HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science
DAILY
REPORT #5016
PERIOD
COVERED: 5am January 20 - 5am January 21, 2010 (DOY 020/10:00z-021/10:00z)
OBSERVATIONS
SCHEDULED
ACS/WFC3
11879
CCD
Daily Monitor (Part 1)
This
program comprises basic tests for measuring the read noise and dark
current
of the ACS WFC and for tracking the growth of hot pixels. The
recorded
frames are used to create bias and dark reference images for
science
data reduction and calibration. This program will be executed
four
days per week (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) for the duration of Cycle 17. To
facilitate
scheduling, this program is split into three proposals. This
proposal
covers 352 orbits (22 weeks) from 31 August 2009 to 31 January
2010.
ACS/WFC3
11882
CCD
Hot Pixel Annealing
All
the data for this program is acquired using internal targets (lamps)
only,
so all of the exposures should be taken during Earth occultation
time
(but not during SAA passages). This program emulates the ACS
pre-flight
ground calibration and post launch SMOV testing (program
8948),
so that results from each epoch can be directly compared.
Extended
Pixel Edge Response (EPER) and First Pixel Response (FPR) data
will
be obtained over a range of signal levels for the Wide Field
Channel
(WFC). The High Resolution Channel (HRC) visits have been
removed
since it could not be repaired during SM4.
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.
STIS/CCD/MA2
11674
A
STIS NUV Search for Shocked-Interstellar and Circumstellar Gas towards
the
Debris Disk System, HD 61005
Circumstellar
debris disks provide the principle window for
investigating
planet formation and evolution on timescales of 10-100
Myr.
Unlike their younger counterparts, debris disks no longer contain
primordial
material. The dust observed in these objects is instead
produced
by collisional erosion of larger parent bodies in the
developing
planetary system. Currently, only five confirmed debris disks
have
detected circumstellar gas, studied primarily through UV absorption
spectroscopy.
The exact production mechanisms for this replenished gas
are
presently poorly constrained. However, the few objects studied so
far
have revealed a wide range of intriguing properties, including a
stable
Keplerian gas disk maintained by its high carbon abundance (Beta
Pic),
and a rapidly expelled population of gas produced in collisions
between
unstable planetesimals (Sigma Her). To add to this important set
of
observations, we propose to obtain NUV STIS spectroscopy of the
debris
disk host, HD 61005, a nearly edge-on debris disk notable for its
swept
asymmetric morphology. These observations allow the likely
detection
of circumstellar gas, making HD 61005 the first solar-type
debris
disk host with gas detected in this way. Thus, the proposed
observations
provide the unique opportunity to study gas in a debris
disk
analogous to our early solar system. In addition to potentially
detecting
circumstellar gas associated with this system, HD 61005 offers
the
possibility of tracing interstellar bow-shocked gas. HD 61005 is a
unique
debris disk in terms of its significant interaction with the
interstellar
medium. The proposed observations will, therefore, be the
first
to directly probe the interaction between a debris disk and its
surrounding
interstellar material. STIS is ideally suited for this
experiment,
providing sensitive NUV spectra with the required balance
between
spectral resolution and wavelength coverage.
STIS/MA1/MA2
11857
STIS
Cycle 17 MAMA Dark Monitor
This
proposal monitors the behavior of the dark current in each of the
MAMA
detectors.
The
basic monitor takes two 1380s ACCUM darks each week with each
detector.
However, starting Oct 5, pairs are only included for weeks
that
the LRP has external MAMA observations planned. The weekly pairs of
exposures
for each detector are linked so that they are taken at
opposite
ends of the same SAA free interval. This pairing of exposures
will
make it easier to separate long and short term temporal variability
from
temperature dependent changes.
For
both detectors, additional blocks of exposures are taken once every
six
months. These are groups of five 1314s FUV-MAMA Time-Tag darks or
five
3x315s NUV ACCUM darks distributed over a single SAA-free interval.
This
will give more information on the brightness of the FUV MAMA dark
current
as a function of the amount of time that the HV has been on, and
for
the NUV MAMA will give a better measure of the short term
temperature
dependence.
WFC3/ACS/IR
11677
Is
47 Tuc Young? Measuring its White Dwarf Cooling Age and Completing a
Hubble
Legacy
With
this proposal we will firmly establish the age of 47 Tuc from its
cooling
white dwarfs. 47 Tuc is the nearest and least reddened of the
metal-rich
disk globular clusters. It is also the template used for
studying
the giant branches of nearby resolved galaxies. In addition,
the
age sensitive magnitude spread between the main sequence turnoff and
horizontal
branch is identical for 47 Tuc, two bulge globular clusters
and
the bulge field population. A precise relative age constraint for 47
Tuc,
compared to the halo clusters M4 and NGC 6397, both of which we
recently
dated via white dwarf cooling, would therefore constrain when
the
bulge formed relative to the old halo globular clusters. Of
particular
interest is that with the higher quality ACS data on NGC
6397,
we are now capable with the technique of white dwarf cooling of
determining
ages to an accuracy of +/-0.4 Gyrs at the 95% confidence
level.
Ages derived from the cluster turnoff are not currently capable
of
reaching this precision. The important role that 47 Tuc plays in
galaxy
formation studies, and as the metal-rich template for the
globular
clusters, makes the case for a white dwarf cooling age for this
metal-rich
cluster compelling.
Several
recent analyses have suggested that 47 Tuc is more than 2 Gyrs
younger
than the Galactic halo. Others have suggested an age similar to
that
of the most metal poor globular clusters. The current situation is
clearly
uncertain and obviously a new approach to age dating this
important
cluster is required.
With
the observations of 47 Tuc, this project will complete a legacy for
HST.
It will be the third globular cluster observed for white dwarf
cooling;
the three covering almost the full metallicity range of the
cluster
system. Unless JWST has its proposed bluer filters (700 and 900
nm)
this science will not be possible perhaps for decades until a large
optical
telescope is again in space. Ages for globular clusters from the
main
sequence turnoff are less precise than those from white dwarf
cooling
making the science with the current proposal truly urgent.
WFC3/IR
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
WFC3
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!
WFC3/IR
11915
IR
Internal Flat Fields
This
program is the same as 11433 (SMOV) and depends on the completion
of
the IR initial alignment (Program 11425). This version contains three
instances
of 37 internal orbits: to be scheduled early, middle, and near
the
end of Cycle 17, in order to use the entire 110-orbit allocation.
In
this test, we will study the stability and structure of the IR
channel
flat field images through all filter elements in the WFC3-IR
channel.
Flats will be monitored, i.e. to capture any temporal trends in
the
flat fields and delta flats produced. High signal observations will
provide
a map of the pixel-to- pixel flat field structure, as well as
identify
the positions of any dust particles.
WFC3/UVIS
11628
Globular
Cluster Candidates for Hosting a Central Black Hole
We
are continuing our study of the dynamical properties of globular
clusters
and we propose to obtain surface brightness profiles for high
concentration
clusters. Our results to date show that the distribution
of
central surface brightness slopes do not conform to standard models.
This
has important implications for how they form and evolve, and
suggest
the possible presence of central intermediate-mass black holes.
From
our previous archival proposals (AR-9542 and AR-10315), we find
that
many high concentration globular clusters do not have flat cores or
steep
central cusps, instead they show weak cusps. Numerical simulations
suggest
that clusters with weak cusps may harbor intermediate-mass black
holes
and we have one confirmation of this connection with omega
Centauri.
This cluster shows a shallow cusp in its surface brightness
profile,
while kinematical measurements suggest the presence of a black
hole
in its center. Our goal is to extend these studies to a sample
containing
85% of the Galactic globular clusters with concentrations
higher
than 1.7 and look for objects departing from isothermal behavior.
The
ACS globular cluster survey (GO-10775) provides enough objects to
have
an excellent coverage of a wide range of galactic clusters, but it
contains
only a couple of the ones with high concentration. The proposed
sample
consists of clusters whose light profile can only be adequately
measured
from space- based imaging. This would take us close to
completeness
for the high concentration cases and therefore provide a
more
complete list of candidates for containing a central black hole.
The
dataset will also be combined with our existing kinematic
measurements
and enhanced with future kinematic studies to perform
detailed
dynamical modeling.
WFC3/UVIS
11657
The
Population of Compact Planetary Nebulae in the Galactic Disk
We
propose to secure narrow- and broad-band images of compact planetary
nebulae
(PNe) in the Galactic Disk to study the missing link of the
early
phases of post-AGB evolution. Ejected AGB envelopes become PNe
when
the gas is ionized. PNe expand, and, when large enough, can be
studied
in detail from the ground. In the interim, only the HST
capabilities
can resolve their size, morphology, and central stars. Our
proposed
observations will be the basis for a systematic study of the
onset
of morphology. Dust properties of the proposed targets will be
available
through approved Spitzer/IRS spectra, and so will the
abundances
of the alpha-elements. We will be able thus to explore the
interconnection
of morphology, dust grains, stellar evolution, and
populations.
The target selection is suitable to explore the nebular and
stellar
properties across the galactic disk, and to set constraints on
the
galactic evolutionary models through the analysis of metallicity and
population
gradients.
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: (None)
COMPLETED
OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSAcq
8
8
FGS
REAcq
7
7
OBAD
with Maneuver 7
7
SIGNIFICANT
EVENTS: (None)