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 #4482
PERIOD
COVERED: UT November 2,3,4, 2007 (DOY 306,307,308)
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 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.
WFPC2
11418
Investigating
the Spectacular Outburst of Comet 17P/Holmes
Comet
17P/Holmes is currently undergoing a spectacular eruption in
activity,
with its brightness increasing by ~14 mag over a 24 hour
period.
The comet is shedding huge amounts of dust, presumably
associated
with a major splitting event at the nucleus. The high spatial
resolution
and high sensitivity of Hubble has proven to be invaluable
during
previous observations of several fragmenting comets, and the 2007
apparition
of 17P/Holmes represents another excellent opportunity to
investigate
this important cometary phenomenon. We request 3 orbits of
WFPC2
observations to measure the size and V-R color of the principal
nucleus,
perform a deep search for large fragments released during the
outburst,
monitor the temporal development of the event, and search for
a
satellite whose collision with the principal nucleus may have
triggered
the current outburst, as was suggested for the similar
outburst
observed in 1892.
NIC1/NIC2/NIC3
11330
NICMOS
Cycle 16 Extended Dark
This
takes a series of Darks in parallel to other instruments.
WFPC2
11307
Completing
the ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey with WFPC2
We
are requesting 25 orbits of Director's Discretionary Time to complete
the
primary science goals of our highly-ranked ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey
Treasury
program {ANGST}. Our program lost ~2/3 of its orbits due to the
ACS
failure. Roughly half of these were restored as a result of an
appeal
to the Telescope Time Review Board which re-scoped the program.
The
Board's response to our appeal was explicit in terms of which
targets
were to be observed and how. We were directed to request
Director's
discretionary time for the components of the appeal which
were
not granted by the Review Board, but which were vital to the
success
of the program. The observing strategy for ANGST is two-fold: to
obtain
one deep field per galaxy which enables derivation of an accurate
ancient
star formation history, and to obtain radial tilings sufficient
for
recovering the full star formation history. The Review Board granted
WFPC2
observations for deep fields in 7 galaxies, but no time for radial
tilings.
However, recovering the full star formation history of a galaxy
is
not possible without additional radial coverage. We have searched the
archives
for observations which may be used in place of the tilings
{conceding
some of the Treasury goals, but providing significant
constraints
on the full star formation history}, and have identified
suitable
observations for all but two of the galaxies. Here we request
DD
time for radial tilings for those last two galaxies.
WFPC2
11229
SEEDS:
The Search for Evolution of Emission from Dust in Supernovae with
HST
and
The
role that massive stars play in the dust content of the Universe is
extremely
uncertain. It has long been hypothesized that dust can
condense
within the ejecta of supernovae {SNe}, however there is a
frustrating
discrepancy between the amounts of dust found in the early
Universe,
or predicted by nucleation theory, and inferred from SN
observations.
Our SEEDS collaboration has been carefully revisiting the
observational
case for dust formation by core-collapse SNe, in order to
quantify
their role as dust contributors in the early Universe. As dust
condenses
in expanding SN ejecta, it will increase in optical depth,
producing
three simultaneously observable phenomena: {1} increasing
optical
extinction; {2} infrared {IR} excesses; and {3} asymmetric
blue-shifted
emission lines. Our SEEDS collaboration recently reported
all
three phenomena occurring in SN2003gd, demonstrating the success of
our
observing strategy, and permitting us to derive a dust mass of up to
0.02
solar masses created in the SN. To advance our understanding of the
origin
and evolution of the interstellar dust in galaxies, we propose to
use
HST's WFPC2 and NICMOS instruments plus Spitzer's photometric
instruments
to monitor ten recent core- collapse SNe for dust formation
and,
as a bonus, detect light echoes that can affect the dust mass
estimates.
These space-borne observations will be supplemented by
ground-
based spectroscopic monitoring of their optical emission line
profiles.
These observations would continue our 2-year HST and Spitzer
monitoring
of this phenomena in order to address two key questions: Do
all
SNe produce dust? and How much dust do they produce? As all the SN
are
within 15 Mpc, each SN stands an excellent chance of detection with
HST
and Spitzer and of resolving potential light echoes.
FGS
11228
Extrasolar
Planet XO-2b
We
propose observations of the newly discovered extrasolar planet XO-2b
and
its twin star XO-2. When combined with the transit light curve, the
FGS-derived
parallax will constrain the stellar mass of the host star
XO-2.
From the high signal-to-noise near-IR time series resulting from
NICMOS
grism spectroscopy, we will refine the system parameters, in
particular
radii of the star and planet. From the same data, we will
search
for evidence of water vapor in the atmosphere via transmission
spectroscopy.
Differential observations with NICMOS in the spectroscopic
mode
will be used to search for the small spectral changes that occur
during
planetary transits resulting from absorption of stellar light as
it
passes through the planetary atmosphere. Water is an important
constituent,
the detection of which would provide information on Oxygen,
and
it has a convenient strong band well- positioned for NICMOS.
NIC2
11219
Active
Galactic Nuclei in nearby galaxies: a new view of the origin of
the
radio-loud radio- quiet dichotomy?
Using
archival HST and Chandra observations of 34 nearby early-type
galaxies
{drawn from a complete radio selected sample} we have found
evidence
that the radio-loud/radio-quiet dichotomy is directly connected
to
the structure of the inner regions of their host galaxies in the
following
sense: [1] Radio-loud AGN are associated with galaxies with
shallow
cores in their light profiles [2] Radio-quiet AGN are only
hosted
by galaxies with steep cusps. Since the brightness profile is
determined
by the galaxy's evolution, through its merger history, our
results
suggest that the same process sets the AGN flavour. This
provides
us with a novel tool to explore the co-evolution of galaxies
and
supermassive black holes, and it opens a new path to understand the
origin
of the radio-loud/radio-quiet AGN dichotomy. Currently our
analysis
is statistically incomplete as the brightness profile is not
available
for 82 of the 116 targets. Most galaxies were not observed
with
HST, while in some cases the study is obstructed by the presence of
dust
features. We here propose to perform an infrared NICMOS snapshot
survey
of these 82 galaxies. This will enable us to i} test the reality
of
the dichotomic behaviour in a substantially larger sample; ii} extend
the
comparison between radio-loud and radio-quiet AGN to a larger range
of
luminosities.
FGS
11212
Filling
the Period Gap for Massive Binaries
The
current census of binaries among the massive O-type stars is
seriously
incomplete for systems in the period range from years to
millennia
because the radial velocity variations are too small and the
angular
separations too close for easy detection. Here we propose to
discover
binaries in this observational gap through a Faint Guidance
Sensor
SNAP survey of relatively bright targets listed in the Galactic O
Star
Catalog. Our primary goal is to determine the binary frequency
among
those in the cluster/association, field, and runaway groups. The
results
will help us assess the role of binaries in massive star
formation
and in the processes that lead to the ejection of massive
stars
from their natal clusters. The program will also lead to the
identification
of new, close binaries that will be targets of long term
spectroscopic
and high angular resolution observations to determine
their
masses and distances. The results will also be important for the
interpretation
of the spectra of suspected and newly identified binary
and
multiple systems.
FGS
11211
An
Astrometric Calibration of Population II Distance Indicators
In
2002 HST produced a highly precise parallax for RR Lyrae. That
measurement
resulted in an absolute magnitude, M{V}= 0.61+/-0.11, a
useful
result, judged by the over ten refereed citations each year
since.
It is, however, unsatisfactory to have the direct,
parallax-based,
distance scale of Population II variables based on a
single
star. We propose, therefore, to obtain the parallaxes of four
additional
RR Lyrae stars and two Population II Cepheids, or
stars.
The Population II Cepheids lie with the RR Lyrae stars on a
common
K-band Period-Luminosity relation. Using these parallaxes to
inform
that relationship, we anticipate a zero-point error of 0.04
magnitude.
This result should greatly strengthen confidence in the
Population
II distance scale and increase our understanding of RR Lyrae
star
and Pop II Cepheid astrophysics.
WFPC2
11167
A
Unique High Resolution Window to Two Strongly Lensed Lyman Break
Galaxies
On rare
occasions, the otherwise very faint Lyman Break Galaxies {LBGs}
are
magnified by gravitational lensing to provide exceptional targets
for
detailed spectroscopic and imaging studies. We propose HST WFPC2 and
NICMOS
imaging of two strongly lensed Lyman Break Galaxies {LBGs} that
were
recently discovered by members of our team. These two LBGs -- the
"8
O'Clock Arc" and the "SDSS J1206+5142 Arc" -- are currently the
brightest
known LBGs, roughly 3 times brighter than the former
record-holder,
MS1512-cB58 {a.k.a. "cB58"}. The z=2.73 "8 O'Clock Arc"
extends
~10 arcsec in length and is magnified by a factor of 12. The
z=2.00
"SDSS J1206+5142 Arc" also extends ~10 arcsec in length and is
magnified
by a factor of 30. Due to their brightness and magnification,
these
two strongly lensed LBGs offer an unprecedented opportunity for
the
very detailed investigation of two individual galaxies at high
redshift.
We are currently pursuing a vigorous ground-based campaign to
obtain
multi-wavelength {UV, optical, NIR, radio} observations of these
two
LBGs, but our campaign currently lacks a means of obtaining
high-resolution
optical/NIR imaging -- a lack that currently only HST
can
address. Our prime objective for this proposal is to obtain high
resolution
HST images of these two systems with two-orbit WFPC2 images
in
the BVI bands and two-orbit NICMOS/NIC2 images in the J and H bands.
These
data will allow us to construct detailed lensing models, probe the
mass
and light profiles of the lenses and their environments, and
constrain
the star formation histories and rest-frame UV/optical
spectral
energy distributions of the LBGs.
WFPC2
11079
Treasury
Imaging of Star Forming Regions in the Local Group:
Complementing
the GALEX and NOAO Surveys
We propose
to use WFPC2 to image the most interesting star-forming
regions
in the Local Group galaxies, to resolve their young stellar
populations.
We will use a set of filters including F170W, which is
critical
to detect and characterize the most massive stars, to whose hot
temperatures
colors at longer wavelengths are not sensitive. WFPC2's
field
of view ideally matches the typical size of the star-forming
regions,
and its spatial resolution allows us to measure individual
stars,
given the proximity of these galaxies. The resulting H-R diagrams
will
enable studies of star-formation properties in these regions, which
cover
largely differing metallicities {a factor of 17, compared to the
factor
of 4 explored so far} and characteristics. The results will
further
our understanding of the star-formation process, of the
interplay
between massive stars and environment, the properties of dust,
and
will provide the key to interpret integrated measurements of
star-formation
indicators {UV, IR, Halpha} available for several
hundreds
more distant galaxies. Our recent deep surveys of these
galaxies
with GALEX {FUV, NUV} and ground-based imaging {UBVRI, Halpha,
[OIII]
and [SII]} provided the identification of the most relevant SF
sites.
In addition to our scientific analysis, we will provide catalogs
of
HST photometry in 6 bands, matched corollary ground-based data, and
UV,
Halpha and IR integrated measurements of the associations, for
comparison
of integrated star-formation indices to the resolved
populations.
We envisage an EPO component.
WFPC2
11038
Narrow
Band and Ramp Filter Closeout
These
observations are to improve calibration of narrow band and ramp
filters.
We also test for changes in the filter properties during
WFPC2's
14 years on-board HST.
WFPC2
11035
Photometric
Zero Points Closeout
Updated
zero points will be obtained by observing NGC 2419 for which
extensive
BVRI ground based observations exist, and the field in 47 Tuc
used
for frequent monitoring of ACS. For NGC 2419 emphasis is given to
repeating
observations obtained in earlier epochs, and to covering
filters
near standard BVRI. For 47 Tuc emphasis is given to covering a
large
set of broadband filters from F300W through F850LP to maximise
transformation
capabilities between filters of WFPC2 and ACS.
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.
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.
ACS/SBC
10864
Mapping
the Gaseous Content of Protoplanetary and Young Planetary
Systems
with ACS
One
of the key problems in planetary system formation is understanding
how
rapidly, and over what time interval Jovian planets can form. Dust
in
the protoplanetary disk is critical in planetesimal formation, but it
is
the gas which produces giant planets, and which is essential for
their
migration. However, compared to data on the circumstellar dust,
information
on the gas component is sparse, especially in the
planet-formation
zone. This severely limits our ability to put
observational
constraints on giant planet formation, except to note that
the
process must be largely complete by 12 Myr, given the paucity of
Herbig
Ae or classical T Tauri stars older than 10-12 Myr. In the FUV,
photo-excited
molecular hydrogen transitions have the requisite contrast
to
the stellar photosphere, accretion shock, and reflection nebulosity,
and
can be traced 50-100 AU from the exciting stars in both envelopes
and
outflow cavities and protoplanetary disks. Central disk cavities, an
expected
consequence of planet formation, larger than 0.1" are directly
detectable
in HST FUV spectra, while smaller cavities may be detected by
comparison
with protoplanetary disks which are still accreting onto
their
stars. We propose augmenting existing HST coronagraphic imagery of
6 Herbig
Fe and T Tauri disks with ACS Solar-Blind Channel Lyman alpha
imagery
and slitless spectroscopy simultaneously sampling the disk in
molecular
hydrogen and small-grain reflection nebulosity. These data
will
be used to quantify the amount of vertical stratification in these
disks,
to map the mass-loss geometry from the star, and to determine
whether
removal of molecular material precedes, lags, or is contemporary
with
clearing of the dust.
ACS/WFC
10812
Space
Motions for the Draco and Sextans Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
We
will use the powerful astrometric capabilities of HST to measure
proper
motions for the Draco and Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxies that
will
yield tangential velocities accurate to about 30 km/s. These two
galaxies
are the last inside a galactocentric radius of 200~kpc without
measured
proper motions. Knowing their orbits is critical for our
understanding
of the low-luminosity satellites of the Milky Way. In
particular
they are critical for understanding why Ursa Minor has
survived
tidal disruption on its plunging orbit and how Carina formed a
large
intermediate-age stellar population despite its small mass.
FLIGHT
OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant
Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports
of
potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)
HSTARS:
11044
- GSACQ(2,1,1) fails to acquire fine lock while LOS
Upon acquisition of signal at 12:53:01, one 486 ESB message
"A0A" (FGS
Fine Lock failed-Timed out waiting for fine lock) was observed.
GSACQ(2,1,1) at 11:52:45 appears to not have acquired fine lock,
#44
commands did not update from previous values seen at LOS 11:07:30.
All
acquisition events occurred while vehicle was LOS. OBAD map at
12:29:12
had RSS error of 1877.48 arcseconds, indicating that vehicle had
drifted
far off target.
REACQ(2,1,1) at 13:28:01 was successful.
COMPLETED
OPS REQUEST: (None)
COMPLETED
OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED
SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSacq
24
23
FGS
REacq
18
18
OBAD
with Maneuver 84
84
SIGNIFICANT
EVENTS: (None)