Notice: For the foreseeable future, the daily reports may
contain
apparent discrepancies between some proposal descriptions
and the listed
instrument usage. This is due to the conversion of
previously approved
ACS WFC or HRC observations into WFPC2, or NICMOS
observations
subsequent to the loss of ACS CCD science capability in
late January.
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class
Science
DAILY REPORT # 4322
PERIOD COVERED: UT March 19, 2007 (DOY 078)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
WFPC2 10563
Accurate dark-matter mass profiles in 3 elliptical
galaxies as a test of
CDM
A critical test of the successful Lambda-CDM picture for
structure
formation is the measurement of the power law exponent,
gamma, of the
centre of dark matter density profiles, predicted to lie
in the range
1.0-1.5. Measurements of gamma derived from rotation
curves of LSB
galaxies appear to contradict CDM, but rely on assumptions
that are
difficult to verify {e.g. axisymmetry}. We have recently
demonstrated,
using our new `semi- linear' inversion method, how strong
gravitational
lensing by galaxies can provide a clean and accurate
measurement of
gamma, free of such ambiguities. HST images of lensed
non-AGN galaxies
provide hundreds of resolution elements, each a constraint
on the mass
profile. Such lenses are exceedingly rare, but we have
recently
discovered new systems. We propose deep ACS-HRC
observations of 3
systems to measure gamma in each, accurate to 0.15 {95%
confidence} and
to obtain an indication of its variation between galaxies.
To establish
the required number of orbits we have undertaken an
end-to-end
simulation of the problem, creating and analysing
synthetic ACS images.
Additionally the semi-linear method simultaneously
reconstructs the
pixelised source surface brightness distribution. Our
simulations
demonstrate that the fine sampling and small pixel
scattering of the
HRC, resolves the morphology of the sources with exquisite
detail.
WFPC2 10833
Host Galaxies of Reverberation Mapped AGNs
We propose to obtain unsaturated high-resolution images of
17
reverberation-mapped active galactic nuclei in order to
remove the
point-like nuclear light from each image, thus yielding a
"nucleus-free"
image of the host galaxy. This will allow investigation of
host galaxy
properties: our particular interest is determination of
the host-galaxy
starlight contribution to the reverberation-mapping
observations. This
is necessary {1} for accurate determination of the
relationship between
the AGN nuclear continuum flux and the size of the broad
Balmer-line
emitting regions of AGNs, which is important in estimating
black hole
masses for large samples of QSOs, and {2} for accurate
determination of
the bolometric luminosity of the AGN proper. Through
observations in
Cycles 12 and 14, we have obtained or will obtain images
of 18 of the 35
objects in the reverberation-mapping compilation of
Peterson et al.
{2004}. These observations revealed that the host-galaxy
contribution,
even in the higher-luminosity AGNs, is higher than
expected and that all
of the reverberation- mapped AGNs will have to be
observed, not just the
lower-luminosity sources; each source is different, and
each source is
important. Therefore we request time to observe the 17
remaining
reverberation-mapped AGNs.
WFPC2 10860
The largest Kuiper belt object
The past year has seen an explosion in the discoveries of
Pluto-sized
objects in the Kuiper belt. With the discoveries of the
methane-covered
2003 UB313 and 2005 FY9, the multiple satellite system of
2003 EL61, and
the Pluto-Charon analog system of Orcus and its satellite,
it is finally
apparent that Pluto is not a unique oddball at the edge of
the solar
system, but rather one of a family of similarly large
objects in the
Kuiper belt and beyond. HST observations over the past
decade have been
critical for understanding the interior, surface, and
atmosphere of
Pluto and Charon. We propose here a comprehensive series
of observations
designed to similarly expand our knowledge of these
recently discovered
Pluto-sized and near-Pluto-sized Kuiper belt objects.
These observations
will measure objects' sizes and densities, explore the
outcome of
collisions in the outer solar system, and allow the first
ever look at
the interior structure of a Kuiper belt object. Our wide
field survey
that discovered all of these objects is nearly finished,
so after five
years of continuous searching we are finally almost
complete in our
tally of these near-Pluto-sized objects. This large HST
request is the
culmination of this half-decade search for new
planetary-sized objects.
As has been demonstrated repeatedly by the approximately
100 previous
orbits devoted to the study of Pluto, only HST has the
resolution and
sensitivity for detailed study of these distant objects.
WFPC2 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.
NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8795
NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 6
A new proceedure proposed to alleviate the CR-persistence
problem of
NICMOS. Dark frames will be obtained immediately upon
exiting the SAA
contour 23, and everytime 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 i
mages. Each observation will need its own CRMAP, as
different SAA
passages leave different imprints on the NICMOS detectors.
NIC2 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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Notice: For the foreseeable future, the daily reports may
contain
apparent discrepancies between some proposal descriptions
and the listed
instrument usage. This is due to the conversion of
previously approved
ACS WFC or HRC observations into WFPC2, or NICMOS
observations
subsequent to the loss of ACS CCD science capability in
late January.
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
07
07
FGS
REacq
05
05
OBAD with Maneuver
25
25
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)