HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 4302

PERIOD COVERED: UT February 16,17,18,19, 2007 (DOY 047,048,049,050)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

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.

WFPC2 11096

Hubble Heritage imaging of Jupiter during the New Horizons encounter HST

Proposal 11096

WFPC2 images of Jupiter in Feb 2007 in support of New Horizons flyby of

Jupiter. This Hubble Heritage DD program is working in concert with the

existing GO programs by John Clarke {10862} and John Spencer {10871}.

S/C 11094

SBC Filter Wheel Checkout

Following the side 2 electronics failure it is proposed to return to

side 1 and operate the SBC. Several tests will be performed before

resuming normal operations. The following proposal is one of these and

should be held until the return to side 1 is approved. This proposal's

purpose is to command the SBC Filter Wheel to each of its positions in

both directions of motion and verify {via the mechanism's positional

encoding readout} proper execution of the commands.

WFPC2 11093

Hubble Heritage Observations of PNe with WFPC2

This is a proposal for observation of a set of PNe using a common WFPC2

observation sequence.

WFPC2 11089

WFPC2 UV Throughput Check after 27-Jan-2007 Safemode

Check UV throughput of standard star GRW+70D5824 in all four chips

following safemode caused by ACS Side 2 failure.

NIC3 11082

NICMOS Imaging of GOODS: Probing the Evolution of the Earliest Massive

Galaxies, Galaxies Beyond

Deep near-infrared imaging provides the only avenue towards

understanding a host of astrophysical problems, including: finding

galaxies and AGN at z > 7, the evolution of the most massive galaxies,

the triggering of star formation in dusty galaxies, and revealing

properties of obscured AGN. As such, we propose to observe 60 selected

areas of the GOODS North and South fields with NICMOS Camera 3 in the

F160W band pointed at known massive M > 10^11 M_0 galaxies at z > 2

discovered through deep Spitzer imaging. The depth we will reach {26.5

AB at 5 sigma} in H_160 allows us to study the internal properties of

these galaxies, including their sizes and morphologies, and to

understand how scaling relations such as the Kormendy relationship

evolved. Although NIC3 is out of focus and undersampled, it is currently

our best opportunity to study these galaxies, while also sampling enough

area to perform a general NIR survey 1/3 the size of an ACS GOODS field.

These data will be a significant resource, invaluable for many other

science goals, including discovering high redshift galaxies at z > 7,

the evolution of galaxies onto the Hubble sequence, as well as examining

obscured AGN and dusty star formation at z > 1.5. The GOODS fields are

the natural location for HST to perform a deep NICMOS imaging program,

as extensive data from space and ground based observatories such as

Chandra, GALEX, Spitzer, NOAO, Keck, Subaru, VLT, JCMT, and the VLA are

currently available for these regions. Deep high-resolution

near-infrared observations are the one missing ingredient to this

survey, filling in an important gap to create the deepest, largest, and

most uniform data set for studying the faint and distant universe. The

importance of these images will increase with time as new facilities

come on line, most notably WFC3 and ALMA, and for the planning of future

JWST observations.

NIC3 11080

Exploring the Scaling Laws of Star Formation

As a variety of surveys of the local and distant Universe are

approaching a full census of galaxy populations, our attention needs to

turn towards understanding and quantifying the physical mechanisms that

trigger and regulate the large-scale star formation rates {SFRs} in

galaxies.

NIC3 11064

CYCLE 15 NICMOS SPECTROPHOTOMETRY CALIBRATION PROGRAM

Now that the spectrophotometric capabilities of the NICMOS grism have

been established, cycle 15 observations are needed to refine the

sensitivity estimates, to check for sensitivity loss with time, to

improve the accuracy of the linearity correction, to improve the

secondary flux standards by re-observation, and to expand the G206 data

set now that the sky subtraction technique has been shown to produce

useful fluxes for some of the fainter secondary standards. These faint

secondary IR standards will be a significant step towards establishing

flux standards for JWST, as well as for SNAP, Spitzer, and SOFIA. 1.Re-

observe the 3 primary WDs GD71, G191B2b, & GD153 twice each, once at the

beginning and once near the end of the 18 month cycle. To date, we have

only 2 observation of each star, while the corresponding STIS data set

for these primary standards ranges from 6 to 23 obs. No observations

exist for GD71 or GD153 with G206, so that the current G206 sensitivity

is defined solely by G191B2B. Purposes: Refine sensitivities, measure

sens losses. Orbits: 2 for each of 6 visits = 12 2. Re-observe WD1057 &

WD1657 plus another P041C lamp-on visit to improve the scatter in the

non-lin measurements per Fig. 8 of NIC ISR 2006-02. The WD stars require

2 orbits each, while the lamp-on test is done in one. The very faintest

and most crucial standard WD1657 has 2 good visits already, so to

substantially improve the S/N, two visits of two orbits are needed.

Include G206 for P041C in the lamp-off baseline part of that orbit.

Orbits: WD1057-2, WD1657-4, P041C-1 --> 7 3. Re-observe 9 secondary

standards to improve S/N of the faint ones and to include G206 for all

9. BD+17 {3 obs} is not repeated in this cycle. Four are bright enough

to do in one orbit: VB8, 2M0036+18, P330E, and P177D. Orbits:2*5+4=14

Grand Total orbits over 18 month cycle 15 is 12+6+14=32 {Roelof will

submit the P041C lamp-on visit in a separate program.}

NIC1 11061

NICMOS Imaging of Grism Spectrophotometric Standards

In this program we will take imaging observations with all 3 cameras

with a range of filters of a significant number of stars that are part

of the spectroscopic standard star project. These stars will form the

fainter reference star backbone for programs as JWST, Sophia, and SNAP.

With this program we will: 1. Accurately calibrate relative brightness

of standard stars, which can be done more accurately with photometry

than with spectroscopy. This has been proven to be vary valuable to

straighten out the problems in the spectroscopic data reduction and

calibrations so far. 2. Increase the number of stars over a large

magnitude range to provide a more accurate cross check of our count rate

dependent non-linearity correction 3. Include stars with radically

different {very red} spectra to investigate whether the filter curves as

measured before flight are still valid by comparing the throughput

estimates from these stars to those used for the standard calibration.

4. Repeat a few standard star observations from cycle 7 and post-NCS

installation SMOV, to increase the accuracy in the change in sensitivity

measurement with just a few observations thanks to the long baseline.

ACS/WFC 11052

Internal Flat Fields

The stability of the CCD P-flat fields will be monitored using the

calibration lamps and a sub-sample of the filter set. High signal

observations will be used to assess the stability of the pixel-to-pixel

flat field structure and to monitor the position of the dust motes.

ACS/SBC 11048

SBC MAMA Recovery

Procedure to be used when ACS MAMA anomalously shuts down. Recovery

procedure is designed to carefully bring the MAMA back to operating

condition while watching for possible problems. The final step is to do

a fold analysis which gives detailed information about how well the

instrument is performing. Only the first four visits are to be executed.

Visits 5 to 7 whih are a repaeat of 1 to 4 are to be kept on hold.

WFPC2 11029

WFPC2 CYCLE 15 Intflat Linearity Check and Filter Rotation Anomaly

Monitor

Intflat observations will be taken to provide a linearity check: the

linearity test consists of a series of intflats in F555W, in each gain

and each shutter. A combination of intflats, visflats, and earthflats

will be used to check the repeatability of filter wheel motions.

{Intflat sequences tied to decons, visits 1-18 in prop 10363, have been

moved to the cycle 15 decon proposal xxxx for easier scheduling.} Note:

long-exposure WFPC2 intflats must be scheduled during ACS anneals to

prevent stray light from the WFPC2 lamps from contaminating long ACS

external exposures.

ACS/WFC 11024

WFPC2 CYCLE 15 INTERNAL MONITOR

This calibration proposal is the Cycle 15 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.

WFPC2 11023

WFPC2 CYCLE 15 Standard Darks - part 1

This dark calibration program obtains dark frames every week in order to

provide data for the ongoing calibration of the CCD dark current rate,

and to monitor and characterize the evolution of hot pixels. Over an

extended period these data will also provide a monitor of radiation

damage to the CCDs.

FGS 10989

Astrometric Masses of Extrasolar Planets and Brown Dwarfs

We propose observations with HST/FGS to estimate the astrometric

elements {perturbation orbit semi-major axis and inclination} of

extra-solar planets orbiting six stars. These companions were originally

detected by radial velocity techniques. We have demonstrated that FGS

astrometry of even a short segment of reflex motion, when combined with

extensive radial velocity information, can yield useful inclination

information {McArthur et al. 2004}, allowing us to determine companion

masses. Extrasolar planet masses assist in two ongoing research

frontiers. First, they provide useful boundary conditions for models of

planetary formation and evolution of planetary systems. Second, knowing

that a star in fact has a plantary mass companion, increases the value

of that system to future extrasolar planet observation missions such as

SIM PlanetQuest, TPF, and GAIA.

ACS/WFC 10918

Reducing Systematic Errors on the Hubble Constant: Metallicity

Calibration of the Cepheid PL Relation

Reducing the systematic errors on the Hubble constant is still of

significance and of immediate importance to modern cosmology. One of the

largest remaining uncertainties in the Cepheid-based distance scale

{which itself is at the foundation of the HST Key Project determination

of H_o} which can now be addressed directly by HST, is the effect of

metallicity on the Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation. Three chemically

distinct regions in M101 will be used to directly measure and thereby

calibrate the change in zero point of the Cepheid PL relation over a

range of metallicities that run from SMC-like, through Solar, to

metallicities as high as the most metal-enriched galaxies in the pure

Hubble flow. ACS for the first time offers the opportunity to make a

precise calibration of this effect which currently accounts for at least

a third of the total systematic uncertainty on Ho. The calibration will

be made in the V and I bandpasses so as to be immediately and directly

applicable to the entire HST Cepheid-based distance scale sample, and

most especially to the highest-metallicity galaxies that were hosts to

the Type Ia supernovae, which were then used to extend the the distance

scale calibration out to cosmologically significant distances.

WFPC2 10890

Morphologies of the Most Extreme High-Redshift Mid-IR-Luminous Galaxies

The formative phase of the most massive galaxies may be extremely

luminous, characterized by intense star- and AGN-formation. Till now,

few such galaxies have been unambiguously identified at high redshift,

restricting us to the study of low-redshift ultraluminous infrared

galaxies as possible analogs. We have recently discovered a sample of

objects which may indeed represent this early phase in galaxy formation,

and are undertaking an extensive multiwavelength study of this

population. These objects are bright at mid-IR wavelengths

{F[24um]>0.8mJy}, but deep ground based imaging suggests extremely faint

{and in some cases extended} optical counterparts {R~24-27}. Deep K-band

images show barely resolved galaxies. Mid-infrared spectroscopy with

Spitzer/IRS reveals that they have redshifts z ~ 2-2.5, suggesting

bolometric luminosities ~10^{13-14}Lsun! We propose to obtain deep ACS

F814W and NIC2 F160W images of these sources and their environs in order

to determine kpc-scale morphologies and surface photometry for these

galaxies. The proposed observations will help us determine whether these

extreme objects are merging systems, massive obscured starbursts {with

obscuration on kpc scales!} or very reddened {locally obscured} AGN

hosted by intrinsically low-luminosity galaxies.

NIC1 10879

A search for planetary-mass companions to the nearest L dwarfs -

completing the survey

We propose to extend the most sensitive survey yet undertaken for very

low-mass companions to ultracool dwarfs. We will use NICMOS to complete

imaging of an all-sky sample of 87 L dwarfs in 80 systems within 20

parsecs of the Sun. The combination of infrared imaging and proximity

allows us to search for companions with mass ratios q>0.25 at

separations exceeding ~3 AU, while probing companions with q>0.5 at ~1.5

AU separation. This resolution is crucial, since no ultracool binaries

are known in the field with separations exceeding 15 AU. Fifty L dwarfs

from the 20-parsec sample have high- resolution imaging, primarily

through our Cycle 13 HST proposal which identified six new binaries,

including an L/T system. Here, we propose to target the remaining 30

dwarfs

WFPC2 10871

Observations of the Galilean Satellites in Support of the New Horizons

Flyby

On February 28 2007 the New Horizons {NH} spacecraft will fly by Jupiter

on its way to Pluto, and will conduct an extensive series of

observations of the Jupiter system, including the Galilean satellites.

We propose HST observations to support and complement the New Horizons

observations in four ways: 1} Determine the distribution and variability

of Io's plumes in the two weeks before NH closest approach, to look for

correlations with Io- derived dust streams that may be detected by New

Horizons, to understand the origin of the dust streams; 2} Imaging of

SO2 and S2 gas absorption in Io's plumes in Jupiter transit, which

cannot be done by NH; 3} Color imaging of Io's surface to determine the

effects of the plumes and volcanos seen by New Horizons on the surface-

New Horizons cannot image the sunlit surface in color due to saturation;

4} Imaging of far-UV auroral emissions from the atmospheres of Io,

Europa, and Ganymede in Jupiter eclipse, near- simultaneously with

disk-integrated NH UV spectra, to locate the source of the UV emissions

seen by NH and use the response of the satellite atmospheres to the

eclipse to constrain production mechanisms.

NIC2, ACS/WFC 10802

SHOES-Supernovae, HO, for the Equation of State of Dark energy

The present uncertainty in the value of the Hubble constant {resulting

in an uncertainty in Omega_M} and the paucity of Type Ia supernovae at

redshifts exceeding 1 are now the leading obstacles to determining the

nature of dark energy. We propose a single, integrated set of

observations for Cycle 15 that will provide a 40% improvement in

constraints on dark energy. This program will observe known Cepheids in

six reliable hosts of Type Ia supernovae with NICMOS, reducing the

uncertainty in H_0 by a factor of two because of the smaller dispersion

along the instability strip, the diminished extinction, and the weaker

metallicity dependence in the infrared. In parallel with ACS, at the

same time the NICMOS observations are underway, we will discover and

follow a sample of Type Ia supernovae at z > 1. Together, these

measurements, along with prior constraints from WMAP, will provide a

great improvement in HST's ability to distinguish between a static,

cosmological constant and dynamical dark energy. The Hubble Space

Telescope is the only instrument in the world that can make these IR

measurements of Cepheids beyond the Local Group, and it is the only

telescope in the world that can be used to find and follow supernovae at

z > 1. Our program exploits both of these unique capabilities of HST to

learn more about one of the greatest mysteries in science.

ACS/WFC 10798

Dark Halos and Substructure from Arcs & Einstein Rings

The surface brightness distribution of extended gravitationally lensed

arcs and Einstein rings contains super-resolved information about the

lensed object, and, more excitingly, about the smooth and clumpy mass

distribution of the lens galaxies. The source and lens information can

non-parametrically be separated, resulting in a direct "gravitational

image" of the inner mass-distribution of cosmologically-distant galaxies

{Koopmans 2005; Koopmans et al. 2006 [astro-ph/0601628]}. With this goal

in mind, we propose deep HST ACS-F555W/F814W and NICMOS-F160W WFC

imaging of 20 new gravitational-lens systems with spatially resolved

lensed sources, of the 35 new lens systems discovered by the Sloan Lens

ACS Survey {Bolton et al. 2005} so far, 15 of which are being imaged in

Cycle-14. Each system has been selected from the SDSS and confirmed in

two time- efficient HST-ACS snapshot programs {cycle 13&14}.

High-fidelity multi-color HST images are required {not delivered by the

420s snapshots} to isolate these lensed images {properly cleaned,

dithered and extinction-corrected} from the lens galaxy surface

brightness distribution, and apply our "gravitational maging" technique.

Our sample of 35 early-type lens galaxies to date is by far the largest,

still growing, and most uniformly selected. This minimizes selection

biases and small-number statistics, compared to smaller, often

serendipitously discovered, samples. Moreover, using the WFC provides

information on the field around the lens, higher S/N and a better

understood PSF, compared with the HRC, and one retains high spatial

resolution through drizzling. The sample of galaxy mass distributions -

determined through this method from the arcs and Einstein ring HST

images - will be studied to: {i} measure the smooth mass distribution of

the lens galaxies {dark and luminous mass are separated using the HST

images and the stellar M/L values derived from a joint stellar-dynamical

analysis of each system}; {ii} quantify statistically and individually

the incidence of mass-substructure {with or without obvious luminous

counter- parts such as dwarf galaxies}. Since dark-matter substructure

could be more prevalent at higher redshift, both results provide a

direct test of this prediction of the CDM hierarchical

structure-formation model.

NIC3 10792

Quasars at Redshift z=6 and Early Star Formation History

We propose to observe four high-redshift quasars {z=6} in the NIR in

order to estimate relative Fe/Mg abundances and the central black hole

mass. The results of this study will critically constrain models of

joint quasar and galaxy formation, early star formation, and the growth

of supermassive black holes. Different time scales and yields for

alpha-elements {like O or Mg} and for iron result into an iron

enrichment delay of ~0.3 to 0.6 Gyr. Hence, despite the well-known

complexity of the FeII emission line spectrum, the ratio iron/alpha -

element is a potentially useful cosmological clock. The central black

hole mass will be estimated based on a recently revised back hole mass -

luminosity relationship. The time delay of the iron enrichment and the

time required to form a supermassive black hole {logM>8 Msol, tau

~0.5Gyr} as evidenced by quasar activity will be used to date the

beginning of the first intense star formation, marking the formation of

the first massive galaxies that host luminous quasars, and to constrain

the epoch when supermassive black holes start to grow by accretion.

FGS 10610