HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY
REPORT #4654
PERIOD
COVERED: 5am July 16 - 5am July 17, 2008 (DOY 198/0900z-199/0900z)
OBSERVATIONS
SCHEDULED
NIC1/NIC2/NIC3
8795
NICMOS Post-SAA Calibration - CR Persistence Part 6
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 i
mages.
Each observation will need its own CRMAP, as different SAA
passages
leave different imprints on the NICMOS detectors.
NIC2
11237
The
Origin of the Break in the AGN Luminosity Function
We
propose to use NICMOS imaging to measure rest-frame optical
luminosities
and morphological properties of a complete sample of faint
AGN
host galaxies at redshifts z ~ 1.4. The targets are drawn from the
VLT-VIMOS
Deep Survey, and they constitute a sample of the lowest
luminosity
type 1 AGN known at z > 1. The spectroscopically estimated
black
hole masses are up to an order of magnitude higher than expected
given
their nuclear luminosities, implying highly sub-Eddington
accretion
rates. This exactly matches the prediction made by recent
theoretical
models of AGN evolution, according to which the faint end of
the
AGN luminosity function is populated mainly by big black holes that
have
already exhausted a good part of their fuel. In this proposal we
want
to test further predictions of that hypothesis, by focusing on the
host
galaxy properties of our low-luminosity, low- accretion AGN. If the
local
ratio between black hole and bulge masses holds at least
approximately
at these redshifts, one expects most of these
low-luminosity
AGN to reside in fairly big ellipticals with stellar
masses
around and above 10^11 solar masses (in contrast to the Seyfert
phenomenon
in the local universe). With NICMOS imaging we will find out
whether
that is true, implying also a sensitive test for the validity of
the
M_BH/M_bulge relation at z ~ 1.4.
NIC2
11547
Characterizing
Pre-Main Sequence Populations in Stellar Associations of
the
Large Magellanic Cloud
The
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) offers an extremely rich sample of
resolved
low-mass stars (below 1 Solar Mass) in the act of formation
that
has not been explored sufficiently yet. These pre-main sequence
(PMS)
stars provide a unique snapshot of the star formation process, as
it
is being recorded for the last ~20 Myr, and they give important
information
on the low-mass Initial Mass Function (IMF) of their host
stellar
systems. Studies of young, rich LMC clusters like 30 Doradus are
crowding
limited, even at the angular resolution facilitated by HST in
the
optical. To learn more about low-mass PMS stars in the LMC, one has
to
study less crowded regions like young stellar associations. We propose
to
employ WFPC2 to obtain deep photometry (V ~ 25.5 mag) of four
selected
LMC stellar associations in order to perform an original
optical
analysis of their red PMS and blue bright MS stellar
populations.
With these observations we aim at a comprehensive study,
which
will add substantial information on the most recent star formation
and
the IMF in the LMC. The data reduction and analysis will be
performed
with a 2D photometry software package especially developed by
us
for WFPC2 imaging of extended stellar associations with variable
background.
Our targets have been selected optimizing a combination of
criteria,
namely spatial resolution, crowding, low extinction, nebular
contamination,
and background confusion in comparison to other regions
in
the Local Group. Parallel NICMOS imaging will provide additional
information
on near-infrared properties of the stellar population in the
regions
surrounding these systems.
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.
WFPC2
11113
Binaries
in the Kuiper Belt: Probes of Solar System Formation and
Evolution
The
discovery of binaries in the Kuiper Belt and related small body
populations
is powering a revolutionary step forward in the study of
this
remote region. Three quarters of the known binaries in the Kuiper
Belt
have been discovered with HST, most by our snapshot surveys. The
statistics
derived from this work are beginning to yield surprising and
unexpected
results. We have found a strong concentration of binaries
among
low-inclination Classicals, a possible size cutoff to binaries
among
the Centaurs, an apparent preference for nearly equal mass
binaries,
and a strong increase in the number of binaries at small
separations.
We propose to continue this successful program in Cycle 16;
we
expect to discover at least 13 new binary systems, targeted to
subgroups
where these discoveries can have the greatest impact.
WFPC2
11122
Expanding
PNe: Distances and Hydro Models
We
propose to obtain repeat narrowband images of a sample of eighteen
planetary
nebulae {PNe} which have HST/WFPC2 archival data spanning time
baselines
of a decade. All of these targets have previous high
signal-to-noise
WFPC2/PC observations and are sufficiently nearby to
have
readily detectable expansion signatures after a few years. Our main
scientific
objectives are {a} to determine precise distances to these
PNe
based on their angular expansions, {b} to test detailed and highly
successful
hydrodynamic models that predict nebular morphologies and
expansions
for subsamples of round/elliptical and axisymmetric PNe, and
{c}
to monitor the proper motions of nebular microstructures in an
effort
to learn more about their physical nature and formation
mechanisms.
The proposed observations will result in high-precision
distances
to a healthy subsample of PNe, and from this their expansion
ages,
luminosities, CSPN properties, and masses of their ionized cores.
With
good distances and our hydro models, we will be able to determine
fundamental
parameters {such as nebular and central star masses,
luminosity,
age}. The same images allow us to monitor the changing
overall
ionization state and to search for the surprisingly
non-homologous
growth patterns to bright elliptical PNe of the same sort
seen
by Balick & Hajian {2004} in NGC 6543. Non-uniform growth is a sure
sign
of active pressure imbalances within the nebula that require
careful
hydro models to understand.
FLIGHT
OPERATIONS SUMMARY:
Significant
Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports
of
potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)
HSTARS:
11396
- GSAcq (1,2,1) failed due to Search Radius Limit Exceeded on FGS 2
At 198/17:07:41, GSAcq (1,2,1) scheduled from 17:04:07 - 17:11:19
failed
to RGA control due to Search Radius Limit Exceeded on FGS 2.
Received
flags QF2SRLEX and QF2STOPF on FGS 2. Received 486 ESB message a07
"Exceeded SRL". FGS 1 achieved Fine Lock at 17:06:49.
Observations affected: NICMOS 72 - 77, WFPC #88 to 108.
REACQ(1,2,1) at 18:37:41, 20:13:31 and 21:49:21 alos failed.
11398
- OBAD Failed Quaternion (ESB 1903)
At 199/06:12:54 OBAD2 scheduled at 199/06:10:05 using FHST
Trackers 1
and 3 failed. OBAD Flag mnemonic GOBSTAT posted
"AttDtErr" status. One
486 ESB 1903 "OBAD Failed Quaternion" was received at
199/06:12:54.
Additional 486 ESB 1806 (T2G Open Loop Timeout) received at
199/06:12:15. The subsequent guide star did not attempt.
11399
- GSAcq (1,2,1) not attempted, open loop timer expired
GSAcq (1,2,1) scheduled at 199/06:16:42 - 06:24:47 was not
attempted due
to open loop timer expiration. The acquistion failure resulted in
unplanned
transition to M2G.
The subsequent REAcq(1,2,1) scheduled at 199/07:52:19 was not
attempted.
One 486 ESB 1903 "OBAD Failed Quaternion" was received.
Additional ESB
1806 (T2G Open Loop Timeout)was received. HST transitioned to
unplanned M2G.
Possible Observations affected: NICMOS #84-93 Proposal
#08795 & 11545.
COMPLETED
OPS REQUEST:
17543-2
- Dump OBAD tables after failed OBAD (Generic) @ 199/08:02z
COMPLETED
OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED
SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSacq
07
05
FGS
REacq
07
03
OBAD
with Maneuver
28
27
SIGNIFICANT
EVENTS: (None)