Date: September 18th 2010

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Daily Report #5179 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/048477b1c9eaa89f?hl=en
Daily Report #5180 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/42bd1f5c5210993b?hl=en
Daily Report #5181 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/9ce0bd072921bd26?hl=en
Daily Report #5182 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/76da962fed005b88?hl=en
Daily Report #5183 - 1 messages, 1 author http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/c1f208f55d484d4f?hl=en

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5179

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/048477b1c9eaa89f?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Mon, Sep 13 2010 7:56Ã‚Â am From: "Cooper, Joe"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5179

PERIOD COVERED: 5am September 10 - 5am September 13, 2010 (DOY 253/09:00z-256/09:00z)

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: 18902-2 - CU/SDF Lock-up Recovery, Part C @ 253/1541z 18907-0 - Recover WFC3 from suspend mode @ 253/1912z 18908-0 - Safe and then recover ACS @2 53/2222z 18913-1 - Command COS OSM positions @ 253/2022z 18909-1 - Safe and the recover STIS @ 253/2350z 18911-2 - Safe and Recover COS to Operate @ 253/2012z 18912-0 - Recover ESM/PCE/NCS CPL @ 254/0007z 18910-0 - Safe NICMOS @ 253/2024z

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                   SCHEDULED  SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq 17 17 FGS REAcq 29 29 OBAD with Maneuver 18 18

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

Flash Report: Payload Recovery commanding was completed at 254/00:09z leaving NICMOS in 'Safe' and ACS, STIS, COS, WFC3 and ESM in 'Operate '

Flash Report: At 255/00:12z the science SMS was successfully intercepted, the first several STIS and WFC observations were executed in LOS; however, when data was acquired at 01:22 all indications are the observations were successfully collected

WFC3/IR 12307

A public SNAPSHOT Survey of Gamma-ray Burst Host Galaxies

We propose to conduct a public infrared survey of the host galaxies of Swift selected gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) at z<3 By obtaining deep, diffraction limited imaging in the IR we will complete detections for the host galaxies, and in concert with our extensive ground based afterglow and host programmes will compile a detailed catalog of the properties of high-z galaxies selected by GRBs In particular these observations will enable us to study the colours, luminosities and morphologies of the galaxies This in turn informs studies of the nature of the progenitors and the role of GRBs as probes of star formation across cosmic history Ultimately it provides a product of legacy value which will greatly complement further studies with next generation facilities such as ALMA and JWST

WFC3/UV 12245

Orbital Evolution and Stability of the Inner Uranian Moons

Nine densely-packed inner moons of Uranus show signs of chaos and orbital instability over a variety of time scales Many moons show measureable orbital changes within a decade or less Long-term integrations predict that some moons could collide in less than one million years One faint ring embedded in the system may, in fact, be the debris left behind from an earlier such collision Meanwhile, the nearby moon Mab falls well outside the influence of the others but nevertheless shows rapid, as yet unexplained, changes in its orbit It is embedded within a dust ring that also shows surprising variability A highly optimized series of observations with WFC3 over the next three cycles will address some of the fundamental open questions about this dynamically active system: Do the orbits truly show evidence of chaos? If so, over what time scales? What can we say about the masses of the moons involved? What is the nature of the variations in Mab's orbit? Is Mab's motion predictable or random? Astrometry will enable us to derive the orbital elements of these moons with 10-km precision This will be sufficient to study the year-by-year changes and, combined with other data from 2003-2007, the decadal evolution of the orbits The pairing of precise astrometry with numerical integrations will enable us to derive new dynamical constraints on the masses of these moons Mass is the fundamental unknown quantity currently limiting our ability to reproduce the interactions within this system This program will also capitalize upon our best opportunity for nearly 40 years to study the unexplained variations in Uranus's faint outer rings

WFC3/UV/IR 12021

An Irradiated Disk in an Ultraluminous X-Ray Source

Whether ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) contain stellar-mass or intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) is an important, but as yet unresolved, astrophysical question We have discovered variable optical emission from the ULX NGC 5408 X-1 that we interpret as reprocessed emission in an irradiated disk We propose simultaneous observations with Chandra and HST to test this interpretation and place constraints on the geometry of the accretion disk The observations should provide a means to discriminate between stellar-mass versus intermediate-mass black holes

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

COS/NUV/FUV 11741

Probing Warm-Hot Intergalactic Gas at 0 5 < z < 1 3 with a Blind Survey for O VI, Ne VIII, Mg X, and Si XII Absorption Systems

Currently we can only account for half of the baryons (or less) expected to be found in the nearby universe based on D/H and CMB observations This "missing baryons problem" is one of the highest-priority challenges in observational extragalatic astronomy Cosmological simulations suggest that the baryons are hidden in low-density, shock-heated intergalactic gas in the log T = 5 - 7 range, but intensive UV and X-ray surveys using O VI, O VII, and O VIII absorption lines have not yet confirmed this prediction We propose to use COS to carry out a sensitive survey for Ne VIII and Mg X absorption in the spectra of nine QSOs at z(QSO) > 0 89 For the three highest-redshift QSOs, we will also search for Si XII This survey will provide more robust constraints on the quantity of baryons in warm-hot intergalactic gas at 0 5 < z < 1 3, and the data will provide rich constraints on the metal enrichment, physical conditions, and nature of a wide variety of QSO absorbers in addition to the warm-hot systems By comparing the results to other surveys at lower redshifts (with STIS, FUSE, and from the COS GTO programs), the project will also enable the first study of how these absorbers evolve with redshift at z < 1 By combining the program with follow-up galaxy redshift surveys, we will also push the study of galaxy-absorber relationships to higher redshifts, with an emphasis on the distribution of the WHIM with respect to the large-scale matter distribution of the universe

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5180

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/42bd1f5c5210993b?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Tues, Sep 14 2010 12:05Ã‚Â pm From: "Bassford, Lynn"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5180

PERIOD COVERED: 5am September 13 - 5am September 14, 2010 (DOY 256/09:00z-257/09:00z)

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

12402 - COS 1021 STB Message received at 257/01:22z, following successful GSAcq (2,1,1) at 257/01:15:46z, indicating take data flag was down when a target acquisition macro was about to make a slew request

Observations possibly affected: WFC3 20-21 Proposal ID#11905

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                  SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq 7 7 FGS REAcq 9 9 OBAD with Maneuver 3 3

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/WFC 12210

SLACS for the Masses: Extending Strong Lensing to Lower Masses and Smaller Radii

Strong gravitational lensing provides the most accurate possible measurement of mass in the central regions of early-type galaxies (ETGs) We propose to continue the highly productive Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) Survey for strong gravitational lens galaxies by observing a substantial fraction of 135 new ETG gravitational-lens candidates with HST-ACS WFC F814W Snapshot imaging The proposed target sample has been selected from the seventh and final data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and is designed to complement the distribution of previously confirmed SLACS lenses in lens-galaxy mass and in the ratio of Einstein radius to optical half-light radius The observations we propose will lead to a combined SLACS sample covering nearly two decades in mass, with dense mapping of enclosed mass as a function of radius out to the half-light radius and beyond With this longer mass baseline, we will extend our lensing and dynamical analysis of the mass structure and scaling relations of ETGs to galaxies of significantly lower mass, and directly test for a transition in structural and dark-matter content trends at intermediate galaxy mass The broader mass coverage will also enable us to make a direct connection to the structure of well-studied nearby ETGs as deduced from dynamical modeling of their line-of-sight velocity distribution fields Finally, the combined sample will allow a more conclusive test of the current SLACS result that the intrinsic scatter in ETG mass-density structure is not significantly correlated with any other galaxy observables The final SLACS sample at the conclusion of this program will comprise approximately 130 lenses with known foreground and background redshifts, and is likely to be the largest confirmed sample of strong-lens galaxies for many years to come

ACS/WFC 12292

SWELLS: Doubling the Number of Disk-dominated Edge-on Spiral Lens Galaxies

The formation of realistic disk galaxies within the LCDM cosmology is still largely an unsolved problem Theory is now beginning to make predictions for how dark matter halos respond to galaxy formation, and for the properties of disk galaxies Measuring the density profiles of dark matter halos on galaxy scales is therefore a strong test for the standard paradigm of galaxy formation, offering great potential for discovery However, the degeneracy between the stellar and dark matter contributions to galaxy rotation curves remains a major obstacle Strong gravitational lensing, when combined with spatially resolved kinematics and stellar population models, can solve this long-standing problem Unfortunately, this joint methodology could not be exploited until recently due to the paucity of known edge-on spiral lenses We have developed and demonstrated an efficient technique to find exactly these systems During supplemental cycle-16 we discovered five new spiral lens galaxies, suitable for rotation curve measurements We propose multi-color HST imaging of 16 candidates and 2 partially-imaged confirmed systems, to measure a sample of eight new edge-on spiral lenses This program will at least double the number of known disk-dominated systems This is crucial for constraining the relative contribution of the disk, bulge and dark halo to the total density profile

ACS/WFC3 11734

The Hosts of High Redshift Gamma-Ray Bursts

Gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous explosive events known, acting as beacons to the high redshift universe Long duration GRBs have their origin in the collapse of massive stars and thus select star forming galaxies across a wide range of redshift Due to their bright afterglows we can study the details of GRB host galaxies via absorption spectroscopy, providing redshifts, column densities and metallicities for galaxies far too faint to be accessible directly with current technology We have already obtained deep ground based observations for many hosts and here propose ACS/WFC3 and WFC3 observations of the fields of bursts at z>3 which are undetected in deep ground based images These observations will study the hosts in emission, providing luminosities and morphologies and will enable the construction of a sample of high-z galaxies with more detailed physical properties than has ever been possible before

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

STIS/CCD/MA 11668

Cosmo-chronometry and Elemental Abundance Distribution of the Ancient Star HE1523-0901

We propose to obtain near-UV HST/STIS spectroscopy of the extremely metal-poor, highly r-process-enhanced halo star HE 1523-0901, in order to produce the most complete abundance distribution of the heaviest stable elements, including platinum, osmium, and lead These HST abundance data will then be used to estimate the initial abundances of the long-lived radioactive elements thorium and uranium, and by comparison with their observed abundances, enable an accurate age determination of this ancient star The use of radioactive chronometers in stars provides an independent lower limit on the age of the Galaxy, which can be compared with alternative limits set by globular clusters and by analysis from WMAP Our proposed observations of HE1523-0901 will also provide significant new information about the early chemical history of the Galaxy, specifically, the nature of the first generations of stars and the types of nucleosynthetic processes that occurred at the onset of Galactic chemical evolution

STIS/CCD/MA1 11737

The Distance Dependence of the Interstellar N/O Abundance Ratio: A Gould Belt Influence?

The degree of elemental abundance homogeneity in the interstellar medium is a function of the enrichment and mixing processes that govern galactic chemical evolution Observations of young stars and the interstellar gas within ~500 pc of the Sun have revealed a local ISM that is so well-mixed it is having an impact on ideas regarding the formation of extrasolar planets However, the situation just beyond the local ISM is not so clear Sensitive UV absorption line measurements have recently revealed a pattern of inhomogeneities in the interstellar O, N, and Kr gas-phase abundances at distances of ~500 pc and beyond that appear nucleosynthetic in origin rather than due to dust depletion In particular, based on a sample of 13 sightlines, Knauth et al (2006) have found that the nearby stars (d < 500 pc) exhibit a mean interstellar N/O abundance ratio that is significantly higher (0 18 dex) than that toward the more distant stars Interestingly, all of their sightlines lie in the sky vicinity of the Gould Belt of OB associations, molecular clouds, and diffuse gas encircling the Sun at a distance of ~400 pc Is it possible that mixing processes have not yet smoothed out the recent ISM enrichment by massive stars in the young Belt region? By measuring the interstellar N/O ratios in a strategic new sample of sightlines with STIS, we propose to test the apparent N/O homogeneity inside the Gould Belt and determine if the apparent decline in the N/O ratio with distance is robust and associated with the Belt region

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 12265

Determining the Physical Nature of a Unique Giant Lya Emitter at z=6 595

We propose deep WFC3/IR imaging for a giant Lya emitter (LAE) with a Keck spectroscopic redshift of z=6 595 discovered by extensive narrow-band imaging with Subaru in the SXDS-UKIDSS/UDS field This remarkable object is unique in many respects including its large stellar mass and luminous nebula which extends over 17 kpc; no equivalent source has been found in other surveys The nature of this rare object is unclear Fundamental to progress is determining the origin of star formation in such an early massive object; if the age of the stellar population is short we are likely witnessing a special moment in the formation history of a massive galaxy The heating source for the nebula is also unclear; options include intense star formation, the infall of cold gas onto a dark halo or shock heating from a merger We will take deep broad-band (F125W and F160W) images and an intermediate-band (F098M) image which will be analyzed in conjunction with ultra-deep IRAC 3 6 and 4 5 micron data being taken by the Spitzer/SEDS project These data will enable us to constrain the star formation rate and stellar age Moreover, the UV continuum morphology and Lya-line distribution will be investigated for evidence of a major merger, cold accretion, or hot bubbles associated with outflows We will address the physical origin of the remarkable object observed at an epoch where massive galaxies are thought to begin their assembly

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 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 11914

UVIS Earth Flats

This program is an experimental path finder for Cycle 18 calibration Visible-wavelength flat fields will be obtained by observing the dark side of the Earth during periods of full moon illumination The observations will consist of full-frame streaked WFC3 UVIS imagery: per 22- min total exposure time in a single "dark-sky" orbit, we anticipate collecting 7000 e/pix in F606W or 4500 e/pix in F814W To achieve Poisson S/N > 100 per pixel, we require at least 2 orbits of F606W and 3 orbits of F814W

For UVIS narrowband filters, exposures of 1 sec typically do not saturate on the sunlit Earth, so we will take sunlit Earth flats for three of the more-commonly used narrowband filters in Cycle 17 plus the also-popular long-wavelength quad filters, for which we get four filters at once

Why not use the Sunlit Earth for the wideband visible-light filters? It is too bright in the visible for WFC3 UVIS minimum exposure time of 0 5 sec Similarly, for NICMOS the sunlit-Earth is too bright which saturates the detector too quickly and/or induces abnormal behaviors such as super-shading (Gilmore 1998, NIC 098-011) In the narrowband visible and broadband near- UV is not too bright (predictions in Cox et al 1987 "Standard Astronomical Sources for HST: 6 Spatially Flat Fields " and observations in ACS Program 10050)

Other possibilities? Cox et al 's Section II D addresses many other possible sources for flat fields, rejecting them for a variety of reasons A remaining possibility would be the totally eclipsed moon Such eclipses provide approximately 2 hours (1 HST orbit) of opportunity per year, so they are too rare to be generically useful An advantage of the moon over the Earth is that the moon subtends less than 0 25 square degree, whereas the Earth subtends a steradian or more, so scattered light and light potentially leaking around the shutter presents additional problems for the Earth Also, we're unsure if HST can point 180 deg from the Sun

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 #5181

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/9ce0bd072921bd26?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Wed, Sep 15 2010 11:05Ã‚Â am From: "Bassford, Lynn"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5181

PERIOD COVERED: 5am September 14 - 5am September 15, 2010 (DOY 257/09:00z-258/09:00z)

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:

18917-0 - Set STIS Event Flags 2 and 3 to inhibit further MAMA ops @ 257/18:59z

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                  SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq 9 9 FGS REAcq 6 6 OBAD with Maneuver 5 5

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

Ops Request 18917-0 at approximately 257/19:00 UTC, set the STIS event flags 2 and 3 in the NSSC-1 to prevent MAMA Low Voltage from being enabled

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

ACS/WFC 12209

A Strong Lensing Measurement of the Evolution of Mass Structure in Giant Elliptical Galaxies

The structure and evolution of giant elliptical galaxies provide key quantitative tests for the theory of hierarchical galaxy formation in a cold dark matter dominated universe Strong gravitational lensing provides the only direct means for the measurement of individual elliptical galaxy masses beyond the local universe, but there are currently no large and homogeneous samples of strong lens galaxies at significant cosmological look-back time Hence, an accurate and unambiguous measurement of the evolution of the mass-density structure of elliptical galaxies has until now been impossible Using spectroscopic data from the recently initiated Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) of luminous elliptical galaxies at redshifts from approximately 0 4 to 0 7, we have identified a large sample of high-probability strong gravitational lens candidates at significant cosmological look-back time, based on the detection of emission-line features from more distant galaxies along the same lines of sight as the target ellipticals We propose to observe 45 of these systems with the ACS-WFC in order to confirm the incidence of lensing and to measure the masses of the lens galaxies We will complement these lensing mass measurements with stellar velocity dispersions from ground-based follow-up spectroscopy In combination with similar data from the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) Survey at lower redshifts, we will directly measure the cosmic evolution of the ratio between lensing mass and dynamical mass, to reveal the structural explanation for the observed size evolution of elliptical galaxies (at high mass) We will also measure the evolution of the logarithmic mass-density profile of massive ellipticals, which is sensitive to the details of the merging histories through which they are assembled Finally, we will use our lensing mass-to-light measurements to translate the BOSS galaxy luminosity function into a mass function, and determine its evolution in combination with data from the original Sloan Digital Sky Survey

ACS/WFC 12210

SLACS for the Masses: Extending Strong Lensing to Lower Masses and Smaller Radii

COS/NUV/FUV 11741

Probing Warm-Hot Intergalactic Gas at 0 5 < z < 1 3 with a Blind Survey for O VI, Ne VIII, Mg X, and Si XII Absorption Systems

FGS 12316

HST/FGS Astrometric Search for Young Planets Around Beta Pic and AU Mic

AU Mic is a nearby Vega-type debris disk stars Its disk system has been spatially resolved in exquisite detail, predominantly via the ACS coronagraph and WFPC-2 cameras onboard HST These images exhibit a wealth of morphological features which provide compelling indirect evidence that AU Mic likely harbors short-period planetary body(ies) We propose to use the superlative astrometric capabilities of HST/FGS to directly detect these planets, hence provide the first direct planet detection in a Vega-type system whose disk has been imaged at high spatial resolution

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/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

STIS/CCD 11999

JWST Calibration from a Consistent Absolute Calibration of Spitzer & Hubble

Recently, Gordon, Bohlin, et al submitted a successful Spitzer proposal for cross calibration of HST and Spitzer The cross-calibration targets are stars in three categories: WDs, A-stars, and G-stars Traditionally, IR flux standards are extrapolations of stellar models that are tied to absolute fluxes at shorter wavelengths HST absolute flux standards are among the best available with a solid basis that uses pure hydrogen models of hot WD stars for the SED slopes and is tied to Vega at 5556A via precise Landolt V-band photometry Consistently matching models to our three categories of HST observations along with Spitzer photometry and the few existing absolute IR flux determinations will provide a solid basis for JWST flux calibration over its 0 8-30micron range The goal of this proposal is to complete the HST observations of the set of HST/Spitzer cross-calibration stars Using a variety of standard stars with three different spectral types will ensure that the final calibration is not significantly affected by systematic uncertainties

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/S/C 11929

IR Dark Current Monitor

WFC3/UV 12324

The Temperature Profiles of Quasar Accretion Disks

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

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

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

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5182

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/76da962fed005b88?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Thurs, Sep 16 2010 7:17Ã‚Â am From: "Cooper, Joe"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5182

PERIOD COVERED: 5am September 15 - 5am September 16, 2010 (DOY 258/09:00z-259/09:00z)

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

12407 - GSAcq(2,1,1) at 259/02:27:06z and REAcq(2,1,1) at 259/03:54:49z both failed due to search radius limit exceeded on FGS2

Observations affected: WFC3 90 proposal ID#12234; STIS 67 proposal ID#11999

HSTAR FOR DOY 242:

12404 - GSAcq(1,2,1) at 242/15:42:17z initially received a scan step limit exceeded flag on FGS1 The second attempt was successful and the acquisition succeeded

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                   SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq 12 11 FGS REAcq 05 04 OBAD with Maneuver 06 06

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

ACS/WFC 11996

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 3)

ACS/WFC 12210

SLACS for the Masses: Extending Strong Lensing to Lower Masses and Smaller Radii

COS/NUV/FUV/STIS/CCD/MA1 11692

The LMC as a QSO Absorption Line System

We propose to obtain high resolution, high signal-to-noise observations of QSOs behind the Large Magellanic Clouds These QSOs are situated beyond the star forming disk of the galaxy, giving us the opportunity to study the distribution of metals and energy in regions lacking significant star formation In particular, we will derive the metallicities and study the ionization characteristics of LMC gas at impact parameters 3-17 kpc We will compare our results with high-z QSO absorption line systems

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

STIS/CCD 11999

JWST Calibration from a Consistent Absolute Calibration of Spitzer & Hubble

STIS/CCD/MA 11668

Cosmo-chronometry and Elemental Abundance Distribution of the Ancient Star HE1523-0901

WFC3/ACS/IR 11840

Identifying the Host Galaxies for Optically Dark Gamma-Ray Bursts

We propose to use the high spatial resolution of Chandra to obtain precise positions for a sample of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) with no optical afterglows, where the optical light is suppressed relative to the X-ray flux These bursts are likely to be highly obscured and may have different environments from the optically bright GRBs Our Chandra observations will (unlike Swift XRT positions) allow for the unique identification of a host galaxy To locate these host galaxies we will follow up our Chandra positions with deep optical and IR observations with HST The ultimate aim is to understand any differences between the host galaxies of optically dark and bright GRBs, and how these affect the use of GRBs as tracers of starformation and galaxy evolution at high redshift

WFC3/IR 12265

Determining the Physical Nature of a Unique Giant Lya Emitter at z=6 595

WFC3/IR 12307

A public SNAPSHOT Survey of Gamma-ray Burst Host Galaxies

WFC3/IR/S/C 11929

IR Dark Current Monitor

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

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 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 11912

UVIS Internal Flats

WFC3/UVIS 11914

UVIS Earth Flats

Why not use the Sunlit Earth for the wideband visible-light filters? It is too bright in the visible for WFC3 UVIS minimum exposure time of 0 5 sec Similarly, for NICMOS the sunlit-Earth is too bright which saturates the detector too quickly and/or induces abnormal behaviors such as super-shading (Gilmore 1998, NIC 098-011) In the narrowband visible and broadband near- UV its not too bright (predictions in Cox et al 1987 "Standard Astronomical Sources for HST: 6 Spatially Flat Fields " and observations in ACS Program 10050)

WFC3/UVIS/IR 11700

Bright Galaxies at z>7 5 with a WFC3 Pure Parallel Survey

The epoch of reionization represents a special moment in the history of the Universe as it is during this era that the first galaxies and star clusters are formed Reionization also profoundly affects the environment where subsequent generations of galaxies evolve Our overarching goal is to test the hypothesis that galaxies are responsible for reionizing neutral hydrogen To do so we propose to carry out a pure parallel WFC3 survey to constrain the bright end of the redshift z>7 5 galaxy luminosity function on a total area of 176 arcmin^2 of sky Extrapolating the evolution of the luminosity function from z~6, we expect to detect about 20 Lyman Break Galaxies brighter than M_* at z~8 significantly improving the current sample of only a few galaxies known at these redshifts Finding significantly fewer objects than predicted on the basis of extrapolation from z=6 would set strong limits to the brightness of M_*, highlighting a fast evolution of the luminosity function with the possible implication that galaxies alone cannot reionize the Universe Our observations will find the best candidates for spectroscopic confirmation, that is bright z>7 5 objects, which would be missed by small area deeper surveys The random pointing nature of the program is ideal to beat cosmic variance, especially severe for luminous massive galaxies, which are strongly clustered In fact our survey geometry of 38 independent fields will constrain the luminosity function like a contiguous single field survey with two times more area at the same depth Lyman Break Galaxies at z>7 5 down to m_AB=26 85 (5 sigma) in F125W will be selected as F098M dropouts, using three to five orbits visits that include a total of four filters (F606W, F098M, F125W, F160W) optimized to remove low-redshift interlopers and cool stars Our data will be highly complementary to a deep field search for high-z galaxies aimed at probing the faint end of the luminosity function, allowing us to disentangle the degeneracy between faint end slope and M_* in a Schechter function fit of the luminosity function We waive proprietary rights for the data In addition, we commit to release the coordinates and properties of our z>7 5 candidates within one month from the acquisition of each field

============================================================================== TOPIC: Daily Report #5183

http://groups google com/group/sci astro hubble/t/c1f208f55d484d4f?hl=en

== 1 of 1 == Date: Fri, Sep 17 2010 7:21Ã‚Â am From: "Bassford, Lynn"

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5183

PERIOD COVERED: 5am September 16 - 5am September 17, 2010 (DOY 259/09:00z-260/09:00z)

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 3 3 FGS REAcq 7 7 OBAD with Maneuver 3 3

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

ACS/WFC 12210

SLACS for the Masses: Extending Strong Lensing to Lower Masses and Smaller Radii

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

STIS/CCD 11999

JWST Calibration from a Consistent Absolute Calibration of Spitzer & Hubble

STIS/CCD/MA/S/C 12244

Mapping Ganymede's Time Variable Aurora in the Search for a Subsurface Ocean

A very exciting, unresolved question about Jupiter?s moon Ganymede is whether Ganymede harbors a saline subsurface water ocean under its icy crust A saline, electrically conductive water ocean will modify Ganymede's magnetic field environment and thus also the locations of Ganymede's northern and southern aurora ovals Without an ocean, Ganymede's aurora ovals will rock by ~10 degrees towards and away from Jupiter within 5 25 hours However, with an ocean the shift will be up to only ~4 degrees We propose two visits of five consecutive STIS orbits at eastern elongation to monitor and resolve with sufficient precision the shift in locations of Ganymede's aurora ovals to determine whether an ocean is present on Ganymede Addressing this question is timely as NASA/ESA are planning a Jupiter system mission including a Ganymede orbiter with the objective to characterize Ganymede as potential habitat

WFC3/IR 11926

IR Zero Points

We will measure and monitor the zeropoints through the IR filters using observations of the white dwarf standard stars, GD153, GD71 and GD191B2B and the solar analog standard star, P330E Data will be taken monthly during Cycle 17 Observations of the star cluster, NGC 104, are made twice to check color transformations We expect an accuracy of 2% in the wide filter zeropoints relative to the HST photometric system, and 5% in the medium- and narrow-band filters

WFC3/IR 12265

Determining the Physical Nature of a Unique Giant Lya Emitter at z=6 595

WFC3/UV/IR 12234

Differentiation in the Kuiper belt: a Search for Silicates on Icy Bodies

We currently have a large on-going program (Go Program 11644, 120 orbits) to exploit the superb stability and photometric characteristics of HST and the broad range in wavelength coverage of the WFC3 to make broad-band vis/IR spectral observations of a large sample of Kuiper belt objects Though the survey is currently only ~50% complete, the quality and unprecedented signal-to-noise of these observations has revealed the existence of a previously undiscovered spectral variability not explainable within our current understanding of these objects

A possible explanation for this variability is that with this faint set of Kuiper belt objects, we are beginning to see the difference between larger differentiated objects and smaller non-differentiated objects Its seems that the small and likely undifferentiated objects are exhibiting silicate features that affect our photometry - features not exhibited by the icy mantles of larger icy bodies

We propose a small add-on survey to dramatically increase the scientific results of our large program The proposed observations will use the proven capabilities of WFC3 to make broad and narrow-band photometric observations to detect spectral features in the 1 0-1 3 micron range of a small subset of our sources The 13 targets have been carefully selected to cover the range of spectral variability detected in our large program as well as sample the entire dynamical range and physical sizes of these targets These observations will allow the identification of undifferentiated Kuiper belt objects by detection of their silicate features As a probe for differentiation, these observations could constrain the natal locations of different Kuiper belt classes, a constraint currently unavailable to formation models This small set of observations will allow the calibration of the spectral variability seen in our large program, and drastically enhance the scientific output of our full Cycle 17 sample

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

WFC3/UVIS 11912

UVIS Internal Flats

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

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