Notice:
Due to the conversion of some ACS WFC or HRC observations into
WFPC2,
or NICMOS observations after the loss of ACS CCD science
capability
in January, there may be an occasional discrepancy between a
proposal's
listed (and correct) instrument usage and the abstract that
follows
it.
HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY
REPORT # 4455
PERIOD
COVERED: UT September 25, 2007 (DOY 268)
OBSERVATIONS
SCHEDULED
NIC1
10889
The
Nature of the Halos and Thick Disks of Spiral Galaxies
We
propose to resolve the extra-planar stellar populations of the thick
disks
and halos of seven nearby, massive, edge-on galaxies using ACS,
NICMOS,
and WFPC2 in parallel. These observations will provide accurate
star
counts and color-magnitude diagrams 1.5 magnitudes below the tip of
the
Red Giant Branch sampled along the two principal axes and one
intermediate
axis of each galaxy. We will measure the metallicity
distribution
functions and stellar density profiles from star counts
down
to very low average surface brightnesses, equivalent to ~32 V-mag
per
square arcsec. These observations will provide the definitive HST
study
of extra-planar stellar populations of spiral galaxies. Our
targets
cover a range in galaxy mass, luminosity, and morphology and as
function
of these galaxy properties we will provide: - The first
systematic
study of the radial and isophotal shapes of the diffuse
stellar
halos of spiral galaxies - The most detailed comparative study
to
date of thick disk morphologies and stellar populations - A
comprehensive
analysis of halo and thick disk metallicity distributions
as
a function of galaxy type and position within the galaxy. - A
sensitive
search for tidal streams - The first opportunity to directly
relate
globular cluster systems to their field stellar population We
will
use these fossil records of the galaxy assembly process preserved
in
the old stellar populations to test halo and thick disk formation
models
within the hierarchical galaxy formation scheme. We will test
LambdaCDM
predictions on sub-galactic scales, where it is difficult to
test
using CMB and galaxy redshift surveys, and where it faces its most
serious
difficulties.
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 DARKs. 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.
NIC3
11082
NICMOS
Imaging of GOODS: Probing the Evolution of the Earliest Massive
Galaxies,
Galaxies Beyond Reionization, and the High Redshift Obscured
Universe
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.
WFPC2
10900
Optical
polarimetry of PSR B0540-69 and its synchrotron nebula.
Polarization
measurements of pulsars and of their synchrotron nebulae
are
uniquely able to provide deep insights into the highly magnetized
relativistic
environment of young rotating neutron stars. Apart from the
radio
band, pulsar polarization is best measured in the optical, for the
rare
cases of detectable optical emission. One of the brightest pulsars
together
with Crab {PSR B0531+21} and Vela {PSR B0833-45}, for which
optical
polarization measurements support the newly developed two-pole
caustic
model {TPC}, is PSR B0540-69 in the Large Magellanic Clouds,
often
referred as the Crab Twin for their overall similarities in both
age
and energetics. Together with the Crab, PSR B0540-69 is also the
only
pulsar embedded in a synchrotron nebula visible at optical
wavelengths.
We plan to observe PSR B0540-69 and its compact nebula {4
arcsec
diameter} with the Advanced Camera for Surveys {ACS} and the Wide
Field
Channel {WFC} detector using UV and visual polarization filters.
Thanks
to the superb angular resolution of ACS, these observations will
allow
us to spectacularly resolve the pulsar from its nebular
background,
providing the first firm measure of the pulsar polarization
which
will be crucial to assess, on a broader sample, the validity of
the
TPC model with respect to other pulsars magnetosphere models. These
observations
will also provide the first detailed polarization map of
the
nebula, including the jet and the torus seen in our previous WFPC2
images.
WFPC2
11033
Full
Moon Earth Flats Closeout
Flat
field exposures will be obtained by observing the moonlit Earth
with
the broadband WFPC2 filters F606W and F814W, which saturate in the
minimum
exposure time on the sunlit Earth. These observations will be
used
to improve the flats currently in the pipeline and are part of the
WFPC2
closeout operations. Because CTE effects are large for star flats
and
small for full field illumination, Earth flats are the superior
technique.
FLIGHT
OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant
Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports
of
potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)
HSTARS:
11004
- GSACQ(1,3,3) fine lock backup on FGS 1
GSACQ(1,3,3) at 269/04:44:27 acquired in fine lock backup on FGS 1
only,
with QF3STOPF and QSTOP flags set on FGS 3 at 04:50:02. No other
flags
were seen.
COMPLETED
OPS REQUEST: (None)
COMPLETED
OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED
SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSacq
05
05
FGS
REacq
09
09
OBAD
with Maneuver
28
28
SIGNIFICANT
EVENTS: (None)