HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class
Science
DAILY REPORT #
4163
PERIOD COVERED: UT July 25, 2006 (DOY 206)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
ACS/HRC 10800
Kuiper Belt Binaries: Probes of Early Solar System Evolution
Binaries in the Kuiper Belt are a scientific windfall: in them we
have
relatively fragile test particles which can be used as tracers of
the
early dynamical evolution of the outer Solar System. We propose to
continue a Snapshot program using the ACS/HRC that has a
demonstrated
discovery potential an order of magnitude higher than the HST
observations that have already discovered the majority of known
transneptunian binaries. With this continuation we seek to reach the
original goals of this project: to accumulate a sufficiently large
sample in each of the distinct populations collected in the Kuiper
Belt
to be able to measure, with statistical significance, how the
fraction
of binaries varies as a function of their particular dynamical paths
into the Kuiper Belt. Today's Kuiper Belt bears the imprints of the
final stages of giant-planet building and migration; binaries may
offer
some of the best preserved evidence of that long-ago era.
ACS/HRC 10805
ACS Imaging of Uranus' Atmosphere Near Equinox
Uranus' 97-degree spin axis inclination results in the largest
fractional seasonal variation of solar insolation in the solar
system.
Uranus is now close to its 7 December 2007 equinox, and we can now
see
most of the northern hemisphere, which was in darkness when Voyager
provided our first detailed view of the planet in 1986. If Uranus'
seasonal response has the large phase shift expected from its long
radiative time constant, it should now exhibit nearly maximal
hemispheric contrast. Although the long time constant also suggests
a
small physical response, significant hemispheric asymmetries in
cloud
structure and dynamics are becoming apparent. We propose a detailed
characterization of Uranus' current response to this forcing with a
10-orbit program consisting of 4 orbits of WFC imaging with
narrowband
ramp filters and 6 orbits of HRC imaging using both broadband and
narrowband filters. Nine narrow-band filters between 0.62 and 0.955
microns will provide vertical sensing depths scanning through the
pressure range where the putative methane and deeper H2S clouds
might
plausibly exist and provide strong constraints on their optical
properties and parent gas mixing ratios. The high resolution HRC
images
will characterize the dynamics of discrete features at the 15-30
hour
time scale unavailable from the ground. Short wavelength HRC images
will
enable a characterization of the stratospheric haze. These
observations
have unique combinations of spectral range and resolution with
needed
temporal and spatial resolution not available from groundbased
observations.
ACS/WFC 10258
Tracing the Emergence of the Hubble Sequence Among the Most Luminous
and
Massive Galaxies
There is mounting evidence that the redshift range 1 < z < 2 was
an
important era when massive galaxies assembled their stellar content
and
assumed their present--day morphologies. Despite extensive HST
imaging
surveys, however, there is very little data in the optical rest
frame
{i.e., observed near--infrared} on the morphologies of the most
luminous
galaxies at these redshifts. We propose to image a carefully
selected
set of 20 of the most luminous, K--band selected GOODS galaxies at 1.3
<
z < 2, using NICMOS camera 2. This offers diffraction--limited,
critically sampled imaging at 1.6 microns to ensure the best angular
resolution for comparison to ACS. The galaxies are chosen to span a
simple 4--fold parameter space of morphological and spectral type,
in
order to provide the most information about the variety of massive
galaxy properties in this redshift range. We will investigate the
emergence of large scale--length disks, stable spiral structure,
mature
bulges with red stellar populations, central bar structures, the
incidence of disturbed morphology, the existence {or lack thereof}
of
blue ellipticals, and other questions that concern the evolution and
maturation of the brightest, largest, and most massive ordinary
galaxies
in this critical redshift range.
NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8794
NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 5
A new procedure proposed to alleviate the CR-persistence problem of
NICMOS. Dark frames will be obtained immediately upon exiting the
SAA
contour 23, and every time a NICMOS exposure is scheduled within 50
minutes of coming out of the SAA. The darks will be obtained in
parallel
in all three NICMOS Cameras. The POST-SAA darks will be non-
standard
reference files available to users with a USEAFTER date/time mark.
The
keyword 'USEAFTER=date/time' will also be added to the header of
each
POST-SAA DARK frame. The keyword must be populated with the time, in
addition to the date, because HST crosses the SAA ~8 times per day
so
each POST-SAA DARK will need to have the appropriate time specified,
for
users to identify the ones they need. Both the raw and processed
images
will be archived as POST-SAA DARKSs. Generally we expect that all
NICMOS
science/calibration observations started within 50 minutes of leaving
an
SAA will need such maps to remove the CR persistence from the
science
images. Each observation will need its own CRMAP, as different SAA
passages leave different imprints on the NICMOS detectors.
NIC2 10849
Imaging Scattered Light from Debris Disks Discovered by the Spitzer
Space Telescope around 21 Sun-like Stars
We propose to use the high-contrast capability of the NICMOS
coronagraph
to image a sample of newly discovered circumstellar disks associated
with Sun-like stars. These systems were identified by their strong
thermal infrared {IR} emission with the Spitzer Space Telescope as
part
of the Spitzer Legacy Science program titled "The Formation and
Evolution of Planetary Systems" {FEPS, P.I.: M.Meyer}. Modeling of
the
thermal excess emission from the spectral energy distributions alone
cannot distinguish between narrowly confined high-opacity disks and
broadly distributed, low-opacity disks. By resolving light scattered
by
the circumstellar material, our proposed NICMOS observations can
break
this degeneracy, thus revealing the conditions under which planet
formation processes are occuring or have occured. For three of our
IR-excess stars that have known radial-velocity planets, resolved
imaging of the circumstellar debris disks may further offer an
unprecedented view of planet-disk interactions in an extrasolar
planetary system. Even non-detections of the light scattered by the
circumstellar material will place strong constraints on the disk
geometries, ruling out disk models with high optical depth. Unlike
previous disk imaging programs, our program contains a well-defined
sample of ~1 solar mass stars covering a range of ages from 3 Myr to
3
Gyr, thus allowing us to study the evolution of disks from primordial
to
debris for the first time. The results from our program will greatly
improve our understanding of the architecture of debris disks around
Sun-like stars, and will create a morphological context for the
existence of our own solar system. This proposal is for a
continuation
of an approved Cycle 14 program {GO/10527, P.I.: D. Hines}.
WFPC2 10745
WFPC2 CYCLE 14 INTERNAL MONITOR
This calibration proposal is the Cycle 14 routine internal monitor
for
WFPC2, to be run weekly to monitor the health of the cameras. A
variety
of internal exposures are obtained in order to provide a monitor of
the
integrity of the CCD camera electronics in both bays {both gain 7
and
gain 15 -- to test stability of gains and bias levels}, a test for
quantum efficiency in the CCDs, and a monitor for possible buildup
of
contaminants on the CCD windows. These also provide raw data for
generating annual super-bias reference files for the calibration
pipeline.
FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant Spacecraft Anomalies:
(The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal
performance that will be investigated.)
HSTARS:
#10372 GSAcq (2,1,1) failed due to Scan Step Limit Exceeded on FGS
2 @ 206/13:38:46z
At
206/13:38:46 GSAc1 (2,1,1) failed to RGA hold due to scan step limit
exceeded
on FGS 2. OBADs RSS values were 3737.64 & 13.54 respectively.
Possible
observations affected: ACS 56. OBAD MAP scheduled @
206/14:44:43 showed the following errors: V1 -820.84, V2 5011.53, V3
-451.42,
RSS 5098.34
#10373 GSAcq (2,3,2) failed due to search radius limit exceeded on
FGS 2 @ 206/17:00:47z
At AOS
206/17:00:47, GSAcq (2,3,2) had failed due to search radius limit
exceeded
on FGS 2. OBAD #1 data unavailable due to LOS. OBAD #2 V1
43.70, V2
31.93, V3 52.14, RSS 75.15. Possible observations affected:
ACS 59
#10374 GSAcq(2,1,2) failed due to search radius limit exceeded @
207/01:14:20z.
The
GSAcq(2,1,2) failed due to search radius limit exceeded on FGS 2.
OBAD2
showed errors of V1=-2.03, V2=-3.48, V3=3.24, RSS=5.15. The Map at
01:16:44
showed errors of V1=1.43, V2=2.84, V3=-0.02, and RSS=3.18.
Observations affected: ACS 73-79, NIC 21 and 22
#10375 GSAcq(2,1,2) failed to RGA Control @ 07:20:02z
The
GSAcq(2,1,2) failed to RGA Hold due to search radius limit exceeded
on FGS-2.
Pre-acquisition OBADs had (RSS) attitude erorr corrections
values of
2943.18 and 10.66 arcseconds. Post-acquisition OBAD/MAP had
3-axis
(RSS) value of 3.06 arcseconds. REacq(2,1,2) scheduled at
207/08:46:00 using same star id failed to RGA Hold. Observations
affected:
ACS 82,83.
COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)
COMPLETED OPS NOTES:
#1511-1 Reset NICMOS Error Counter @ 207/02:31z
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSacq
13
09
FGS
REacq
02
01
OBAD with Maneuver
30
30
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)
-Lynn
Lynn F. Bassford
CHAMP HST Missions Operations Manager
Lockheed Martin Technical Operations
GSFC PH#: 301-286-2876
"The Hubble Space Telescope is the Babe Ruth of astronomical
observatories, the Muhammad Ali of cosmic photography
"
- Robert Roy Britt, space.com 7-14-4
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