HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT      # 4524

PERIOD COVERED: UT January 010, 2008 (DOY 010)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/SBC 11011

Dissecting An Accretion Disk

We will use 5 epochs of CXO and HST imaging to determine the X-ray and

UV size of the accretion disk of the lensed quasar RXJ1131--1231 using

microlensing. Based on preliminary data, we find that the X-ray source

is roughly 1/10 the size of the accretion disk in the rest- frame

B-band. The new observations will significantly reduce the uncertainties

in this estimate, provide a comparison between the size of the X-ray

source and the size of the accretion disk in the rest frame ultraviolet,

and have the signal-to-noise ratio necessary to begin examining the size

of the hard and soft-band X-ray emission regions separately. The results

will quantitatively test accretion disk theory and X-ray emission

mechanisms.

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.

NIC1/NIC3 10924

Constraints on the Assembly and Dynamical Masses of z~2 Galaxies

We propose deep NICMOS/NIC2 F160W imaging of seven star-forming galaxies

at z~2. These galaxies comprise an entirely unique sample, with not only

redshifts measured from optical and near-IR spectra, but also

SINFONI/VLT near-IR integral field spectroscopic measurements providing

kinematic maps of H-alpha emission out to radii of >=10 kpc. We aim to

determine the dynamical masses and evolutionary states of these systems,

as part of the larger goal of understanding how mass is assembled in

distant galaxies. In order to interpret our novel H-alpha integral field

maps in terms of mass, we require detailed knowledge of the structural

parameters of our target objects at rest-frame optical wavelengths and

on ~1 kpc scales. We want to establish if the mass is distributed in a

disk, bulge, or merging sub-units, and if we can detect tidal features

associated with a merger. F160W imaging with NICMOS/NIC2 provides the

perfect combination of sensitivity and resolution to address these

questions, and arrive at the fundamental quantity: the dynamical mass.

NIC2 11142

Revealing the Physical Nature of Infrared Luminous Galaxies at 0.3

We aim to determine physical properties of IR luminous galaxies at

0.3<z<2.7 by requesting coordinated HST/NIC2 and MIPS 70um observations

of a unique, 24um flux-limited sample with complete Spitzer mid-IR

spectroscopy. The 150 sources investigated in this program have S{24um}

> 0.8mJy and their mid-IR spectra have already provided the majority

targets with spectroscopic redshifts {0.3<z<2.7}. The proposed

150~orbits of NIC2 and 66~hours of MIPS 70um will provide the physical

measurements of the light distribution at the rest-frame ~8000A and

better estimates of the bolometric luminosity. Combining these

parameters together with the rich suite of spectral diagnostics from the

mid-IR spectra, we will {1} measure how common mergers are among LIRGs

and ULIRGs at 0.3<z<2.7, and establish if major mergers are the drivers

of z>1 ULIRGs, as in the local Universe. {2} study the co-evolution of

star formation and blackhole accretion by investigating the relations

between the fraction of starburst/AGN measured from mid-IR spectra vs.

HST morphologies, L{bol} and z. {3} obtain the current best estimates of

the far-IR emission, thus L{bol} for this sample, and establish if the

relative contribution of mid-to-far IR dust emission is correlated with

morphology {resolved vs. unresolved}.

WEPC2 11196

An Ultraviolet Survey of Luminous Infrared Galaxies in the Local

Universe

At luminosities above 10^11.4 L_sun, the space density of far-infrared

selected galaxies exceeds that of optically selected galaxies. These

Luminous Infrared Galaxies {LIRGs} are primarily interacting or merging

disk galaxies undergoing starbursts and creating/fueling central AGN. We

propose far {ACS/SBC/F140LP} and near {WFPC2/PC/F218W} UV imaging of a

sample of 27 galaxies drawn from the complete IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy

Sample {RBGS} LIRGs sample and known, from our Cycle 14 B and I-band ACS

imaging observations, to have significant numbers of bright {23 < B < 21

mag} star clusters in the central 30 arcsec. The HST UV data will be

combined with previously obtained HST, Spitzer, and GALEX images to {i}

calculate the ages of the clusters as function of merger stage, {ii}

measure the amount of UV light in massive star clusters relative to

diffuse regions of star formation, {iii} assess the feasibility of using

the UV slope to predict the far-IR luminosity {and thus the star

formation rate} both among and within IR-luminous galaxies, and {iv}

provide a much needed catalog of rest- frame UV morphologies for

comparison with rest-frame UV images of high-z LIRGs and Lyman Break

Galaxies. These observations will achieve the resolution required to

perform both detailed photometry of compact structures and spatial

correlations between UV and redder wavelengths for a physical

interpretation our IRX-Beta results. The HST UV data, combined with the

HST ACS, Spitzer, Chandra, and GALEX observations of this sample, will

result in the most comprehensive study of luminous starburst galaxies to

date.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports

of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)

HSTARS:

11137 - REAcq (1,2,1) failed to RGA Hold

           At 010/11:15:55 REAcq (1,2,1) scheduled from 010/10:36:39 - 10:44:03 had

           failed to RGA Hold due to QSTOP and QF2STOPF flags on FGS 2.

           Pre-acquisition OBAD #1 & #2 unavailable due to LOS. OBAD MAP RSS value

           = 12.82 a-s.

11139 - GSacq(1,3,1) fails to RGA control

           GSacq(1,3,1) scheduled at 010/16:16:39 failed to RGA control. 486 ESB

           message "A07" ("FGS Coarse Track failed - Time out waiting for Data

           Valid") was received. No FGS flags were seen. OBAD prior to GSACQ at

           16:09:46 had RSS error of 7.85 arcseconds

           REacq(1,3,1) at 17:52:31 also failed with another "A07" ESB and no FGS

           flags. OBAD at 17:45:40 had RSS error of 16.55 arc seconds.

           REacq(1,3,1) at 19:29:05 also failed. There were no flags and a A07 was

           received. OBAD at 19:21:34 had RSS error of 14.82 arc seconds.

           REacq(1,3,1) at 21:04:57 also failed with no flags. ESB A07 was

           received. OBAD at 20:57:28 had RSS error of 1.48 arc seconds.

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                       SCHEDULED      SUCCESSFUL 

FGS GSacq                08                07      

FGS REacq                06                02       

OBAD with Maneuver  28                28               

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)