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============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5078
http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/8f4963f967df99f2?hl=en
== 1 of 1 == Date: Tues, Apr 20 2010 8:53 am From: "Cooper, Joe"
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT #5078
PERIOD COVERED: 5am April 19 - 5am April 20, 2010 (DOY 109/09:00z-110/09:00z)
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
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/FUV 11897
FUV Spectroscopic Sensitivity Monitoring
The purpose of this proposal is to monitor sensitivity in each FUV grating mode to detect any changes due to contamination or other causes
COS/FUV/STIS/CCD/MA1 11592
Testing the Origin(s) of the Highly Ionized High-Velocity Clouds: A Survey of Galactic Halo Stars at z>3 kpc
Cosmological simulation predicts that highly ionized gas plays an
important role in the formation and evolution of galaxies and their
interplay with the intergalactic medium
The NASA HST and FUSE
missions have revealed high-velocity CIV and OVI absorption along
extragalactic sightlines through the Galactic halo
These highly
ionized high-velocity clouds (HVCs) could cover 85% of the sky and
have a detection rate higher than the HI HVCs
Two competing, equally
exciting, theories may explain the origin of these highly ionized
HVCs: 1) the "Galactic" theory, where the HVCs are the result of
feedback processes and trace the disk-halo mass exchange, perhaps
including the accretion of matter condensing from an extended corona;
2) the "Local Group" theory, where they are part of the local warm-hot
intergalactic medium, representing some of the missing baryonic matter
of the Universe
Only direct distance determinations can discriminate
between these models
Our group has found that some of these highly
ionized HVCs have a Galactic origin, based on STIS observations of one
star at z<5
3 kpc
We propose an HST FUV spectral survey to search for
and characterize the high velocity NV, CIV, and SiIV interstellar
absorption toward 24 stars at much larger distances than any previous
searches (4 COS/NUV 11894 NUV Detector Dark Monitor The purpose of this proposal is to 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/CC 12078 Verification of Adjustment to Two STIS MSM Positions Two STIS CCD CENWAVE positions (G430M 5216 & G750M 6094) project onto
the detector at a row that differs significantly from the nominal
position near the center of the detector
This proposal will test the
MSM updates to properly center these positions
STIS/CCD 11849 STIS CCD Hot Pixel Annealing This purpose of this activity is to repair radiation induced hot pixel
damage to the STIS CCD by warming the CCD to the ambient instrument
temperature and annealing radiation-damaged pixels
Radiation damage creates hot pixels in the STIS CCD Detector
Many of
these hot pixels can be repaired by warming the CCD from its normal
operating temperature near -83 deg
C to the ambient instrument
temperature (~ +5 deg
C) for several hours
The number of hot pixels
repaired is a function of annealing temperature
The effectiveness of
the CCD hot pixel annealing process is assessed by measuring the dark
current behavior before and after annealing and by searching for any
window contamination effects
WFC3/ACS/IR 11600 Star Formation, Extinction, and Metallicity at 0
7 The global star formation rate (SFR) is ~10x higher at z=1 than today
This could be due to drastically elevated SFR in some fraction of
galaxies, such as mergers with central bursts, or a higher SFR across
the board
Either means that the conditions in z=1 star forming
galaxies could be quite different from local objects
The next step
beyond measuring the global SFR is to determine the dependence of SFR,
obscuration, metallicity, and size of the star-forming region on
galaxy mass and redshift
However, SFR indicators at z=1 typically
apply local calibrations for UV, [O II] and far-IR, and do not agree
with each other on a galaxy-by-galaxy basis
Extinction, metallicity,
and dust properties cause uncontrolled offsets in SFR calibrations
The great missing link is Balmer H-alpha, the most sensitive probe of
SFR
We propose a slitless WFC3/G141 IR grism survey of GOODS-N, at 2
orbits/pointing
It will detect Ha+[N II] emission from 0
7 WFC3/ACS/UVIS/IR 11570 Narrowing in on the Hubble Constant and Dark Energy A measurement of the Hubble constant to a precision of a few percent
would be a powerful aid to the investigation of the nature of dark
energy and a potent "end-to end" test of the present cosmological
model
In Cycle 15 we constructed a new streamlined distance ladder
utilizing high- quality type Ia supernova data and observations of
Cepheids with HST in the near-IR to minimize the dominant sources of
systematic uncertainty in past measurements of the Hubble constant and
reduce its total uncertainty to a little under 5%
Here we propose to
exploit this new route to reduce the remaining uncertainty by more
than 30%, translating into an equal reduction in the uncertainty of
the equation of state of dark energy
We propose three sets of
observations to reach this goal: a mosaic of NGC 4258 with WFC3 in
F160W to triple its sample of long period Cepheids, WFC3/F160W
observations of the 6 ideal SN Ia hosts to triple their samples of
Cepheids, and observations of NGC 5584 the host of a new SN Ia, SN
2007af, to discover and measure its Cepheids and begin expanding the
small set of SN Ia luminosity calibrations
These observations would
provide the bulk of a coordinated program aimed at making the
measurement of the Hubble constant one of the leading constraints on
dark energy
WFC3/IR 11719 A Calibration Database for Stellar Models of Asymptotic Giant Branch
Stars Studies of galaxy formation and evolution rely increasingly on the
interpretation and modeling of near-infrared observations
At these
wavelengths, the brightest stars are intermediate mass asymptotic
giant branch (AGB) stars
These stars can contribute nearly 50% of the
integrated luminosity at near infrared and even optical wavelengths,
particularly for the younger stellar populations characteristic of
high-redshift galaxies (z>1)
AGB stars are also significant sources
of dust and heavy elements
Accurate modeling of AGB stars is
therefore of the utmost importance
The primary limitation facing current models is the lack of useful
calibration data
Current models are tuned to match the properties of
the AGB population in the Magellanic Clouds, and thus have only been
calibrated in a very narrow range of sub-solar metallicities
Preliminary observations already suggest that the models are
overestimating AGB lifetimes by factors of 2-3 at lower metallicities
At higher (solar) metallicities, there are no appropriate observations
for calibrating the models
We propose a WFC3/IR SNAP survey of nearby galaxies to create a large
database of AGB populations spanning the full range of metallicities
and star formation histories
Because of their intrinsically red
colors and dusty circumstellar envelopes, tracking the numbers and
bolometric fluxes of AGB stars requires the NIR observations we
propose here
The resulting observations of nearby galaxies with deep
ACS imaging offer the opportunity to obtain large (100-1000's)
complete samples of AGB stars at a single distance, in systems with
well-constrained star formation histories and metallicities
WFC3/UV 12077 Monitoring the Aftermath of an Asteroid Impact Event Our Director's Discretionary program (GO-12053) to image the newly
discovered object P/2010 A2 executed successfully on 2010 Jan 25 and
29 with spectacular results
Hubble has apparently borne witness to
the first detection of a collision in the asteroid belt
Hubble
imaging with the WFC3 has revealed an object unlike anything ever seen
before and with details impossible to detect with any other facility
We request 6 more orbits of Hubble time (1 orbit every 20 days over
the next few months, until the object enters Hubble's solar exclusion
zone in late-June 2010) to monitor the evolution of this remarkable
object and further clarify the nature of this event
These
observations may usher in a new era of searching for and
characterizing collisional events within the asteroid belt
WFC3/UVIS 11565 A Search for Astrometric Companions to Very Low-Mass, Population II
Stars We propose to carry out a Snapshot search for astrometric companions
in a subsample of very low-mass, halo subdwarfs identified within 120
parsecs of the Sun
These ultra-cool M subdwarfs are local
representatives of the lowest-mass H burning objects from the Galactic
Population II
The expected 3-4 astrometric doubles that will be
discovered will be invaluable in that they will be the first systems
from which gravitational masses of metal-poor stars at the bottom of
the main sequence can be directly measured
WFC3/UVIS 11650 Mutual Orbits, Colors, Masses, and Bulk Densities of 3 Cold Classical
Trans-Neptunian Binaries Many Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) have been found to be binary or
multiple systems
As in other astrophysical settings, Trans-Neptunian
Binaries (TNBs) offer uniquely valuable information
Their mutual
orbits allow the direct determination of their system masses, perhaps
the most fundamental physical quantity of any astronomical object
Their frequency of occurrence and dynamical characteristics provide
clues to formation conditions and evolution scenarios affecting both
the binaries and their single neighbors
Combining masses with sizes,
bulk densities can be measured
Densities constrain bulk composition
and internal structure, key clues to TNO origins and evolution over
time
Several TNB bulk densities have been determined, hinting at
interesting trends
But none of them belongs to the Cold Classical
sub-population, the one group of TNOs with demonstrably distinct
physical characteristics
Two top-priority Spitzer programs will soon
observe and measure the sizes of 3 Cold Classical TNBs
This proposal
seeks to determine the mutual orbits and thus masses of these systems,
enabling computation of their densities
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: 18845-0 - Null Genslew for Proposal 12077 - slot 14 @ 109/1252z COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None) FGS GSAcq 11 11
FGS REAcq 7 7
OBAD with Maneuver 7 7 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None) ==============================================================================
TOPIC: Daily Report #5079 == 1 of 1 ==
Date: Wed, Apr 21 2010 7:37 am
From: "Cooper, Joe" HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science DAILY REPORT #5079 PERIOD COVERED: 5am April 20 - 5am April 21, 2010 (DOY 110/09:00z-111/09:00z) OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED COS/FUV/WFC3/UV/IR/CC/STIS/NUV 11523 COS and WFC3 Observations of I Zwicky 18 We will take advantage of COS' high sensitivity to study both the
stellar and gaseous component (especially HeII 1640 and CIII] 1909),
in I Zwicky 18 (IZw18)
We will also take advantage of WFC3's high-QE
IR detector to obtain H-band images of IZw18
The new NIR images will
used in combination with the archival V and I ACS/WFC data to better
characterize the old stellar population, i
e
red giant branch and
asymptotic giant branch stars
The WFC3 observations will be executed
at carefully planned intervals to have a fair sampling in the H band
of the light curve of the Cepheid variable stars already identified in
IZw18
COS/NUV 11900 NUV Internal/External Wavelength Scale Monitor This program monitors the offsets between the wavelength scale set by
the internal wavecal versus that defined by absorption lines in
external targets
This is accomplished by observing two external
radial velocity standard targets: HD187691 with G225M and G285M and
HD6655 with G285M and G230L
The two standard targets have little flux
in the wavelength range covered by G185M and so Feige 48 (sdO) is
observed with this grating
Both Feige 48 and HD6655 are also observed
in SMOV
The cenwaves observed in this program are a subset of the
ones used during Cycle 17
Observing all cenwaves would require a
considerably larger number of orbits
Constraints on scheduling of
each target are placed so that each target is observed once every ~2-3
months
Observing the three targets every month would also require a
considerably larger number of orbits
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 11849 STIS CCD Hot Pixel Annealing This purpose of this activity is to repair radiation induced hot pixel
damage to the STIS CCD by warming the CCD to the ambient instrument
temperature and annealing radiation-damaged pixels
Radiation damage creates hot pixels in the STIS CCD Detector
Many of
these hot pixels can be repaired by warming the CCD from its normal
operating temperature near -83 deg
C to the ambient instrument
temperature (~ +5 deg
C) for several hours
The number of hot pixels
repaired is a function of annealing temperature
The effectiveness of
the CCD hot pixel annealing process is assessed by measuring the dark
current behavior before and after annealing and by searching for any
window contamination effects
WFC3/ACS/IR 11597 Spectroscopy of IR-Selected Galaxy Clusters at 1 < z < 1
5 We propose to obtain WFC3 G141 and G102 slitless spectroscopy of
galaxy clusters at 1 < z < 1
5 that were selected from the IRAC survey
of the Bootes NDWFS field
Our IRAC survey contains the largest sample
of spectroscopically confirmed clusters at z > 1
The WFC3 grism data
will measure H-alpha to determine SFR, and fit models to the low
resolution continua to determine stellar population histories for the
brighter cluster members, and redshifts for the red galaxies too faint
for ground-based optical spectroscopy
WFC3/ACS/IR 11600 Star Formation, Extinction, and Metallicity at 0
7 The global star formation rate (SFR) is ~10x higher at z=1 than today
This could be due to drastically elevated SFR in some fraction of
galaxies, such as mergers with central bursts, or a higher SFR across
the board
Either means that the conditions in z=1 star forming
galaxies could be quite different from local objects
The next step
beyond measuring the global SFR is to determine the dependence of SFR,
obscuration, metallicity, and size of the star-forming region on
galaxy mass and redshift
However, SFR indicators at z=1 typically
apply local calibrations for UV, [O II] and far-IR, and do not agree
with each other on a galaxy-by-galaxy basis
Extinction, metallicity,
and dust properties cause uncontrolled offsets in SFR calibrations
The great missing link is Balmer H-alpha, the most sensitive probe of
SFR
We propose a slitless WFC3/G141 IR grism survey of GOODS-N, at 2
orbits/pointing
It will detect Ha+[N II] emission from 0
7 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/ACS/UVIS/COS/NUV/STIS/CCD 11878 HST Post-SM4 and Cycle 17 Focal Plane Calibration This proposal will determine and monitor the SI positions and
orientations in V2, V3 space
Accuracy goals are < 50 mas for position
and between 0
04 and 0
01 degrees for angle (depending on SI)
An
astrometric open cluster (M35) is observed using guidestars with
positions determined to ~ 20 mas
One or more astrometric targets are
placed in the available SIs' major channels and POS TARGs can be used
if necessary to step the target(s) over a significant fraction of the
detector
This proposal will serve to update the SI positions and
angles in the SIAF operational database
WFC3/IR 11719 A Calibration Database for Stellar Models of Asymptotic Giant Branch
Stars Studies of galaxy formation and evolution rely increasingly on the
interpretation and modeling of near-infrared observations
At these
wavelengths, the brightest stars are intermediate mass asymptotic
giant branch (AGB) stars
These stars can contribute nearly 50% of the
integrated luminosity at near infrared and even optical wavelengths,
particularly for the younger stellar populations characteristic of
high-redshift galaxies (z>1)
AGB stars are also significant sources
of dust and heavy elements
Accurate modeling of AGB stars is
therefore of the utmost importance
The primary limitation facing current models is the lack of useful
calibration data
Current models are tuned to match the properties of
the AGB population in the Magellanic Clouds, and thus have only been
calibrated in a very narrow range of sub-solar metallicities
Preliminary observations already suggest that the models are
overestimating AGB lifetimes by factors of 2-3 at lower metallicities
At higher (solar) metallicities, there are no appropriate observations
for calibrating the models
We propose a WFC3/IR SNAP survey of nearby galaxies to create a large
database of AGB populations spanning the full range of metallicities
and star formation histories
Because of their intrinsically red
colors and dusty circumstellar envelopes, tracking the numbers and
bolometric fluxes of AGB stars requires the NIR observations we
propose here
The resulting observations of nearby galaxies with deep
ACS imaging offer the opportunity to obtain large (100-1000's)
complete samples of AGB stars at a single distance, in systems with
well-constrained star formation histories and metallicities
WFC3/UVIS 11594 A WFC3 Grism Survey for Lyman Limit Absorption at z=2 We propose to conduct a spectroscopic survey of Lyman limit absorbers
at redshifts 1
8 < z < 2
5, using WFC3 and the G280 grism
This
proposal intends to complete an approved Cycle 15 SNAP program
(10878), which was cut short due to the ACS failure
We have selected
64 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
0 < log(NHI) < 20
3
cm^-2
Second, we will measure the column density frequency
distribution f(N) for the partial Lyman limit systems (PLLS) over the
column density range 16
0 < log(NHI) < 17
5 cm^-2
Third, we will
identify those sightlines which could provide a measurement of the
primordial D/H ratio
By carrying out this survey, we can also help
place meaningful constraints on two key quantities of cosmological
relevance
First, we will estimate the amount of metals in the LLS
using the f(N), and ground based observations of metal line
transitions
Second, by determining f(N) of the PLLS, we can constrain
the amplitude of the ionizing UV background at z~2 to a greater
precision
This survey is ideal for a snapshot observing program,
because the on-object integration times are all well below 30 minutes,
and follow-up observations from the ground require minimal telescope
time due to the QSO sample being bright
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) FGS GSAcq 7 7
FGS REAcq 10 10
OBAD with Maneuver 3 3 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None) ==============================================================================
TOPIC: Daily Report #5080 == 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, Apr 22 2010 9:38 am
From: "Bassford, Lynn" HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science DAILY REPORT #5080 PERIOD COVERED: 5am April 21 - 5am April 22, 2010 (DOY 111/09:00z-112/09:00z) 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/WFC/WFC3/UV/IR 11691 Using Massive Star Clusters in Merger Remnants To Provide Reference
Colors of Intermediate- Age Stellar Populations Much current research in cosmology and galaxy formation relies on an
accurate interpretation of colors of galaxies in terms of their
evolutionary state, i
e
, in terms of ages and metallicities
One
particularly important topic is the ability to identify early-type
galaxies at "intermediate" ages (~ 500 Myr - 5 Gyr), i
e
, the period
between the end of star formation and ~ half the age of the universe
Currently, integrated-light studies must rely on population synthesis
models which rest upon spectral libraries of stars in the solar
neighborhood
These models have a difficult time correctly
incorporating short-lived evolutionary phases such as thermally
pulsing AGB stars, which produce up to 80% of the flux in the near-IR
in this age range
Furthermore, intermediate-age star clusters in the
Local Group do not represent proper templates against which to
calibrate population synthesis models in this age range, because their
masses are too low to render the effect of stochastic fluctuations due
to the number of bright RGB and AGB stars negligible
As a
consequence, current population synthesis models have trouble
reconciling the evolutionary state of high-redshift galaxies from
optical versus near-IR colors
We propose a simple and effective
solution to this issue, namely obtaining high-quality EMPIRICAL colors
of massive globular clusters in galaxy merger remnants which span this
important age range
These colors should serve as relevant references,
both to identify intermediate-age objects in the local and distant
universe and as calibrators for population synthesis modellers
COS/NUV/FUV 11728 The Impact of Starbursts on the Gaseous Halos of Galaxies Perhaps the most important (yet uncertain) aspects of galaxy evolution
are the processes by which galaxies accrete gas and by which the
resulting star formation and black hole growth affects this accreting
gas
It is believed that both the form of the accretion and the nature
of the feedback change as a function of the galaxy mass
At low mass
the gas comes in cold and the feedback is provided by massive stars
At high mass, the gas comes in hot, and the feedback is from an AGN
The changeover occurs near the mass where the galaxy population
transitions from star-forming galaxies to red and dead ones
The
population of red and dead galaxies is building with cosmic time, and
it is believed that feedback plays an important role in this process:
shutting down star formation by heating and/or expelling the reservoir
of cold halo gas
To investigate these ideas, we propose to use COS
far-UV spectra of background QSOs to measure the properties of the
halo gas in a sample of galaxies near the transition mass that have
undergone starbursts within the past 100 Myr to 1 Gyr
The galactic
wind associated with the starburst is predicted to have affected the
properties of the gaseous halo
To test this, we will compare the
properties of the halos of the post-starburst galaxies to those of a
control sample of galaxies matched in mass and QSO impact parameter
Do the halos of the post-starburst galaxies show a higher incidence
rate of Ly-Alpha and metal absorption-lines? Are the kinematics of the
halo gas more disturbed in the post-starbursts? Has the wind affected
the ionization state and/or the metallicity of the halo? These data
will provide fresh new insights into the role of feedback from massive
stars on the evolution of galaxies, and may also offer clues about the
properties of the QSO metal absorption-line systems at high-redshift
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/IR 11600 Star Formation, Extinction, and Metallicity at 0
7 The global star formation rate (SFR) is ~10x higher at z=1 than today
This could be due to drastically elevated SFR in some fraction of
galaxies, such as mergers with central bursts, or a higher SFR across
the board
Either means that the conditions in z=1 star forming
galaxies could be quite different from local objects
The next step
beyond measuring the global SFR is to determine the dependence of SFR,
obscuration, metallicity, and size of the star-forming region on
galaxy mass and redshift
However, SFR indicators at z=1 typically
apply local calibrations for UV, [O II] and far-IR, and do not agree
with each other on a galaxy-by-galaxy basis
Extinction, metallicity,
and dust properties cause uncontrolled offsets in SFR calibrations
The great missing link is Balmer H-alpha, the most sensitive probe of
SFR
We propose a slitless WFC3/G141 IR grism survey of GOODS-N, at 2
orbits/pointing
It will detect Ha+[N II] emission from 0
7 WFC3/IR 11696 Infrared Survey of Star Formation Across Cosmic Time We propose to use the unique power of WFC3 slitless spectroscopy to
measure the evolution of cosmic star formation from the end of the
reionization epoch at z>6 to the close of the galaxy- building era at
z~0
3
Pure parallel observations with the grisms have proven to be
efficient for identifying line emission from galaxies across a broad
range of redshifts
The G102 grism on WFC3 was designed to extend this
capability to search for Ly-alpha emission from the first galaxies
Using up to 250 orbits of pure parallel WFC3 spectroscopy, we will
observe about 40 deep (4-5 orbit) fields with the combination of G102
and G141, and about 20 shallow (2-3 orbit) fields with G141 alone
Our primary science goals at the highest redshifts are: (1) Detect Lya
in ~100 galaxies with z>5
6 and measure the evolution of the Lya
luminosity function, independent of of cosmic variance; 2) Determine
the connection between emission line selected and continuum-break
selected galaxies at these high redshifts, and 3) Search for the
proposed signature of neutral hydrogen absorption at re-ionization
At
intermediate redshifts we will (4) Detect more than 1000 galaxies in
Halpha at 0
5 To identify single-line Lya emitters, we will exploit the wide
0
8--1
9um wavelength coverage of the combined G102+G141 spectra
All
[OII] and [OIII] interlopers detected in G102 will be reliably
separated from true LAEs by the detection of at least one strong line
in the G141 spectrum, without the need for any ancillary data
We
waive all proprietary rights to our data and will make high-level data
products available through the ST/ECF
WFC3/IR 11719 A Calibration Database for Stellar Models of Asymptotic Giant Branch
Stars Studies of galaxy formation and evolution rely increasingly on the
interpretation and modeling of near-infrared observations
At these
wavelengths, the brightest stars are intermediate mass asymptotic
giant branch (AGB) stars
These stars can contribute nearly 50% of the
integrated luminosity at near infrared and even optical wavelengths,
particularly for the younger stellar populations characteristic of
high-redshift galaxies (z>1)
AGB stars are also significant sources
of dust and heavy elements
Accurate modeling of AGB stars is
therefore of the utmost importance
The primary limitation facing current models is the lack of useful
calibration data
Current models are tuned to match the properties of
the AGB population in the Magellanic Clouds, and thus have only been
calibrated in a very narrow range of sub-solar metallicities
Preliminary observations already suggest that the models are
overestimating AGB lifetimes by factors of 2-3 at lower metallicities
At higher (solar) metallicities, there are no appropriate observations
for calibrating the models
We propose a WFC3/IR SNAP survey of nearby galaxies to create a large
database of AGB populations spanning the full range of metallicities
and star formation histories
Because of their intrinsically red
colors and dusty circumstellar envelopes, tracking the numbers and
bolometric fluxes of AGB stars requires the NIR observations we
propose here
The resulting observations of nearby galaxies with deep
ACS imaging offer the opportunity to obtain large (100-1000's)
complete samples of AGB stars at a single distance, in systems with
well-constrained star formation histories and metallicities
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)
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
WFC3/UVIS 12018 Ultra-Luminous X-Ray Sources in the Most Metal-Poor Galaxies There is growing observational and theoretical evidence to suggest
that Ultra-Luminous X-ray sources (ULX) form preferentially in low
metallicity environments
Here we propose a survey of 27 nearby (<
30Mpc) star-forming Extremely Metal Poor Galaxies (Z<5% solar)
There
are almost no X-ray observations of such low abundance galaxies (3 in
the Chandra archive)
These are the most metal-deficient galaxies
known, and a logical place to find ULX if they favor metal-poor
systems
We plan to test recent population synthesis models which
predict that ULX should be very numerous in metal-poor galaxies
We
will also test the hypothesis that ULX form in massive young star
clusters, and ask for HST time to obtain the necessary imaging data
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) FGS GSAcq 10 10
FGS REAcq 6 6
OBAD with Maneuver 8 8 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None) ==============================================================================
TOPIC: Daily Report #5081 == 1 of 1 ==
Date: Fri, Apr 23 2010 8:44 am
From: "Cooper, Joe" HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science DAILY REPORT #5081 PERIOD COVERED: 5am April 22 - 5am April 23, 2010 (DOY 112/09:00z-113/09:00z) OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED ACS/WFC3 11670 The Host Environments of Type Ia Supernovae in the SDSS Survey The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Supernova Survey has discovered nearly
500 type Ia supernovae and created a large, unique, and uniform sample
of these cosmological tools
As part of a comprehensive study of the
supernova hosts, we propose to obtain Hubble ACS images of a large
fraction of these galaxies
Integrated colors and spectra will be
measured from the ground, but we require high-resolution HST imaging
to provide accurate morphologies and color information at the site of
the explosion
This information is essential in determining the
systematic effects of population age on type Ia supernova luminosities
and improving their reliability in measuring dark energy
Recent
studies suggest two populations of type Ia supernovae: a class that
explodes promptly after star-formation and one that is delayed by
billions of years
Measuring the star-formation rate at the site of
the supernova from colors in the HST images may be the best way to
differentiate between these classes
COS/FUV 11625 Beyond the Classical Paradigm of Stellar Winds: Investigating
Clumping, Rotation and the Weak Wind Problem in SMC O Stars SMC O stars provide an unrivaled opportunity to probe star formation,
evolution, and the feedback of massive stars in an environment similar
to the epoch of the peak in star formation history
Two recent
breakthroughs in the study of hot, massive stars have important
consequences for understanding the chemical enrichment and buildup of
stellar mass in the Universe
The first is the realization that
rotation plays a major role in influencing the evolution of massive
stars and their feedback on the surrounding environment
The second is
a drastic downward revision of the mass loss rates of massive stars
coming from an improved description of their winds
STIS spectroscopy
of SMC O stars combined with state-of-the-art NLTE analyses has shed
new light on these two topics
A majority of SMC O stars reveal CNO-
cycle processed material brought at their surface by rotational
mixing
Secondly, the FUV wind lines of early O stars provide strong
indications of the clumped nature of their wind
Moreover, we first
drew attention to some late-O dwarfs showing extremely weak wind
signatures
Consequently, we have derived mass loss rates from STIS
spectroscopy that are significantly lower than the current theoretical
predictions used in evolutionary models
Because of the limited size
of the current sample (and some clear bias toward stars with
sharp-lined spectra), these results must however be viewed as
tentative
Thanks to the high efficiency of COS in the FUV range, we
propose now to obtain high-resolution FUV spectra with COS of a larger
sample of SMC O stars to study systematically rotation and wind
properties of massive stars at low metallicity
The analysis of the
FUV wind lines will be based on our 2D extension of CMFGEN to model
axi-symmetric rotating winds
COS/FUV 11687 SNAPing Coronal Iron This is a Snapshot Survey to explore two forbidden lines of highly
ionized iron in late-type coronal sources
Fe XII 1349 (T~ 2 MK) and
Fe XXI 1354 (T~ 10 MK) -- well known to Solar Physics -- have been
detected in about a dozen cool stars, mainly with HST/STIS
The UV
coronal forbidden lines are important because they can be observed
with velocity resolution of better than 15 km/s, whereas even the
state-of-the-art X-ray spectrometers on Chandra can manage only 300
km/s in the kilovolt band where lines of highly ionized iron more
commonly are found
The kinematic properties of hot coronal plasmas,
which are of great interest to theorists and modelers, thus only are
accessible in the UV at present
The bad news is that the UV coronal
forbidden lines are faint, and were captured only in very deep
observations with STIS
The good news is that 3rd-generation Cosmic
Origins Spectrograph, slated for installation in HST by SM4, in a mere
25 minute exposure with its G130M mode can duplicate the sensitivity
of a landmark 25-orbit STIS E140M observation of AD Leo, easily the
deepest such exposure of a late-type star so far
Our goal is to build
up understanding of the properties of Fe XII and Fe XXI in additional
objects beyond the current limited sample: how the lineshapes depend
on activity, whether large scale velocity shifts can be detected, and
whether the dynamical content of the lines can be inverted to map the
spatial morphology of the stellar corona (as in "Doppler Imaging'')
In other words, we want to bring to bear in the coronal venue all the
powerful tricks of spectroscopic remote sensing, well in advance of
the time that this will be possible exploiting the corona's native
X-ray radiation
The 1290-1430 band captured by side A of G130M also
contains a wide range of key plasma diagnostics that form at
temperatures from below 10, 000 K (neutral lines of CNO), to above
200, 000 K (semi-permitted O V 1371), including the important bright
multiplets of C II at 1335 and Si IV at 1400; yielding a diagnostic
gold mine for the subcoronal atmosphere
Because of the broad value of
the SNAP spectra, beyond the coronal iron project, we waive the normal
proprietary rights
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/IR 11600 Star Formation, Extinction, and Metallicity at 0
7 The global star formation rate (SFR) is ~10x higher at z=1 than today
This could be due to drastically elevated SFR in some fraction of
galaxies, such as mergers with central bursts, or a higher SFR across
the board
Either means that the conditions in z=1 star forming
galaxies could be quite different from local objects
The next step
beyond measuring the global SFR is to determine the dependence of SFR,
obscuration, metallicity, and size of the star-forming region on
galaxy mass and redshift
However, SFR indicators at z=1 typically
apply local calibrations for UV, [O II] and far-IR, and do not agree
with each other on a galaxy-by-galaxy basis
Extinction, metallicity,
and dust properties cause uncontrolled offsets in SFR calibrations
The great missing link is Balmer H-alpha, the most sensitive probe of
SFR
We propose a slitless WFC3/G141 IR grism survey of GOODS-N, at 2
orbits/pointing
It will detect Ha+[N II] emission from 0
7 WFC3/IR 11719 A Calibration Database for Stellar Models of Asymptotic Giant Branch
Stars Studies of galaxy formation and evolution rely increasingly on the
interpretation and modeling of near-infrared observations
At these
wavelengths, the brightest stars are intermediate mass asymptotic
giant branch (AGB) stars
These stars can contribute nearly 50% of the
integrated luminosity at near infrared and even optical wavelengths,
particularly for the younger stellar populations characteristic of
high-redshift galaxies (z>1)
AGB stars are also significant sources
of dust and heavy elements
Accurate modeling of AGB stars is
therefore of the utmost importance
The primary limitation facing current models is the lack of useful
calibration data
Current models are tuned to match the properties of
the AGB population in the Magellanic Clouds, and thus have only been
calibrated in a very narrow range of sub-solar metallicities
Preliminary observations already suggest that the models are
overestimating AGB lifetimes by factors of 2-3 at lower metallicities
At higher (solar) metallicities, there are no appropriate observations
for calibrating the models
We propose a WFC3/IR SNAP survey of nearby galaxies to create a large
database of AGB populations spanning the full range of metallicities
and star formation histories
Because of their intrinsically red
colors and dusty circumstellar envelopes, tracking the numbers and
bolometric fluxes of AGB stars requires the NIR observations we
propose here
The resulting observations of nearby galaxies with deep
ACS imaging offer the opportunity to obtain large (100-1000's)
complete samples of AGB stars at a single distance, in systems with
well-constrained star formation histories and metallicities
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)
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
WFC3/UVIS/IR 11644 A Dynamical-Compositional Survey of the Kuiper Belt: A New Window Into
the Formation of the Outer Solar System The eight planets overwhelmingly dominate the solar system by mass,
but their small numbers, coupled with their stochastic pasts, make it
impossible to construct a unique formation history from the dynamical
or compositional characteristics of them alone
In contrast, the huge
numbers of small bodies scattered throughout and even beyond the
planets, while insignificant by mass, provide an almost unlimited
number of probes of the statistical conditions, history, and
interactions in the solar system
To date, attempts to understand the
formation and evolution of the Kuiper Belt have largely been dynamical
simulations where a hypothesized starting condition is evolved under
the gravitational influence of the early giant planets and an attempt
is made to reproduce the current observed populations
With little
compositional information known for the real Kuiper Belt, the test
particles in the simulation are free to have any formation location
and history as long as they end at the correct point
Allowing
compositional information to guide and constrain the formation,
thermal, and collisional histories of these objects would add an
entire new dimension to our understanding of the evolution of the
outer solar system
While ground based compositional studies have hit
their flux limits already with only a few objects sampled, we propose
to exploit the new capabilities of WFC3 to perform the first ever
large-scale dynamical-compositional study of Kuiper Belt Objects
(KBOs) and their progeny to study the chemical, dynamical, and
collisional history of the region of the giant planets
The
sensitivity of the WFC3 observations will allow us to go up to two
magnitudes deeper than our ground based studies, allowing us the
capability of optimally selecting a target list for a large survey
rather than simply taking the few objects that can be measured, as we
have had to do to date
We have carefully constructed a sample of 120
objects which provides both overall breadth, for a general
understanding of these objects, plus a large enough number of objects
in the individual dynamical subclass to allow detailed comparison
between and within these groups
These objects will likely define the
core Kuiper Belt compositional sample for years to come
While we have
many specific results anticipated to come from this survey, as with
any project where the field is rich, our current knowledge level is
low, and a new instrument suddenly appears which can exploit vastly
larger segments of the population, the potential for discovery -- both
anticipated and not -- is extraordinary
WFC3/UVIS/IR 11662 Improving the Radius-Luminosity Relationship for Broad-Lined AGNs with
a New Reverberation Sample The radius-luminosity (R-L) relationship is currently the fundamental
basis for all techniques used to estimate black hole masses in AGNs,
in both the nearby and distant universe
However, the current R-L
relationship is based on 34 objects that cover a limited range in
black hole mass and luminosity
To improve our understanding of black
hole growth and evolution, the R-L relationship must be extended to
cover a broader range of black hole masses using the technique known
as reverberation mapping
To this end, we have been awarded an
unprecedented 64 nights on the Lick Observatory 3-m telescope between
March 24 and May 31, 2008, to spectroscopically monitor 12 AGNs in
order to measure their black hole masses
To properly determine the
luminosities of these 12 AGNs, we must correct them for their
host-galaxy starlight contributions using high-resolution images
Previous work by Bentz et al
(2006) has shown that the starlight
correction to AGN luminosity measurements is an essential component to
interpreting the R-L relationship
The correction will be substantial
for each of the 12 sources we will monitor, as the AGNs are relatively
faint and embedded in nearby, bright galaxies
Starlight corrections
are not possible with ground-based images, as the PSF and bulge
contributions become indistinguishable under typical seeing
conditions, and adaptive optics are not yet operational in the
spectral range where the corrections are needed
In addition, spectral
decompositions are very model-dependent and are limited by the degree
of accuracy to which we understand emission processes and stellar
populations in galaxies
Without correcting for starlight, we will be
unable to apply the results of our Spring 2008 campaign to the body of
knowledge from previous reverberation mapping work
Therefore, we
propose to obtain high resolution, high dynamic range images of the
host galaxies of the 12 AGNs in our ground-based monitoring sample, as
well as one white dwarf which will be used as a PSF model
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: 18843-2 - Installation of FSW Acq Logic B @ 112/1648z COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None) FGS GSAcq 8 8
FGS REAcq 6 6
OBAD with Maneuver 4 4 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: FLASH: At 112/16:46z Acq Logic Version B was successfully installed on-orbit
The Guide Star Acquisition at 112/21:10z was successfully performed
using the new acquisition logic
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