HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT       #4938

PERIOD COVERED: 5am September 24 - 5am September 25, 2009 (DOY 267/09:00z-268/09:00z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

COS/NUV 11651

Is the Atmosphere of the Hottest Known Transiting Exoplanet Evaporating?

WASP-12 is the hottest and the largest currently known transiting

exoplanet. It has the shortest orbital period and is the closest to its

host star. Previous spectacular HST observations revealed that the

atmosphere of HD 209458b appears to be evaporating away, though this

interpretation has recently been questioned. We propose ultraviolet

observations of WASP-12 to learn whether it is in a state of

hydrodynamic 'blow-off' as the work on HD 209458b would suggest. We will

obtain a precise radius for the planet, free from systematic errors

caused by the earth's atmosphere. We will use our data to hone models of

exoplanet atmospheres.

COS/NUV/FUV/WFC3/UVIS/IR 11520

COS-GTO: QSO Absorbers, Galaxies and Large-Scale Structures in the Local

Universe

This is a program to probe the large scale structure of baryons in the

universe, including addressing questions of baryon fraction, physical

conditions and relationships between absorbers and large-scale

structures of galaxies. Besides these specific goals, this proposed GTO

program also probes a large enough total path length in Ly alpha and OVI

to add significantly to what STIS/FUSE has already observed. Several

Galactic High Velocity Cloud Complexes also are probed by these

sightlines, particularly the M Complex. The total path length of this

proposed program for Ly alpha large-scale structure surveys is

delta_z~5.5.

We have selected a variety of targets to address these questions, under

the following subcategories:

1. Target 8 bright BL Lac objects to search for low contrast Ly alpha

absorbers from the warm-hot interstellar medium (WHIM).

2. Ly alpha cloud sizes: The targets are a bright AGN pair which yield

tangential distance separations of 100--500 kpc at z=0.01--0.05, where

galaxy surveys are excellent. This pair has two filaments and two voids

in this distance range.

3. Probes of starburst outflows: The targets are bright AGN, <= 100 kpc

in projection out of the minor axis of nearby starburst galaxies.

4. A large galaxy's gaseous halo: Three probes of the kinematics and

metallicity of a single L* galaxy halo. These observations includes

G130M, G160M exposures at SNR~20 and G285M at 2850A and SNR~10 for MgII.

The 2L* galaxy, ESO 157-G049 (cz=1678 km/s), being probed by these

sightlines has an available H I 21cm map from ATCA, H alpha imaging from

CTIO and long-slit spectra from MSSSO.

5. Dwarf galaxy winds: These targets probe the kinematics and

metallicities of outflows from active and inactive (in terms of star

formation) dwarfs.

COS/NUV/FUV/WFC3/UVIS/IR 11534

COS-GTO: Atmosphere of a Transiting Planet

COS observations of a transiting planet at different orbital locations

will be useful in identifying the chemical content, size, temperature,

and flows in the atmosphere of a transiting planet.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 11947

Extended Dark Monitoring

This program takes a series of darks to obtain darks (including

amplifier glow, dark current, and shading profiles) for all three

cameras in the read-out sequences used in Cycle 17. A set of 12 orbits

will be observed every two months for a total of 72 orbits for a 12

month Cycle 17. This is a continuation of Cycle 16 program 11330 scaled

down by ~80%.

The first orbit (Visit A0) should be scheduled in the NICMOS SMOV after

the DC Transfer Test (11406) and at least 36h before the Filter Wheel

Test (11407). Data download using fast track.

The following 28 orbits (visit A1-N2) should be scheduled AFTER the SMOV

Proposal 11407 (Filter Wheel Test). This is done in order to monitor the

dark current following an adjustment of the NCS set-point. These visits

should be executed until the final temperature is reached during SMOV.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8795

NICMOS Post-SAA Calibration - CR Persistence Part 6

This is 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 'Use After' 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.

NIC2/WFC3/IR 11548

Infrared Imaging of Protostars in the Orion A Cloud: The Role of

Environment in Star Formation

We propose NICMOS and WFC3/IR observations of a sample of 252

protostars identified in the Orion A cloud with the Spitzer Space

Telescope. These observations will image the scattered light escaping

the protostellar envelopes, providing information on the shapes of

outflow cavities, the inclinations of the protostars, and the overall

morphologies of the envelopes. In addition, we ask for Spitzer time to

obtain 55-95 micron spectra of 75 of the protostars. Combining these new

data with existing 3.6 to 70 micron photometry and forthcoming 5-40

micron spectra measured with the Spitzer Space Telescope, we will

determine the physical properties of the protostars such as envelope

density, luminosity, infall rate, and outflow cavity opening angle. By

examining how these properties vary with stellar density (i.e. clusters

vs. groups vs. isolation) and the properties of the surrounding

molecular cloud; we can directly measure how the surrounding environment

influences protostellar evolution, and consequently, the formation of

stars and planetary systems. Ultimately, this data will guide the

development of a theory of protostellar evolution.

STIS/CCD 11844

CCD Dark Monitor Part 1

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS/CCD 11846

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 1

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor the bias in the 1x1, 1x2,

2x1, and 2x2 bin settings at gain=1, and 1x1 at gain = 4, to build up

high-S/N superbiases and track the evolution of hot columns.

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

The behavior of the WFC3 UVIS CCD will be monitored daily with a set of

full-frame, four-amp bias and dark frames. A smaller set of 2Kx4K

subarray biases are acquired at less frequent intervals throughout the

cycle to support subarray science observations. The internals from this

proposal, along with those from the anneal procedure (Proposal 11909),

will be used to generate the necessary superbias and superdark reference

files for the calibration pipeline (CDBS).

WFC3/UVIS 11908

Cycle 17: UVIS Bowtie Monitor

Ground testing revealed an intermittent hysteresis type effect in the

UVIS detector (both CCDs) at the level of ~1%, lasting hours to days.

Initially found via an unexpected bowtie-shaped feature in flatfield

ratios, subsequent lab tests on similar e2v devices have since shown

that it is also present as simply an overall offset across the entire

CCD, i.e., a QE offset without any discernable pattern. These lab tests

have further revealed that overexposing the detector to count levels

several times full well fills the traps and effectively neutralizes the

bowtie. Each visit in this proposal acquires a set of three 3x3 binned

internal flatfields: the first unsaturated image will be used to detect

any bowtie, the second, highly exposed image will neutralize the bowtie

if it is present, and the final image will allow for verification that

the bowtie is gone.

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:

18711-0 - Adjust NCS PID Control Setpoints, Part Deux @ 267/1502z

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                       SCHEDULED      SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq               04                  04             

FGS REAcq               10                  10             

OBAD with Maneuver 04                  04             

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

FLASH REPORT:  NCS PID Control Setpoint Adjustment (77 K)

OR 18711-0 to adjust the NCS PID control setpoint temperature was

successfully completed at 267/15:02:35 UTC. The Prime (inactive - dewar)

setpoint was changed from 79.8 K to 81.8 K, and the Alternate (active -

weighted-average neon) setpoint was changed from 75.0 K to 77.0 K