HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class
Science
DAILY REPORT #4775
PERIOD COVERED: 5am January 21 - 5am January 22, 2009 (DOY
021/1000z-022/1000z)
OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED
WFPC2 10877
A Snapshot Survey of the Sites of Recent, Nearby
Supernovae
During the past few years, robotic {or nearly robotic}
searches for
supernovae {SNe}, most notably our Lick Observatory
Supernova Search
{LOSS}, have found hundreds of SNe, many of them in quite
nearby
galaxies {cz < 4000 km/s}. Most of the objects were
discovered before
maximum brightness, and have follow-up photometry and
spectroscopy; they
include some of the best-studied SNe to date. We propose
to conduct a
snapshot imaging survey of the sites of some of these
nearby objects, to
obtain late-time photometry that {through the shape of the
light and
color curves} will help reveal the origin of their
lingering energy. The
images will also provide high-resolution information on
the local
environments of SNe that are far superior to what we can
procure from
the ground. For example, we will obtain color-color and
color-magnitude
diagrams of stars in these SN sites, to determine the SN
progenitor
masses and constraints on the reddening. Recovery of the
SNe in the new
HST images will also allow us to actually pinpoint their
progenitor
stars in cases where pre- explosion images exist in the
HST archive.
This proposal is an extension of our successful Cycle 13
snapshot survey
with ACS. It is complementary to our Cycle 15 archival
proposal, which
is a continuation of our long-standing program to use
existing HST
images to glean information about SN environments.
FGS 11964
Post FGS1r AMA-Adjustment: OFAD Check and Alignment
Calibration, 2008
The FGS1 AMA optimization proposal (11963) leaves the AMA
mirror in a
new position, which shifts the FGS1r FOV relative to FGS2r
and FGS3 and
has the potential to change the FGS1r OFAD solution. This
proposal will
use the astrometric open cluster NGC 5617 to check for 1
mas size
changes in the OFAD and to establish the new alignment of
FGS1r relative
to FGS2r and FGS3 to a precision of approximately 25 mas.
The OFAD check
requires 4 HST orbits before, and 4 HST orbits after, the
AMA
adjustment. Each orbit observes the same stars in NGC 5617
with FGS1r in
POS mode. The alignment aspect of this proposal uses data
from these
same orbits. The ICRS positions of the relevant stars are
taken from the
UCAC catalog, but the proper motions taken from the
"special guide star
plate ZZZT" provided by
and FGS3, and astrometry targets that are common to GSC2,
UCAC, and
ZZZT. Each visit uses a unique guide star pair, so that
all the visits
taken together have guide stars spanning the guider FGSs
FOV.
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 11130
AGNs with Intermediate-mass Black Holes: Testing the Black
Hole-Bulge
Paradigm, Part II
The recent progress in the study of central black holes in
galactic
nuclei has led to a general consensus that supermassive
{10^6-10^9 solar
mass} black holes are closely connected with the formation
and
evolutionary history of large galaxies, especially their
bulge
component. Two outstanding issues, however, remain
unresolved. Can
central black holes form in the absence of a bulge? And
does the mass
function of central black holes extend below 10^6 solar
masses?
Intermediate-mass black holes {<10^6 solar masses}, if
they exist, may
offer important clues to the nature of the seeds of
supermassive black
holes. Using the SDSS, our group has successfully
uncovered a new
population of AGNs with intermediate-mass black holes that
reside in
low-luminosity galaxies. However, very little is known
about the
detailed morphologies or structural parameters of the host
galaxies
themselves, including the crucial question of whether they
have bulges
or not. Surprisingly, the majority of the targets of our
Cycle 14 pilot
program have structural properties similar to dwarf
elliptical galaxies.
The statistics from this initial study, however, are
really too sparse
to reach definitive conclusions on this important new
class of black
holes. We wish to extend this study to a larger sample, by
using the
Snapshot mode to obtain WFPC2 F814W images from a parent
sample of 175
AGNs with intermediate- mass black holes selected from our
final SDSS
search. We are particularly keen to determine whether the
hosts contain
bulges, and if so, how the fundamental plane properties of
the host
depend on the mass of their central black holes. We will
also
investigate the environment of this unique class of AGNs.
WFPC2 11944
Binaries at the Extremes of the H-R Diagram
We propose to use HST/Fine Guidance Sensor 1r to survey
for binaries
among some of the most massive, least massive, and oldest
stars in our
part of the Galaxy. FGS allows us to spatially resolve
binary systems
that are too faint to observe using ground-based, speckle
or optical
long baseline interferometry, and too close to resolve
with AO. We
propose a SNAP-style program of single orbit FGS TRANS
mode observations
of very massive stars in the cluster NGC 3603, luminous
blue variables,
nearby low mass main sequence stars, cool subdwarf stars,
and white
dwarfs. These observations will help us to (1) identify
systems suitable
for follow up studies for mass determination, (2) study
the role of
binaries in stellar birth and in advanced evolutionary
states, (3)
explore the fundamental properties of stars near the main
sequence-brown
dwarf boundary, (4) understand the role of binaries for
X-ray bright
systems, (5) find binaries among ancient and nearby
subdwarf stars, and
(6) help calibrate the white dwarf mass - radius relation.
WFPC2 11969
Satellite Search for Dawn Mission Targets, Vesta and Ceres
We propose to carry out a dedicated satellite search
program for
asteroids Vesta and Ceres. Despite being the two largest
asteroids, and
having clear evidence of a violent collisional history for
Vesta, Vesta
and Ceres do not have any satellites found so far, neither
have there
been any dedicated satellite search program for them
reported. We
propose to take short and long exposure mosaics to cover
the whole Hill
sphere while using specific observing strategies and image
processing
techniques to search in close to the center body. In
addition to its
significant scientific merit, this proposed project will
be important
for the planning of NASA's Dawn mission. Currently Ceres
is moving close
to the Earth, making it more difficult to cover the whole
stability
region of satellites with minimal HST orbit requirement.
Similar
geometry will not repeat until the second half of 2009.
Therefore we
request DD time.
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
11
11
FGS
REacq
0
0
OBAD with Maneuver
24
24
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)