Date: June 26th 2010

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Daily Report #5121 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/c8f07cc7f105e3d8?hl=en
Daily Report #5122 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/089e428625222fd0?hl=en
Daily Report #5123 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/5b1ecc15027bdeb5?hl=en
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============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5121

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/c8f07cc7f105e3d8?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Mon, Jun 21 2010 7:02Ã‚Â am From: "Cooper, Joe"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5121

PERIOD COVERED: 5am June 18 - 5am June 21, 2010 (DOY 169/09:00z-172/09:00z)

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated )

HSTARS:

12308 - GSAcq(1,2,1) at 169/23:17:55z acquired fine lock backup on FGS 1 following scan step limit exceeded on FGS 1

Observations possibly affected: ACS 52, proposal ID#11593

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                  SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq 24 24 FGS REAcq 23 23 OBAD with Maneuver 18 18

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

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

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/UVIS 11924

WFC3/UVIS External and Internal CTE Monitor

CCD detector Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI)-induced losses in photometry and astrometry will be measured using observations of the rich open cluster NGC6791 and with the EPER (Extended Pixel Edge Response) method using tungsten lamp flat field exposures Although we do not expect to see CTE effects at the outset of Cycle 17, this CTE monitoring program is the first of a multi-cycle program to monitor and establish CTE-induced losses with time We expect to measure CTE effects with a precision comparable to the ACS measurements

WFC3/UVIS 11912

UVIS Internal Flats

This proposal will be used to assess the stability of the flat field structure for the UVIS detector throughout the 15 months of Cycle 17 The data will be used to generate on-orbit updates for the delta-flat field reference files used in the WFC3 calibration pipeline, if significant changes in the flat structure are seen

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 11907

UVIS Cycle 17 Contamination Monitor

The UV throughput of WFC3 during Cycle 17 is monitored via weekly standard star observations in a subset of key filters covering 200-600nm and F606W, F814W as controls on the red end The data will provide a measure of throughput levels as a function of time and wavelength, allowing for detection of the presence of possible contaminants

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)

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 11845

CCD Dark Monitor Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD

COS/NUV/FUV 11742

Probing HeII Reionization with GALEX-selected Quasar Sightlines and HST/COS

We propose spectroscopic observations with COS of eight z~3 QSOs that we found to be bright in the far ultraviolet Our aim is to study intergalactic absorption caused by the onset of the He II Lyman forest Several lines of evidence suggest that helium reionization occurred at z~3 Understanding this process is critical for a complete picture of the intergalactic medium and its evolution; it also gives clues to hydrogen reionization at z>6 The only direct means of assessing He II reionization is through far-UV observations of the He II Lyman alpha forest Only 6 sightlines are known to date where this is feasible, despite extensive surveys Our program is designed to double the number of available sightlines To this effect, we cross-correlated all known z>2 73 quasars with UV source lists from the GALEX satellite The selected quasars were all significantly detected in the far UV by GALEX, and their UV colors are similar to those of already known quasars with transparent sightlines Spectra obtained with COS will allow us to compile the first comprehensive sample of He II absorption spectra probing similar redshifts, enabling a systematic investigation of the He II reionization epoch and the spectral shape of the UV background

COS/NUV/FUV 11720

Detailed Analysis of Carbon Atmosphere White Dwarfs

We propose to obtain UV spectra for the newly discovered white dwarf stars with a carbon- dominated atmosphere Model calculations show that these stars emit most of their light in the UV part of the electromagnetic spectrum and that an accurate determination of the flux in this region is crucial for an accurate determination of the atmospheric parameters It will also provide a unique opportunity to test the atomic data and broadening theory in stellar conditions never met before This will play a primordial role in our path to understand the origin of these objects as well to obtain a better understanding of the evolution of stars in general The principal objective we hope to achieve with these observations are 1) obtain accurate surface gravity/mass for these stars, 2) constrain/determine the abundance of other elements (O, He, Mg, Ne etc ), especially oxygen, 3) verify the accuracy of the various theoretical atomic data used in the model calculations, 4) understand the origin and evolution of carbon atmosphere white dwarfs, in particular whether progenitor stars as massive as 10 5 solar masses can produce white dwarfs, rather than supernovae We propose to observe 5 objects chosen carefully to cover the range of observed properties among carbon atmosphere white dwarfs (effective temperature, surface gravity, abundance of hydrogen/helium and magnetic field)

WFC3/IR 11708

Determining the Sub-stellar IMF in the Most Massive Young Milky Way Cluster, Westerlund 1

Despite over 50 years of active research, a key question in galactic astronomy remains unanswered: is the initial mass function (IMF) of stars and sub-stellar objects universal, or does it depend on initial conditions? The answer has profound consequences for the evolution of galaxies as well as a predictive theory of star formation Work to date suggests that certain environments (high densities, e g Elmegreen 2004; low metallicity, e g Larson 2005) should produce a top-heavy IMF, and there are hints from unresolved star-bursts that this might be the case Yet, there is no clear evidence for an IMF that differs from that characterizing the Galactic field stars in a resolved stellar population down to one solar mass Westerlund 1 is the most massive young star cluster known in the Milky Way With an estimated mass of 5x10^4 Msun, an age of 3-5 Myr, and located at a distance of 3-4 kpc, it presents a unique opportunity to test whether the IMF in such a cluster deviates from the norm well down into the brown dwarf regime We propose WFC3 near-IR imaging to probe the IMF down to 40 Jupiter masses The data will enable use to: 1) provide a stringent test of the universality of the IMF under conditions approximating those of star-bursts; 2) search for primordial or dynamic mass segregation in the clusters; and 3) assess whether the cluster is likely to remain bound (as a massive open cluster) or disperse into the field We will obtain images in the F125W, F160W, and F139M filters The F139M filter covers a strong water absorption feature and the color F125W/F139M is a powerful temperature diagnostic in the range 2800-4000 K This information will enable us to: a) confirm membership for low mass stars suspected on the basis of their position in the color-magnitude diagram; b) place the members in the HR diagram; and c) estimate the masses and ages of cluster members for low-mass stars and sub-stellar objects This new capability offered with the WFC3 (through a novel combination of filter complement, high spatial resolution, and large field of view) will enable us to make a fundamental test of whether the IMF is universal on a unique resolved stellar population, as well as assess the clusters structure, dynamics, and ultimate fate

WFC3/UVIS/IR 11702

Search for Very High-z Galaxies with WFC3 Pure Parallel

WFC3 will provide an unprecedented probe to the early universe beyond the current redshift frontier Here we propose a pure parallel program using this new instrument to search for Lyman-break galaxies at 6 520deg) that last for 4 orbits and longer, resulting a total survey area of about 140~230 square arcminute Based on our understanding of the new HST parallel observation scheduling process, we believe that the total number of long-duration pure parallel visits in Cycle 17 should be sufficient to accommodate our program We waive all proprietary rights to our data, and will also make the enhanced data products public in a timely manner

(1) We will use both the UVIS and the IR channels, and do not need to seek optical data from elsewhere

(2) Our program will likely triple the size of the probable candidate samples at z~7 and z~8, and will complement other targeted programs aiming at the similar redshift range

(3) Being a pure parallel program, our survey will only make very limited demand on the scarce HST resources More importantly, as the pure parallel pointings will be at random sight-lines, our program will be least affected by the bias due to the large scale structure ("cosmic variance")

(4) We aim at the most luminous LBG population, and will address the bright-end of the luminosity function at z~8 and z~7 We will constrain the value of L* in particular, which is critical for understanding the star formation process and the stellar mass assembly history in the first few hundred million years of the universe

(5) The candidates from our survey, most of which will be the brightest ones that any surveys would be able to find, will have the best chance to be spectroscopically confirmed at the current 8--10m telescopes

(6) We will also find a large number of extremely red, old galaxies at intermediate redshifts, and the fine spatial resolution offered by the WFC3 will enable us constrain their formation history based on the study of their morphology, and hence shed light on their connection to the very early galaxies in the universe

COS/NUV/FUV 11698

The Structure and Dynamics of Virgo's Multi-Phase Intracluster Medium

The dynamical flows of the intracluster medium (ICM) are largely unknown We propose to map the spatial and kinematic distribution of the warm ICM of the nearby Virgo cluster using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph 15 sightlines at a range of impact parameters within the virial radius of the cluster (0 2 - 1 7 Mpc) will be probed for Lyman-alpha absorption and the data compared to blind HI, dust and x-ray surveys to create a multi-phase map of the cluster's ICM Absorption line sightlines are commonly 40-100 kpc from a galaxy, allowing the flow of baryons between galaxies and the ICM to be assessed The velocity distribution of the absorbers will be directly compared to simulations and used to constrain the turbulent motions of the ICM This proposal will result in the first map of a cluster's warm ICM and provide important tests for our theoretical understanding of cluster formation and the treatment of gas cooling in cosmological simulations

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

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

COS/FUV 11686

The Cosmological Impact of AGN Outflows: Measuring Absolute Abundances and Kinetic Luminosities

AGN outflows are increasingly invoked as a major contributor to the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes, their host galaxies, the surrounding IGM, and cluster cooling flows Our HST/COS proposal will determine reliable absolute chemical abundances in six AGN outflows, which influences several of the processes mentioned above To date there is only one such determination, done by our team on Mrk 279 using 16 HST/STIS orbits and 100 ksec of FUSE time The advent of COS and its high sensitivity allows us to choose among fainter objects at redshifts high enough to preclude the need for FUSE This will allow us to determine the absolute abundances for six AGN (all fainter than Mrk 279) using only 40 HST COS orbits This will put abundances studies in AGN on a firm footing, an elusive goal for the past four decades In addition, prior FUSE observations of four of these targets indicate that it is probable that the COS observations will detect troughs from excited levels of C III These will allow us to measure the distances of the outflows and thereby determine their kinetic luminosity, a major goal in AGN feedback research

We will use our state of the art column density extraction methods and velocity-dependent photoionization models to determine the abundances and kinetic luminosity Previous AGN outflow projects suffered from the constraints of deciding what science we could do using ONE of the handful of bright targets that were observable With COS we can choose the best sample for our experiment As an added bonus, most of the spectral range of our targets has not been observed previously, greatly increasing the discovery phase space

WFC3/ACS/IR 11677

Is 47 Tuc Young? Measuring its White Dwarf Cooling Age and Completing a Hubble Legacy

With this proposal we will firmly establish the age of 47 Tuc from its cooling white dwarfs 47 Tuc is the nearest and least reddened of the metal-rich disk globular clusters It is also the template used for studying the giant branches of nearby resolved galaxies In addition, the age sensitive magnitude spread between the main sequence turnoff and horizontal branch is identical for 47 Tuc, two bulge globular clusters and the bulge field population A precise relative age constraint for 47 Tuc, compared to the halo clusters M4 and NGC 6397, both of which we recently dated via white dwarf cooling, would therefore constrain when the bulge formed relative to the old halo globular clusters Of particular interest is that with the higher quality ACS data on NGC 6397, we are now capable with the technique of white dwarf cooling of determining ages to an accuracy of +/-0 4 Gyrs at the 95% confidence level Ages derived from the cluster turnoff are not currently capable of reaching this precision The important role that 47 Tuc plays in galaxy formation studies, and as the metal-rich template for the globular clusters, makes the case for a white dwarf cooling age for this metal-rich cluster compelling

Several recent analyses have suggested that 47 Tuc is more than 2 Gyrs younger than the Galactic halo Others have suggested an age similar to that of the most metal poor globular clusters The current situation is clearly uncertain and obviously a new approach to age dating this important cluster is required

With the observations of 47 Tuc, this project will complete a legacy for HST It will be the third globular cluster observed for white dwarf cooling; the three covering almost the full metallicity range of the cluster system Unless JWST has its proposed bluer filters (700 and 900 nm) this science will not be possible perhaps for decades until a large optical telescope is again in space Ages for globular clusters from the main sequence turnoff are less precise than those from white dwarf cooling making the science with the current proposal truly urgent

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

WFC3/UVIS 11657

The Population of Compact Planetary Nebulae in the Galactic Disk

We propose to secure narrow- and broad-band images of compact planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Galactic Disk to study the missing link of the early phases of post-AGB evolution Ejected AGB envelopes become PNe when the gas is ionized PNe expand, and, when large enough, can be studied in detail from the ground In the interim, only the HST capabilities can resolve their size, morphology, and central stars Our proposed observations will be the basis for a systematic study of the onset of morphology Dust properties of the proposed targets will be available through approved Spitzer/IRS spectra, and so will the abundances of the alpha- elements We will be able thus to explore the interconnection of morphology, dust grains, stellar evolution, and populations The target selection is suitable to explore the nebular and stellar properties across the galactic disk, and to set constraints on the galactic evolutionary models through the analysis of metallicity and population gradients

ACS/WFC 11655

Dynamics of the Galactic Bulge/bar

We request second-epoch ACS observations of four star fields in the Galactic bar These will allow us to measure proper motions for tens of thousands of stars well below the turnoff, to construct a dynamical model for the bulge/bar (in combination with data already in hand from other HST fields, and from VLT spectroscopy), and hence to take a unique look at the internal dynamical structure of the central regions of our Galaxy By relating the kinematics with stellar population we can elucidate the formation history of the bulge and bar, and their relation to the surrounding Galactic disk This is a resubmission of an approved Cycle 15 proposal that was hit by the ACS malfunction

STIS/CC/MA 11609

NGC 6266: The Smoking Gun of Intermediate-Mass Black Holes in Galactic Globular Clusters?

The existence of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in star clusters has been predicted by a variety of theoretical arguments and, more recently, by several large, realistic sets of collisional N-body simulations Establishing their presence or absence at the centers of globular clusters would profoundly impact our understanding of problems ranging from the formation and long-term dynamical evolution of stellar systems, to the nature of the seeds and the growth mechanisms of the supermassive black holes (BHs) that inhabit the centers of most large, luminous galaxies Observationally, the unambiguous signature of a massive central BH would be the discovery of central, unresolved X-ray or radio emission that is not consistent with more common stellar-mass accreting objects or pulsars Yet, due to the largely uncertain details of accretion modeling, a precise mass determination of a central BH must necessarily come from stellar dynamics This goal has not been achieved to date at the centers of Galactic globular clusters because of lack of adequate data as well as the use of too simplified methods of analysis This situation can be overcome today through the combination of HST proper-motion measurements and state-of-the-art dynamical models specifically designed to take full advantage of this type of dataset In this project, we will use two HST orbits to obtain another epoch of observations of NGC 6266 This cluster has photometric and structural properties that are consistent with current theoretical expectations for a cluster harboring an IMBH Even more importantly, it is the only Galactic globular cluster for which there exists a detection of radio emission coincident with the cluster's core, and with a flux density that appears to rule out a stellar or binary origin The goal of our project is to obtain proper motion measurements to either confirm an IMBH in this cluster and measure its mass, or to set limits to its mass and existence

ACS/WFC3 11593

Dynamical Masses of the Coolest Brown Dwarfs

T dwarfs are excellent laboratories to study the evolution and the atmospheric physics of both brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets To date, only a single T dwarf binary has a dynamical mass determination, and more are sorely needed The prospects of measuring more dynamical masses over the next decade are limited to 6 known short-period T dwarf binaries We propose here to obtain Long-Term HST/ACS monitoring for the 3 of the 6 binaries which cannot be resolved with AO from the ground Upon completion, our program will substantially increase the number of T dwarf dynamical mass measurements and thereby provide key benchmarks for testing theoretical models of ultracool objects

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

WFC3/IR 11591

Are Low-Luminosity Galaxies Responsible for Cosmic Reionization?

Our group has demonstrated that massive clusters, acting as powerful cosmic lenses, can constrain the abundance and properties of low-luminosity star-forming sources beyond z~6; such sources are thought to be responsible for ending cosmic reionization The large magnification possible in the critical regions of well-constrained clusters brings sources into view that lie at or beyond the limits of conventional exposures such as the UDF We have shown that the combination of HST and Spitzer is particularly effective in delivering the physical properties of these distant sources, constraining their mass, age and past star formation history Indirectly, we therefore gain a valuable glimpse to yet earlier epochs Recognizing the result (and limitations) of blank field surveys, we propose a systematic search through 10 lensing clusters with ACS/F814W and WFC3/[F110W+F160W] (in conjunction with existing deep IRAC data) Our goal is to measure with great accuracy the luminosity function at z~7 over a range of at least 3 magnitude, based on the identification of about 50 lensed galaxies at 6 5

STIS/CCD/MA2 11568

A SNAPSHOT Survey of the Local Interstellar Medium: New NUV Observations of Stars with Archived FUV Observations

We propose to obtain high-resolution STIS E230H SNAP observations of MgII and FeII interstellar absorption lines toward stars within 100 parsecs that already have moderate or high-resolution far-UV (FUV), 900-1700 A, observations available in the MAST Archive Fundamental properties, such as temperature, turbulence, ionization, abundances, and depletions of gas in the local interstellar medium (LISM) can be measured by coupling such observations Due to the wide spectral range of STIS, observations to study nearby stars also contain important data about the LISM embedded within their spectra However, unlocking this information from the intrinsically broad and often saturated FUV absorption lines of low-mass ions, (DI, CII, NI, OI), requires first understanding the kinematic structure of the gas along the line of sight This can be achieved with high resolution spectra of high-mass ions, (FeII, MgII), which have narrow absorption lines, and can resolve each individual velocity component (interstellar cloud) By obtaining short (~10 minute) E230H observations of FeII and MgII, for stars that already have moderate or high- resolution FUV spectra, we can increase the sample of LISM measurements, and thereby expand our knowledge of the physical properties of the gas in our galactic neighborhood STIS is the only instrument capable of obtaining the required high resolution data now or in the foreseeable future

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

COS/NUV/FUV 11555

Transition Region and Chromospheric Activity on Low Metallicity Arcturus Moving Group `Alien' Dwarfs

How does low metallicity affect the heating and resultant temperature structure of the chromospheres, transition regions, and coronae of old solar-like dwarf stars?

The Arcturus Moving Group is very likely a remnant of the merger of a dwarf galaxy with the Milky Way Galaxy in the distant (~ 7- 8 Gyr) past This kinematically distinct group has members that are located very close to the Sun, allowing study of stellar activity on very old, low metallicity stars that typically would not be possible We propose to obtain COS G140L spectra of four dwarf star members of the Arcturus Moving Group to measure the fluxes of their transition region and upper chromospheric emission lines and to investigate the effects of low metallicity on the outer atmospheric radiative losses and temperature structure Our targets have metallicities of ~ 20% solar or less, spectral types F9 - M4, and are at distances less than 25 pc from the Sun COS is the only UV spectrograph that is capable of registering the FUV spectra of these stars in a reasonable number of HST orbits

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5122

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/089e428625222fd0?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Tues, Jun 22 2010 7:55Ã‚Â am From: "Cooper, Joe"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5122

PERIOD COVERED: 5am June 21 - 5am June 22, 2010 (DOY 172/09:00z-173/09:00z)

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 8 8 FGS REAcq 7 7 OBAD with Maneuver 2 2

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

ACS/WFC 11996

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 3)

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 308 orbits (19 25 weeks) from 21 June 2010 to 1 November 2010

ACS/WFC3 11604

The Nuclear Structure of OH Megamaser Galaxies

We propose a snapshot survey of a complete sample of 80 OH megamaser galaxies Each galaxy will be imaged with the ACS/WFC through F814W and a linear ramp filter (FR656N or FR716N or FR782N or FR853N) allowing us to study both the spheroid and the gas morphology in Halpha + [N II] We will use the 9% ramps FR647M (5370-7570 angstroms) centered at 7000 angstroms and FR914M (7570-10, 719 angstroms) 8000 angstroms for continuum subtraction for the high and low z objects respectively OH megamaser galaxies (OHMG) form an important class of ultraluminous IR-galaxies (ULIRGs) whose maser lines emit QSO-like luminosities ULIRGs in general are associated with recent mergers but it is often unclear whether their power output is dominated by starbursts or a hidden QSO because of the high absorbing columns which hide their nuclei even at X-ray wavelengths In contrast, OHMG exhibit strong evidence for the presence of an energetically important and recently triggered active nucleus In particular it is clear that much of the gas must have already collapsed to form a nuclear disk which may be the progenitor of a circum-nuclear torus, a key element of the unified scheme of AGN A great advantage of studying OHMG systems over the general ULIRG population, is that the circum-nuclear disks are effectively "fixed" at an inner, edge on, orientation, eliminating varying inclination as a nuisance parameter We will use the HST observations in conjunction with existing maser and spectroscopic data to construct a detailed picture of the circum-nuclear regions of a hitherto relatively neglected class of galaxy that may hold the key to understanding the relationship between galaxy mergers, nuclear star-formation, and the growth of massive black holes and the triggering of nuclear activity

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 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

STIS/CC 11693

Follow-up Observations of Debris Disks around Two Solar-Type Stars

Circumstellar debris disks offer direct views into the structure of extrasolar planetary systems Their constituent dust, seen in scattered light and thermal emission, is created by the collisions of asteroidal and cometary parent bodies The distribution of this dust provides information on the location of the parent bodies, and can be strongly affected by planetary perturbations Dynamical signatures of planets can include asymmetries, warps, central clearings, and radial gaps in a disk, and thus are key features to search for in resolved images Following up recent Spitzer measurements, we have now detected two new, nearby debris disks in scattered light Our initial ACS F606W coronagraphic images show faint ringlike structures around the solar-type stars HD 10647 (F9V) and HD 207129 (G0V); both are also spatially resolved in Spitzer/MIPS 70 micron images The HD 10647 disk, seen close to edge-on, represents the first disk ever imaged in scattered light around a star known to have a radial velocity planet The inclined ring around HD 207129 is the faintest disk ever imaged in scattered light, and seems in the MIPS image to be asymmetric like the eccentric ring around Fomalhaut We propose to obtain deep ACS coronagraphic images of these two disks Our goals are to get definitive measurements of the dust spatial distributions (including disk asymmetries and sharpness of the ring edges), and measure the overall F606W-F814W color of each disk in order to constrain the dust properties The results will be a definitive exploration of the Kuiper belts of two nearby, Sun-like stars NOTE: HD 207129 was deleted from this program

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/MA2 11568

A SNAPSHOT Survey of the Local Interstellar Medium: New NUV Observations of Stars with Archived FUV Observations

STIS/MA1/MA2 11857

STIS Cycle 17 MAMA Dark Monitor

This proposal monitors the behavior of the dark current in each of the MAMA detectors

The basic monitor takes two 1380s ACCUM darks each week with each detector However, starting Oct 5, pairs are only included for weeks that the LRP has external MAMA observations planned The weekly pairs of exposures for each detector are linked so that they are taken at opposite ends of the same SAA free interval This pairing of exposures will make it easier to separate long and short term temporal variability from temperature dependent changes

For both detectors, additional blocks of exposures are taken once every six months These are groups of five 1314s FUV-MAMA Time-Tag darks or five 3x315s NUV ACCUM darks distributed over a single SAA-free interval This will give more information on the brightness of the FUV MAMA dark current as a function of the amount of time that the HV has been on, and for the NUV MAMA will give a better measure of the short term temperature dependence

WFC3/IR 11712

Calibration of Surface Brightness Fluctuations for WFC3/IR

We aim to characterize galaxy surface brightness fluctuations (SBF), and calibrate the SBF distance method, in the F110W and F160W filters of the Wide Field Camera 3 IR channel Because of the very high throughput of F110W and the good match of F160W to the standard H band, we anticipate that both of these filters will be popular choices for galaxy observations with WFC3/IR The SBF signal is typically an order of magnitude brighter in the near-IR than in the optical, and the characteristics (sensitivity, FOV, cosmetics) of the WFC3/IR channel will be enormously more efficient for SBF measurements than previously available near-IR cameras As a result, our proposed SBF calibration will allow accurate distance derivation whenever an early-type or bulge-dominated galaxy is observed out to a distance of 150 Mpc or more (i e , out to the Hubble flow) in the calibrated passbands For individual galaxy observations, an accurate distance is useful for establishing absolute luminosities, black hole masses, linear sizes, etc Eventually, once a large number of galaxies have been observed across the sky with WFC3/IR, this SBF calibration will enable accurate mapping of the total mass density distribution in the local universe using the data available in the HST archive The proposed observations will have additional important scientific value; in particular, we highlight their usefulness for understanding the nature of multimodal globular cluster color distributions in giant elliptical galaxies

WFC3/IR/S/C 11929

IR Dark Current Monitor

WFC3/UV/COS/FUV 11536

COS-GTO: Sleuthing the Source of Distant Cometary Activity

Distant comets and Centaurs often show cometary activity and outbursts well beyond 3 AU, the boundary of the sublimation zone of water Super-volatiles (most likely CO, but possibly CH4, N2, or S2) are suspected to be responsible, but have never been detected in distant comets in the UV We will obtain FUV spectra of active bodies to cover important CO emission bands We plan two sets of observations: comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann at 6 AU, whose outbursts are too short to capture as a Target of Opportunity, but which also shows persistent cometary activity in quiescence; and Target of Opportunity observations of the Centaur 2060 Chiron (at ~15 5 AU) in outburst

WFC3/UVIS 11697

Proper Motion Survey of Classical and SDSS Local Group Dwarf Galaxies

Using the superior resolution of HST, we propose to continue our proper motion survey of Galactic dwarf galaxies The target galaxies include one classical dwarf, Leo II, and six that were recently identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data: Bootes I, Canes Venatici I, Canes Venatici II, Coma Berenices, Leo IV, and Ursa Major II We will observe a total of 16 fields, each centered on a spectroscopically-confirmed QSO Using QSOs as standards of rest in measuring absolute proper motions has proven to be the most accurate and most efficient method HST is our only option to quickly determine the space motions of the SDSS dwarfs because suitable ground-based imaging is only a few years old and such data need several decades to produce a proper motion The two most distant galaxies in our sample will require time baselines of four years to achieve our goal of a 30-50 km/s uncertainty in the tangential velocity; given this and the finite lifetime of HST, it is imperative that first-epoch observations be taken in this cycle The SDSS dwarfs have dramatically lower surface brightnesses and luminosities than the classical dwarfs Proper motions are crucial for determining orbits of the galaxies and knowing the orbits will allow us to test theories for the formation and evolution of these galaxies and, more generally, for the formation of the Local Group

WFC3/UVIS 11707

Detecting Isolated Black Holes through Astrometric Microlensing

This proposal aims to make the first detection of isolated stellar-mass black holes (BHs) in the Milky Way, and to determine their masses Until now, the only directly measured BH masses have come from radial-velocity measurements of X-ray binaries Our proposed method uses the astrometric shifts that occur when a galactic-bulge microlensing event is caused by a BH lens Out of the hundreds of bulge microlensing events found annually by the OGLE and MOA surveys, a few are found to have very long durations (>200 days) It is generally believed that the majority of these long-duration events are caused by lenses that are isolated BHs

To test this hypothesis, we will carry out high-precision astrometry of 5 long-duration events, using the ACS/HRC camera The expected astrometric signal from a BH lens is >1 4 mas, at least 7 times the demonstrated astrometric precision attainable with the HRC

This proposal will thus potentially lead to the first unambiguous detection of isolated stellar-mass BHs, and the first direct mass measurement for isolated stellar-mass BHs through any technique Detection of several BHs will provide information on the frequency of BHs in the galaxy, with implications for the slope of the IMF at high masses, the minimum mass of progenitors that produce BHs, and constraints on theoretical models of BH formation

WFC3/UVIS 11730

Continued Proper Motions of the Magellanic Clouds: Orbits, Internal Kinematics, and Distance

In Cycles 11 and 13 we obtained two epochs of ACS/HRC data for fields in the Magellanic Clouds centered on background quasars We used these data to determine the proper motions of the LMC and SMC to better than 5% and 15% respectively The results had a number of unexpected implications for the Milky Way-LMC-SMC system and received considerable attention in the literature and in the press The implied three-dimensional velocities are larger than previously believed and close to the escape velocity in a standard 10^12 solar mass Milky Way dark halo Our orbit calculations suggest the Clouds may not be bound to the Milky Way or may just be on their first passage, both of which are unexpected in view of traditional interpretations of the Magellanic Stream Alternatively, the Milky Way dark halo may be a factor two more massive than previously believed, which would be surprising in view of other observational constraints Also, the relative velocity between the LMC and SMC was larger than expected, leaving open the possibility that the Clouds may not be bound to each other To further verify and refine our results we requested an additional epoch data in Cycle 16 which is being executed with WFPC2/PC due to the failure of ACS A detailed analysis of one LMC field shows that the field proper motion using all three epochs of data is consistent within 1-sigma with the two- epoch data, thus verifying that there are no major systematic effects in our previous measurements The random errors, however, are only smaller by a factor of 1 4 because of the relatively large errors in the WFPC2 data A prediction for a fourth epoch with measurement errors similar to epochs 1 and 2 shows that the uncertainties will improve by a factor of 3 This will allow us to better address whether the Clouds are indeed bound to each other and to the Milky Way It will also allow us to constrain the internal motions of various populations within the Clouds, and to determine a distance to the LMC using rotational parallax Continuation of this highly successful program is therefore likely to provide important additional insights Execution in SNAPshot mode guarantees maximally efficient use of HST resources

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

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

WFC3/UVIS/IR 11909

UVIS Hot Pixel Anneal

The on-orbit radiation environment of WFC3 will continually generate new hot pixels This proposal performs the procedure required for repairing those hot pixels in the UVIS CCDs During an anneal, the two-stage thermo-electric cooler (TEC) is turned off and the four-stage TEC is used as a heater to bring the UVIS CCDs up to ~20 deg C As a result of the CCD warmup, a majority of the hot pixels will be fixed; previous instruments such as WFPC2 and ACS have seen repair rates of about 80% Internal UVIS exposures are taken before and after each anneal, to allow an assessment of the procedure's effectiveness in WFC3, provide a check of bias, global dark current, and hot pixel levels, as well as support hysteresis (bowtie) monitoring and CDBS reference file generation One IR dark is taken after each anneal, to provide a check of the IR detector

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5123

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/5b1ecc15027bdeb5?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Wed, Jun 23 2010 9:19Ã‚Â am From: "Cooper, Joe"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5123

PERIOD COVERED: 5am June 22 - 5am June 23, 2010 (DOY 173/09:00z-174/09:00z)

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated )

HSTARS:

12310 - GSAcq(2,1,1) scheduled at 173/21:05:45z and REAcq scheduled at 173/22:00:26z both resulted in fine lock backup (2,0,2)

Observations possibly affected: STIS 23 - 27 Proposal ID#11693; STIS 28 &29 Proposal ID#11857

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                   SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq 5 5 FGS REAcq 4 4 OBAD with Maneuver 4 4

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

COS/FUV 11619

Definitive ISM Abundances through Low-mass X-ray Binaries as Lighthouses

We propose observations of the UV spectra of two low-mass X-ray binaries (Sco X-1 and Cyg X-2) with existing Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO) data From the X-ray data we will measure total (phase-independent) column densities of O, Ne, and Fe From the UV data we will determine gas-phase column densities of H and O The data in conjunction will allow us to make unique measurements of the total interstellar abundances of oxygen, neon, and iron, and direct measurements of the dust-phase abundances of O and Fe

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

FGS 11789

An Astrometric Calibration of Population II Distance Indicators

In 2002, HST produced a highly precise parallax for RR Lyrae That measurement resulted in an absolute magnitude, M(V)= 0 61+/-0 11, a useful result, judged by the over ten refereed citations each year since It is, however, unsatisfactory to have the direct, parallax-based, distance scale of Population II variables based on a single star We propose, therefore, to obtain the parallaxes of four additional RR Lyrae stars and two Population II Cepheids, or W Vir stars The Population II Cepheids lie with the RR Lyrae stars on a common K-band Period-Luminosity relation Using these parallaxes to inform that relationship, we anticipate a zero point error of 0 04 magnitude This result should greatly strengthen confidence in the Population II distance scale and increase our understanding of RR Lyrae star and Pop II Cepheid astrophysics

STIS/CC 11693

Follow-up Observations of Debris Disks around Two Solar-Type Stars

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 11567

Boron Abundances in Rapidly Rotating Early-B Stars

Models of rotation in early-B stars predict that rotationally driven mixing should deplete surface boron abundances during the main-sequence lifetime of many stars However, recent work has shown that many boron depleted stars are intrinsically slow rotators for which models predict no depletion should have occurred, while observations of nitrogen in some more rapidly rotating stars show less mixing than the models predict Boron can provide unique information on the earliest stages of mixing in B stars, but previous surveys have been biased towards narrow- lined stars because of the difficulty in measuring boron abundances in rapidly rotating stars The two targets observed as part of our Cycle 13 SNAP program 10175, just before STIS failed, demonstrate that it is possible to make useful boron abundance measurements for early-B stars with Vsin(i) above 100 km/s We propose to extend that survey to a large enough sample of stars to allow statistically significant tests of models of rotational mixing in early-B stars

STIS/MA1/MA2 11857

STIS Cycle 17 MAMA Dark Monitor

This proposal monitors the behavior of the dark current in each of the MAMA detectors

WFC3/IR/S/C 11929

IR Dark Current Monitor

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

WFC3/UVIS 11908

Cycle 17: UVIS Bowtie Monitor

WFC3/UVIS/IR 11909

UVIS Hot Pixel Anneal

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5124

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/4532b1d5c0f6bc7b?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Thurs, Jun 24 2010 6:57Ã‚Â am From: "Cooper, Joe"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5124

PERIOD COVERED: 5am June 23 - 5am June 24, 2010 (DOY 174/09:00z-175/09:00z)

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 9 9 OBAD with Maneuver 6 6

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

ACS/WFC 11655

Dynamics of the Galactic Bulge/bar

ACS/WFC 11996

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 3)

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 308 orbits (19 25 weeks) from 21 June 2010 to 1 November 2010

COS/FUV 11541

COS-GTO: Cool, Warm, and Hot Gas in the Cosmic Web and in Galaxy Halos

COS G130M and G160M 20, 000 resolution observations will be obtained for 17 QSOs to study cool, warm and hot gas in the cosmic web and in galaxy halos 5 QSOs with z from 0 177 to 0 574 and sum z = 1 68 will be observed with S/N = 40-50 per resolution element 12 QSOs with z = 0 286 to 0 669 and sum z = 5 57 will be observed with S/N = 30-40 The observations will allow a wide range of IGM studies including determining the frequency of occurrence of the different types of absorption systems detected, along with studies of the physical conditions and elemental abundances in the different systems Special emphasis will be given to a study of the properties of highly ionized IGM as traced by O VI, O V, O IV, N V, and C IV The high S/N of the observations will allow a search for broad Lyman alpha absorption and weak metal line absorption that can be crucial for the evaluation of physical conditions and elemental abundances Supporting ground based observations will allow studies of the association of the absorbers with galaxy structures along the 17 lines of sight The overall goal of the program will be to obtain the information that will allow an assessment of the baryonic content of the IGM as revealed by UV and EUV absorption lines seen in the spectra of QSOs

COS/NUV/FUV 11698

The Structure and Dynamics of Virgo's Multi-Phase Intracluster Medium

STIS/CC 11693

Follow-up Observations of Debris Disks around Two Solar-Type Stars

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/MA1/MA2 11860

MAMA Spectroscopic Sensitivity and Focus Monitor

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor the sensitivity of each MAMA grating mode to detect any change due to contamination or other causes, and to also monitor the STIS focus in a spectroscopic and an imaging mode

STIS/MA1/MA2 11857

STIS Cycle 17 MAMA Dark Monitor

This proposal monitors the behavior of the dark current in each of the MAMA detectors

WFC3/IR/S/C 11929

IR Dark Current Monitor

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 11909

UVIS Hot Pixel Anneal

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

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