and dark current of the ACS WFC and for tracking the growth of hot pixels The recorded frames are used to create bias and dark reference images for science data reduction and calibration This program will be executed four days per week (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) for the duration of Cycle 17 To facilitate scheduling, this program is split into three proposals This proposal covers 320 orbits (20 weeks) from 1 February 2010 to 20 June 2010

ACS/WFC3 11882

CCD Hot Pixel Annealing

This program continues the monthly anneal that has taken place every four weeks for the last three cycles We now obtain WFC biases and darks before and after the anneal in the same sequence as is done for the ACS daily monitor (now done 4 times per week) So the anneal observation supplements the monitor observation sets during the appropriate week Extended Pixel Edge Response (EPER) and First Pixel Response (FPR) data will be obtained over a range of signal levels for the Wide Field Channel (WFC) This program emulates the ACS pre-flight ground calibration and post-launch SMOV testing (program 8948), so that results from each epoch can be directly compared The High Resolution Channel (HRC) visits have been removed since it could not be repaired during SM4

This program also assesses the read noise, bias structure, and amplifier cross-talk of ACS/WFC using the GAIN=1 4 A/D conversion setting This investigation serves as a precursor to a more comprehensive study of WFC performance using GAIN=1 4

COS/FUV 11895

FUV Detector Dark Monitor

Monitor the FUV detector dark rate by taking long science exposures without illuminating the detector The detector dark rate and spatial distribution of counts will be compared to pre-launch and SMOV data in order to verify the nominal operation of the detector Variations of count rate as a function of orbital position will be analyzed to find dependence of dark rate on proximity to the SAA Dependence of dark rate as function of time will also be tracked

COS/NUV 11561

An Intensive COS Spectroscopic Study of the Planetary Debris Disks Around two Warm White Dwarfs

It is very likely that the gas giants in our Solar system will survive the evolution of the Sun into a white dwarf, and the same is thought to be generally true for Jovian planets around solar-like stars if their initial orbits are wider than ~3AU Despite this prediction, no unambiguous detection of a planet around a white dwarf has been announced so far However, over the past few years, about a dozen white dwarfs have been identified which host metal-rich debris disks that are thought to stem from the tidal disruption of asteroids In most cases the debris disks are observed in the form of an infrared flux excess, and offer relatively little diagnostic potential for the study of their structure We have discovered three warm (T~20000K) white dwarfs with metal-rich debris disks in a gaseous phase which display strong double-peaked CaII emission lines in the I-band and weak Fe 5169A emission The line profiles can be modeled in terms of Keplerian disks with an extension of ~1Rsun around the white dwarfs Photospheric MgII 4481A absorption demonstrates that the white dwarfs are accreting from the debris disks Besides these spectral features, the optical wavelength range is devoid of other useful metal transitions Here, we propose an intensive spectroscopic ultraviolet study of these systems, which will provide (a) ~1000 photospheric absorption lines of 15 chemical elements, allowing an accurate abundance study of the material accreted from the debris disks, and (b) ~2 dozen additional emission lines of Mg, Cr, Ti, and Fe that will provide detailed insight into the dynamical, thermal, and density structure of these exo-planetary debris disks

COS/NUV 11894

NUV Detector Dark Monitor

Measure the NUV detector dark rate by taking long science exposures with no light on the detector The detector dark rate and spatial distribution of counts will be compared to pre-launch and SMOV data in order to verify the nominal operation of the detector Variations of count rate as a function of orbital position will be analyzed to find dependence of dark rate on proximity to the SAA Dependence of dark rate as function of time will also be tracked

S/C 12046

COS FUV DCE Memory Dump

Whenever the FUV detector high voltage is on, count rate and current draw information is collected, monitored, and saved to DCE memory Every 10 msec the detector samples the currents from the HV power supplies (HVIA, HVIB) and the AUX power supply (AUXI) The last 1000 samples are saved in memory, along with a histogram of the number of occurrences of each current value

In the case of a HV transient (known as a "crackle" on FUSE), where one of these currents exceeds a preset threshold for a persistence time, the HV will shut down, and the DCE memory will be dumped and examined as part of the recovery procedure However, if the current exceeds the threshold for less than the persistence time (a "mini-crackle" in FUSE parlance), there is no way to know without dumping DCE memory By dumping and examining the histograms regularly, we will be able to monitor any changes in the rate of "mini-crackles" and thus learn something about the state of the detector

STIS/CC 11845

CCD Dark Monitor Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD

STIS/CC 11847

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 2

Monitor the bias in the 1x1, 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2 bin settings at gain=1, and 1x1 at gain = 4, to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the evolution of hot columns

STIS/CCD 11855

STIS/CCD Spectroscopic Sensitivity Monitor for Cycle 17

Monitor sensitivity of each CCD grating mode to detect any change due to contamination or other causes

WFC3/ACS/IR 11731

Studying Cepheid Systematics in M81: H-Band Observations

The local value of the Hubble Constant remains one of the most important constraints in cosmology, but improving on the 10% accuracy of the HST Key Project is challenging No improvements will be convincing until the metallicity dependence is well constrained and blending effects are fully understood M81 and its dwarf companion Holmberg IX are superb laboratories for studying Cepheid systematics because they contain large numbers of bright Cepheids with a good spread in metallicity lying at a common, relatively close distance We have identified 180 12

WFC3/IR 11838

Completing a Flux-limited Survey for X-ray Emission from Radio Jets

We will measure the changing flow speeds, magnetic fields, and energy fluxes in well-resolved quasar jets found in our short-exposure Chandra survey by combining new, deep Chandra data with radio and optical imaging We will image each jet with sufficient sensitivity to estimate beaming factors and magnetic fields in several distinct regions, and so map the variations in these parameters down the jets HST observations will help diagnose the role of synchrotron emission in the overall SED, and may reveal condensations on scales less than 0 1 arcsec

WFC3/IR/S/C 11929

IR Dark Current Monitor

Analyses of ground test data showed that dark current signals are more reliably removed from science data using darks taken with the same exposure sequences as the science data, than with a single dark current image scaled by desired exposure time Therefore, dark current images must be collected using all sample sequences that will be used in science observations These observations will be used to monitor changes in the dark current of the WFC3-IR channel on a day-to-day basis, and to build calibration dark current ramps for each of the sample sequences to be used by Gos in Cycle 17 For each sample sequence/array size combination, a median ramp will be created and delivered to the calibration database system (CDBS)

WFC3/IR/S/C 12093

IR Non-linearity Calibration using Subarrays

The purpose of this proposal is to measure the non-linearity in subarray internal flatfields The results will be compared to the current non-linearity correction based on full-frame data, to determine whether the current calibration is appropriate for the significantly faster readouts in subarrays

WFC3/UV/IR 11620

A Quasar Light Echo in the Local Universe?

The time history and duty cycle of individual AGN is an important part of their evolution and the growth history of massive black holes, but almost unconstrained on scales between galaxy-interaction timescales (hundreds of Myr) and the scales of years probed by variability measurements We propose a detailed study of an object which seems to be a large-scale light echo from a QSO-level episode in a nearby galaxy The Galaxy Zoo morphological survey of SDSS objects has uncovered a peculiar emission-line structure whose spectrum matches the narrow-line region of AGN, despite lying at least 20 kpc from a galaxy whose activity is currently very weak This is best explained if the nucleus has faded dramatically on time scales of several tens of thousands of years We propose a suite of imaging and spectroscopic observations to probe its properties, and the time history of this episode of nuclear activity, measuring time scales hitherto unavailable

WFC3/UVI/IR 11557

The Nature of Low-Ionization BAL QSOs

The rare subclass of optically-selected QSOs known as low-ionization broad absorption line (LoBAL) QSOs show signs of high-velocity gas outflows and reddened continua indicative of dust obscuration Recent studies show that galaxies hosting LoBAL QSOs tend to be ultraluminous infrared systems that are undergoing mergers, and that have dominant young (< 100 Myr) stellar populations Such studies support the idea that LoBAL QSOs represent a short- lived phase early in the life of QSOs, when powerful AGN-driven winds are blowing away the dust and gas surrounding the QSO If so, understanding LoBALs would be critical in the study of phenomena regulating black hole and galaxy evolution, such as AGN feedback and the early stages of nuclear accretion These results, however, come from very small samples that may have serious selection biases We are therefore taking a more aggressive approach by conducting a systematic multiwavelength study of a volume limited sample of LoBAL QSOs at 0 5 < z < 0 6 drawn from SDSS We propose to image their host galaxies in two bands using WFC3/UVIS and WFC3/IR to study the morphologies for signs of recent tidal interactions and to map their interaction and star forming histories We will thus determine whether LoBAL QSOs are truly exclusively found in young merging systems that are likely to be in the early stages of nuclear accretion

WFC3/UVIS 11732

The Temperature Profiles of Quasar Accretion Disks

We can now routinely measure the size of quasar accretion disks using gravitational microlensing of lensed quasars At optical wavelengths we observe a size and scaling with black hole mass roughly consistent with thin disk theory but the sizes are larger than expected from the observed optical fluxes One solution would be to use a flatter temperature profile, which we can study by measuring the wavelength dependence of the disk size over the largest possible wavelength baseline Thus, to understand the size discrepancy and to probe closer to the inner edge of the disk we need to extend our measurements to UV wavelengths, and this can only be done with HST For example, in the UV we should see significant changes in the optical/UV size ratio with black hole mass We propose monitoring 5 lenses spanning a broad range of black hole masses with well-sampled ground based light curves, optical disk size measurements and known GALEX UV fluxes during Cycles 17 and 18 to expand from our current sample of two lenses We would obtain 5 observations of each target in each Cycle, similar to our successful strategy for the first two targets

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

The behavior of the WFC3 UVIS CCD will be monitored daily with a set of full-frame, four-amp bias and dark frames A smaller set of 2Kx4K subarray biases are acquired at less frequent intervals throughout the cycle to support subarray science observations The internals from this proposal, along with those from the anneal procedure (Proposal 11909), will be used to generate the necessary superbias and superdark reference files for the calibration pipeline (CDBS)

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 10 10 FGS REAcq 6 6 OBAD with Maneuve 8 8

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5074

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/d31f1c7807f6e741?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Wed, Apr 14 2010 6:59Ã‚Â am From: "Cooper, Joe"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5074

PERIOD COVERED: 5am April 13 - 5am April 14, 2010 (DOY 103/09:00z-104/09:00z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/WFC3 11882

CCD Hot Pixel Annealing

COS/NUV/FUV/WFC3/UVIS/IR 11520

COS-GTO: QSO Absorbers, Galaxies and Large-Scale Structures in the Local Universe

This is a program to probe the large scale structure of baryons in the universe, including addressing questions of baryon fraction, physical conditions and relationships between absorbers and large-scale structures of galaxies Besides these specific goals, this proposed GTO program also probes a large enough total path length in Ly alpha and OVI to add significantly to what STIS/FUSE has already observed Several Galactic High Velocity Cloud Complexes also are probed by these sightlines, particularly the M Complex The total path length of this proposed program for Ly alpha large-scale structure surveys is delta_z~5 5

We have selected a variety of targets to address these questions, under the following subcategories:

Target 8 bright BL Lac objects to search for low contrast Ly alpha absorbers from the warm- hot interstellar medium (WHIM)
Ly alpha cloud sizes: The targets are a bright AGN pair which yield tangential distance separations of 100--500 kpc at z=0 01--0 05, where galaxy surveys are excellent This pair has two filaments and two voids in this distance range
Probes of starburst outflows: The targets are bright AGN, <= 100 kpc in projection out of the minor axis of nearby starburst galaxies
A large galaxy's gaseous halo: Three probes of the kinematics and metallicity of a single L* galaxy halo These observations includes G130M, G160M exposures at SNR~20 and G285M at 2850A and SNR~10 for MgII The 2L* galaxy, ESO 157-G049 (cz=1678 km/s), being probed by these sightlines has an available H I 21cm map from ATCA, H alpha imaging from CTIO and long- slit spectra from MSSSO
Dwarf galaxy winds: These targets probe the kinematics and metallicities of outflows from active and inactive (in terms of star formation) dwarfs

FGS 11792

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

NIC2/WFC3/IR 11548

Infrared Imaging of Protostars in the Orion A Cloud: The Role of Environment in Star Formation

We propose NICMOS and WFC3/IR observations of a sample of 252 protostars identified in the Orion A cloud with the Spitzer Space Telescope These observations will image the scattered light escaping the protostellar envelopes, providing information on the shapes of outflow cavities, the inclinations of the protostars, and the overall morphologies of the envelopes In addition, we ask for Spitzer time to obtain 55-95 micron spectra of 75 of the protostars Combining these new data with existing 3 6 to 70 micron photometry and forthcoming 5-40 micron spectra measured with the Spitzer Space Telescope, we will determine the physical properties of the protostars such as envelope density, luminosity, infall rate, and outflow cavity opening angle By examining how these properties vary with stellar density (i e clusters vs groups vs isolation) and the properties of the surrounding molecular cloud; we can directly measure how the surrounding environment influences protostellar evolution, and consequently, the formation of stars and planetary systems Ultimately, this data will guide the development of a theory of protostellar evolution

STIS/CC 11845

CCD Dark Monitor Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD

STIS/CC 11847

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 2

Monitor the bias in the 1x1, 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2 bin settings at gain=1, and 1x1 at gain = 4, to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the evolution of hot columns

WFC3/ACS/UVIS 11603

A Comprehensive Study of Dust Formation in Type II Supernovae with HST, Spitzer, and Gemini

The recent discovery of three extremely bright Type II SNe, (2007it, 2007oc, 2007od) gives us a unique opportunity to combine observations with HST, Spitzer, and Gemini to study the little understood dust formation process in Type II Sne Priority 1 Spitzer Cycle 5 and band 1 Gemini 2008A time has already been approved for this project Since late-time Type II Sne are faint and tend to be in crowded fields, we need the high sensitivity and high spatial resolution of ACS and NICMOS/NIC2 for these observations This project is motivated by the recent detection of large amounts of dust in high redshift galaxies The dust in these high-z galaxies must come from young, massive stars so Type II Sne could be potential sources The mechanism and the efficiency of dust condensation in Type II SN ejecta are not well understood, largely due to the lack of observational data We plan to produce a unique dataset, combining spectroscopy and imaging in the visible, near- and mid-IR covering the key phase, 400-700 days after maximum when dust is known to form in the SN ejecta Therefore, we are proposing for coordinated HST/NOAO observations (HST ACS, NICMOS/NIC2 & Gemini/GMOS and TReCS) which will be combined with our Spitzer Cycle 5 data to study these new bright Sne The results of this program will place strong constraints on the formation of dust seen in young high redshift (z>5) galaxies

WFC3/IR 11666

Chilly Pairs: A Search for the Latest-type Brown Dwarf Binaries and the Prototype Y Dwarf

We propose to use HST/NICMOS to image a sample of 27 of the nearest (< 20 pc) and lowest luminosity T-type brown dwarfs in order to identify and characterize new very low mass binary systems Only 3 late-type T dwarf binaries have been found to date, despite that fact that these systems are critical benchmarks for evolutionary and atmospheric models at the lowest masses They are also the most likely systems to harbor Y dwarf companions, an as yet unpopulated putative class of very cold (T < 600 K) brown dwarfs Our proposed program will more than double the number of T5-T9 dwarfs imaged at high resolution, with an anticipated yield of ~5 new binaries with initial characterization of component spectral types We will be able to probe separations sufficient to identify systems suitable for astrometric orbit and dynamical mass measurements We also expect one of our discoveries to contain the first Y-type brown dwarf Our proposed program complements and augments ongoing ground-based adaptive optics surveys and provides pathway science for JWST

WFC3/IR/S/C 11929

IR Dark Current Monitor

WFC3/UVIS 11595

Turning Out the Light: A WFC3 Program to Image z>2 Damped Lyman Alpha Systems

We propose to directly image the star-forming regions of z>2 damped Lya systems (DLAs) using the WFC3/UVIS camera on the Hubble Space Telescope In contrast to all previous attempts to detect the galaxies giving rise to high redshift DLAs, we will use a novel technique that completely removes the glare of the background quasar Specifically, we will target quasar sightlines with multiple DLAs and use the higher redshift DLA as a ``blocking filter'' (via Lyman limit absorption) to eliminate all FUV emission from the quasar This will allow us to carry out a deep search for FUV emission from the lower redshift DLA, shortward of the Lyman limit of the higher redshift absorber The unique filter set and high spatial resolution afforded by WFC3/UVIS will then enable us to directly image the lower redshift DLA and thus estimate its size, star- formation rate and impact parameter from the QSO sightline We propose to observe a sample of 20 sightlines, selected primarily from the SDSS database, requiring a total of 40 HST orbits The observations will allow us to determine the first FUV luminosity function of high redshift DLA galaxies and to correlate the DLA galaxy properties with the ISM characteristics inferred from standard absorption-line analysis to significantly improve our understanding of the general DLA population

WFC3/UVIS 11714

Snapshot Survey for Planetary Nebulae in Local Group Globular Clusters

Planetary nebulae (PNe) in globular clusters (GCs) raise a number of interesting issues related to stellar and galactic evolution The number of PNe known in Milky Way GCs, four, is surprisingly low if one assumes that all stars pass through a PN stage However, it is likely that the remnants of stars now evolving in galactic GCs leave the AGB so slowly that any ejected nebula dissipates long before the star becomes hot enough to ionize it Thus there should not be ANY PNe in Milky Way GCs--but there are four! It has been suggested that these Pne are the result of mergers of binary stars within GCs, i e , that they are descendants of blue stragglers The frequency of occurrence of PNe in external galaxies poses more questions, because it shows a range of almost an order of magnitude

I propose a SNAPshot survey aimed at discovering PNe in the GC systems of Local Group galaxies outside the Milky Way These clusters, some of which may be much younger than their counterparts in our galaxy, might contain many more PNe than those of our own galaxy I will use the standard technique of emission-line and continuum imaging, which easily discloses PNe This proposal continues a WFPC2 program started in Cycle 16, but with the more powerful WFC3 As a by-product, the survey will also produce color-magnitude diagrams for numerous clusters for the first time, reaching down to the horizontal branch

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

WFC3/UVIS 11908

Cycle 17: UVIS Bowtie Monitor

Ground testing revealed an intermittent hysteresis type effect in the UVIS detector (both CCDs) at the level of ~1%, lasting hours to days Initially found via an unexpected bowtie-shaped feature in flatfield ratios, subsequent lab tests on similar e2v devices have since shown that it is also present as simply an overall offset across the entire CCD, i e , a QE offset without any discernable pattern These lab tests have further revealed that overexposing the detector to count levels several times full well fills the traps and effectively neutralizes the bowtie Each visit in this proposal acquires a set of three 3x3 binned internal flatfields: the first unsaturated image will be used to detect any bowtie, the second, highly exposed image will neutralize the bowtie if it is present, and the final image will allow for verification that the bowtie is gone

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 6 6 FGS REAcq 8 8 OBAD with Maneuver 4 4

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

==============================================================================

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sci astro hubble" group

To post to this group, visit http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble?hl=en

To unsubscribe from this group, send email to sci astro hubble+unsubscribe@googlegroups com

To change the way you get mail from this group, visit: http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/subscribe?hl=en

To report abuse, send email explaining the problem to abuse@googlegroups com

============================================================================== Google Groups: http://groups google com/?hl=en

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

https://aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/HST_REPORTS/example/example com/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at: