HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT      #4665

PERIOD COVERED: 5am July 31 - 5am August 01, 2008 (DOY 213/0900z-214/0900z)

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.

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 11202

The Structure of Early-type Galaxies: 0.1-100 Effective Radii

The structure, formation and evolution of early-type galaxies is still

largely an open problem in cosmology: how does the Universe evolve from

large linear scales dominated by dark matter to the highly non-linear

scales of galaxies, where baryons and dark matter both play important,

interacting, roles? To understand the complex physical processes

involved in their formation scenario, and why they have the tight

scaling relations that we observe today {e.g. the Fundamental Plane}, it

is critically important not only to understand their stellar structure,

but also their dark-matter distribution from the smallest to the largest

scales. Over the last three years the SLACS collaboration has developed

a toolbox to tackle these issues in a unique and encompassing way by

combining new non-parametric strong lensing techniques, stellar

dynamics, and most recently weak gravitational lensing, with

high-quality Hubble Space Telescope imaging and VLT/Keck spectroscopic

data of early-type lens systems. This allows us to break degeneracies

that are inherent to each of these techniques separately and probe the

mass structure of early-type galaxies from 0.1 to 100 effective radii.

The large dynamic range to which lensing is sensitive allows us both to

probe the clumpy substructure of these galaxies, as well as their

low-density outer haloes. These methods have convincingly been

demonstrated, by our team, using smaller pilot-samples of SLACS lens

systems with HST data. In this proposal, we request observing time with

WFPC2 and NICMOS to observe 53 strong lens systems from SLACS, to obtain

complete multi-color imaging for each system. This would bring the total

number of SLACS lens systems to 87 with completed HST imaging and

effectively doubles the known number of galaxy-scale strong lenses. The

deep HST images enable us to fully exploit our new techniques, beat down

low-number statistics, and probe the structure and evolution of

early-type galaxies, not only with a uniform data-set an order of

magnitude larger than what is available now, but also with a fully

coherent and self-consistent methodological approach!

WFPC2 11203

A Search for Circumstellar Disks and Planetary-Mass Companions around

Brown Dwarfs in Taurus

During a 1-orbit program in Cycle 14, we used WFPC2 to obtain the first

direct image of a circumstellar disk around a brown dwarf. These data

have provided fundamental new constraints on the formation process of

brown dwarfs and the properties of their disks. To search for additional

direct detections of disks around brown dwarfs and to search for

planetary-mass companions to these objects, we propose a WFPC2 survey of

32 brown dwarfs in the Taurus star-forming region.

WFPC2 11218

Snapshot Survey for Planetary Nebulae in Globular Clusters of the Local

Group

Planetary nebulae {PNe} in globular clusters {GCs} raise a number of

interesting issues related to stellar and galactic evolution. The number

of PNe known in Milky Way GCs, 4, is surprisingly low if one assumes

that all stars pass through a PN stage. However, it is likely that the

remnants of stars now evolving in Galactic GCs leave the AGB so slowly

that any ejected nebula dissipates long before the star becomes hot

enough to ionize it. Thus there should not be ANY PNe in Milky Way

GCs--but there are four! It has been suggested that these PNe are the

result of mergers of binary stars within GCs, i.e., that they are

descendants of blue stragglers. The frequency of occurrence of PNe in

external galaxies poses more questions, because it shows a range of

almost an order of magnitude. I propose a Snapshot survey aimed at

discovering PNe in the GC systems of Local Group galaxies more distant

than the Magellanic Clouds. These clusters, some of which may be much

younger than their counterparts in the Milky Way, might contain many

more PNe than those of our own galaxy. I will use the standard technique

of emission-line and continuum imaging, which easily discloses PNe.

WFPC2 11316

HST Cycle 16 & Pre-SM4 Optical Monitor

This is a continuation of the Cycle 15 & pre-SM4 Optical Monitor, 11020.

Please see that proposal for a more complete description of the

observing strategy. The 6 visits comprising this proposal observe two

single standard stars with WFPC2/PC in order to establish overall OTA

focal length for the purposes of focus maintenance. The goal of this

monitoring before SM4 is to establish a best estimate of the OTA focus

entering SMOV.

WFPC2 11544

The Dynamical Legacy of Star Formation

We propose to use WFPC2 to conduct a wide-field imaging survey of the

young cluster IC348. This program, in combination with archival HST

observations, will allow us to measure precise proper motions for

individual cluster members, characterizing the intra-cluster velocity

dispersion and directly studying the dynamical signatures of star

formation and early cluster evolution. Our projected astrometric

precision (~1 mas in each epoch) will allow us to calculate individual

stellar velocities to unprecedented precision (<0.5 mas/yr; <1 km/s) and

directly relate these velocities to observed spatial substructure within

the cluster. This survey will also allow us to probe small-scale star

formation physics by searching for high-velocity stars ejected from

decaying multiple systems, expanding our knowledge of multiplicity in

dense environments, and identifying new substellar and planetary-mass

cluster members based on kinematic membership tests.

WFPC2 11805

WFPC2 Cycle 16 Photometric Characterization

Provide a check of the zeropoints and long-term contamination rates in

WFPC2 filters. Filter/chip combinations are selected to support cycle 16

observers, and monitor for primary photometric filters. PC1 and WF3 only

in this proposal.

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                06                  06                 

OBAD with Maneuver  26                  26                

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)