HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science
DAILY
REPORT #5159
PERIOD
COVERED: 5am August 12 - 5am August 13, 2010 (DOY 223/09:00z-224/09:00z)
FLIGHT
OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant
Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports
of
potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)
HSTARS:
12353
- GSAcq(2,1,1) at 224/10:01:19z and REAcq(2,1,1) at 224/11:33z
Resulted in Fine Lock Backup on FGS2.
Observations possibly affected ACS 49-60 Proposal ID#11655;
WFC3 116-118 Proposal ID#11905.
COMPLETED
OPS REQUEST: (None)
COMPLETED
OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSAcq 10
10
FGS
REAcq
07
07
OBAD
with Maneuver 09
09
SIGNIFICANT
EVENTS: (None)
OBSERVATIONS
SCHEDULED
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.
ACS/WFC/WFC3/IR/UV
12056
A
Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury - I
We
propose to image the north east quadrant of M31 to deep limits in the
UV,
optical, and near-IR. HST imaging should resolve the galaxy into
more
than 100 million stars, all with common distances and foreground
extinctions.
UV through NIR stellar photometry (F275W, F336W with
WFC3/UVIS,
F475W and F814W with ACS/WFC, and F110W and F160W with
WFC3/NIR)
will provide effective temperatures for a wide range of
spectral
types, while simultaneously mapping M31's extinction. Our
central
science drivers are to: understand high-mass variations in the
stellar
IMF as a function of SFR intensity and metallicity; capture the
spatially-resolved
star formation history of M31; study a vast sample of
stellar
clusters with a range of ages and metallicities. These are
central
to understanding stellar evolution and clustered star formation;
constraining
ISM energetics; and understanding the counterparts and
environments
of transient objects (novae, SNe, variable stars, x-ray
sources,
etc.). As its legacy, this survey adds M31 to the Milky Way and
Magellanic
Clouds as a fundamental calibrator of stellar evolution and
star-formation
processes for understanding the stellar populations of
distant
galaxies. Effective exposure times are 977s in F275W, 1368s in
F336W,
4040s in F475W, 4042s in F814W, 699s in F110W, and 1796s in
F160W,
including short exposures to avoid saturation of bright sources.
These
depths will produce photon-limited images in the UV. Images will
be
crowding-limited in the optical and NIR, but will reach below the red
clump
at all radii. The images will reach the Nyquist sampling limit in
F160W,
F475W, and F814W.
COS/NUV
11705
Physical
Properties of Quasar Outflows: From BALs to Mini-BALs
Accretion
disk outflows are important components of quasar environments.
They
might play a major role in facilitating accretion, regulating star
formation
in the host galaxies and distributing metals to the
surrounding
gas. They reveal themselves most conspicuously via broad
absorption
lines (BALs), but they appear even more frequently in other
guises
such as the weaker and narrower "mini-BALs." How are these
diverse
outflow features related? Are mini-BALs really just "mini"
versions
of the BALs, or do they represent a fundamentally different
type
of outflow, with different degrees of ionization, column densities,
mass
loss rates, physical origins, etc.?
We
propose HST-COS spectroscopy to make the first quantitative
assessment
of the outflow physical conditions across the full range of
weak/narrow
mini-BALs to strong/broad BALs. Our strategy is to measure
key
diagnostic lines (SVI, OVI, CIII, SIV, PV, etc.) at 930A - 1130A
(rest-
frame) in a sample of 7 outflow quasars with known mini-BALs
through
weak BALs. We will then 1) combine the COS data with
ground-based
spectra of the same quasars to include more lines (CIV,
SiIV)
at longer wavelengths, and 2) include in our analysis a nearly
identical
UV/optical dataset obtained previously for a sample of quasars
with
strong BALs. Our study of this combined dataset will be an
essential
next step toward a more global understanding of quasar
outflows.
STIS/CCD
11845
CCD
Dark Monitor Part 2
Monitor
the darks for the STIS CCD.
STIS/CCD
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
11563
Galaxies
at z~7-10 in the Reionization Epoch: Luminosity Functions to
<0.2L*
from Deep IR Imaging of the HUDF and HUDF05 Fields
The
first generations of galaxies were assembled around redshifts
z~7-10+,
just 500-800 Myr after recombination, in the heart of the
reionization
of the universe. We know very little about galaxies in this
period.
Despite great effort with HST and other telescopes, less than
~15
galaxies have been reliably detected so far at z>7, contrasting with
the
~1000 galaxies detected to date at z~6, just 200-400 Myr later, near
the
end of the reionization epoch. WFC3 IR can dramatically change this
situation,
enabling derivation of the galaxy luminosity function and its
shape
at z~7-8 to well below L*, measurement of the UV luminosity
density
at z~7-8 and z~8-9, and estimates of the contribution of
galaxies
to reionization at these epochs, as well as characterization of
their
properties (sizes, structure, colors). A quantitative leap in our
understanding
of early galaxies, and the timescales of their buildup,
requires
a total sample of ~100 galaxies at z~7-8 to ~29 AB mag. We can
achieve
this with 192 WFC3 IR orbits on three disjoint fields
(minimizing
cosmic variance): the HUDF and the two nearby deep fields of
the
HUDF05. Our program uses three WFC3 IR filters, and leverages over
600
orbits of existing ACS data, to identify, with low contamination, a
large
sample of over 100 objects at z~7-8, a very useful sample of ~23
at
z~8-9, and limits at z~10. By careful placement of the WFC3 IR and
parallel
ACS pointings, we also enhance the optical ACS imaging on the
HUDF
and a HUDF05 field. We stress (1) the need to go deep, which is
paramount
to define L*, the shape, and the slope alpha of the luminosity
function
(LF) at these high redshifts; and (2) the far superior
performance
of our strategy, compared with the use of strong lensing
clusters,
in detecting significant samples of faint z~7-8 galaxies to
derive
their luminosity function and UV ionizing flux. Our recent z~7.4
NICMOS
results show that wide-area IR surveys, even of GOODS-like depth,
simply
do not reach faint enough at z~7-9 to meet the LF and UV flux
objectives.
In the spirit of the HDF and the HUDF, we will waive any
proprietary
period, and will also deliver the reduced data to STScI. The
proposed
data will provide a Legacy resource of great value for a wide
range
of archival science investigations of galaxies at redshifts z~2-9.
The
data are likely to remain the deepest IR/optical images until JWST
is
launched, and will provide sources for spectroscopic follow up by
JWST,
ALMA and EVLA.
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<z<1.8 to measure the evolution of the extinction-corrected
star
formation density across the peak epoch of star formation. This is
over
an order-of-magnitude improvement in the current statistics, from
the
NICMOS Parallel grism survey. (5) Trace ``cosmic downsizing" from
0.5<z<2.2;
and (6) Estimate the evolution in reddening and metallicty in
star-
forming galaxies and measure the evolution of the Seyfert
population.
For hundreds of spectra we will be able to measure one or
even
two line pair ratios -- in particular, the Balmer decrement and
[OII]/[OIII]
are sensitive to gas reddening and metallicity. As a bonus,
the
G102 grism offers the possibility of detecting Lya emission at
z=7-8.8.
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/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
11903
UVIS
Photometric Zero Points
This
proposal obtains the photometric zero points in 53 of the 62
UVIS/WFC3
filters: the 18 broad-band filters, 8 medium-band filters, 16
narrow-band
filters, and 11 of the 20 quad filters (those being used in
cycle
17). The observations will be primary obtained by observing the
hot
DA white dwarf standards GD153 and G191-B2B. A redder secondary
standard,
P330E, will be observed in a subset of the filters to provide
color
corrections. Repeat observations in 16 of the most widely used
cycle
17 filters will be obtained once per month for the first three
months,
and then once every second month for the duration of cycle 17,
alternating
and depending on target availability. These observations
will
enable monitoring of the stability of the photometric system.
Photometric
transformation equations will be calculated by comparing the
photometry
of stars in two globular clusters, 47 Tuc and NGC 2419, to
previous
measurements with other telescopes/instruments.
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/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
6.5<z<8.8
and to probe the epoch of reionization, a hallmark event in
the
history of the early universe. We request 200 orbits, spreading over
30
~ 50 high Galactic latitude visits (|b|>20deg) 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.