HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

 

DAILY REPORT      #5026

 

PERIOD COVERED: 5am February 3 - 5am February 4, 2010 (DOY 034/10:00z-035/10:00z)

 

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

 

ACS/WFC 11995

 

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 2)

 

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 320 orbits (20 weeks) from 1 February 2010 to 20 June

2010.

 

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/CC/MA 11516

 

COS-GTO: Cold ISM

 

With the COS, we will be able to observe interstellar spectra in a new

regime, translucent clouds, for atomic, ionic, and molecular lines and

bands, and extinction curves. The COS will allow us to observe stars

with total visual extinctions up to 10 magnitudes, and the grain size

indicator Rv up to 4.5. In translucent clouds we expect to see the

transition from neutral and ionized carbon to mostly C I, and then from

there, we should expect to see carbon increasingly locked up in

molecular form, as CO. Other species are expected to make similar

transitions, so we should find detectable abundances of molecules such

as H2O, OH, CS, CH2, SiO, and others; also, lower ionization fractions

of the metallic elements - and higher depletions of those elements as

well. Given that we expect to find higher depletions, we should see an

altered grain size distribution, which may show up in the extinction

curves, probably as lower far-UV extinction than in diffuse clouds.

Finally, we will search for neutral PAHs in absorption, as diffuse bands

in the UV, paralleling the optical DIBs (which are thought by some

scientists to be formed by singly-ionized PAHs). In translucent clouds,

models show that the PAHs will be neutral, not in cationic form.

 

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/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/UVIS 11724

 

Direct Age Determination of the Local Group dE Galaxies NGC 147 and NGC

185

 

The origin of dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies remains a mystery and the

dE galaxies of the Local Group provide the best opportunity to study

this galaxy class in detail. We propose to obtain ACS photometry of main

sequence turnoff stars in the M31 dE satellites NGC 147 and NGC 185.

Because these galaxies have little to no stars younger than 1 Gyr,

resolving the main sequence turnoff is required to directly quantify

their star formation histories. NGC 147 and NGC 185 are the only two dEs

for which a clean measurement is feasible with the HST. This proposal

was accepted in Cycle 15, but little data were taken before the failure

of ACS. The main sequence turnoffs of NGC 147 and NGC 185 are expected

to be at an apparent magnitude of V=29; we request F606W/F814W imaging

one half magnitude fainter than this limit (three magnitudes fainter

than the deepest previous dE observations). Quantifying the ratio of old

to intermediate-age stars will allow us to discriminate between

competing models of dE formation. On-going Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy of

several hundred red giant stars in each of these two dE galaxies,

coupled with dynamical modeling and spectral synthesis, will complement

the ACS measurement by providing information on chemical abundance

patterns, dark matter content and internal dynamics. The proposed ACS

data will be the first to directly quantify the onset and duration of

star formation episodes in dE galaxies, and will thereby form the

cornerstone in what promises to be the most comprehensive study of this

class of galaxies.

 

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/IR 11926

 

IR Zero Points

 

We will measure and monitor the zeropoints through the IR filters using

observations of the white dwarf standard stars, GD153, GD71 and GD191B2B

and the solar analog standard star, P330E. Data will be taken monthly

during Cycle 17. Observations of the star cluster, NGC 104, are made

twice to check color transformations. We expect an accuracy of 2% in the

wide filter zeropoints relative to the HST photometric system, and 5% in

the medium- and narrow-band filters.

 

WFC3/UVIS 11594

 

A WFC3 Grism Survey for Lyman Limit Absorption at z=2

 

We propose to conduct a spectroscopic survey of Lyman limit absorbers at

redshifts 1.8 < z < 2.5, using WFC3 and the G280 grism. This proposal

intends to complete an approved Cycle 15 SNAP program (10878), which was

cut short due to the ACS failure. We have selected 64 quasars at 2.3 < z

< 2.6 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Spectroscopic Quasar Sample, for

which no BAL signature is found at the QSO redshift and no strong metal

absorption lines are present at z > 2.3 along the lines of sight. The

survey has three main observational goals. First, we will determine the

redshift frequency dn/dz of the LLS over the column density range 16.0 <

log(NHI) < 20.3 cm^-2. Second, we will measure the column density

frequency distribution f(N) for the partial Lyman limit systems (PLLS)

over the column density range 16.0 < log(NHI) < 17.5 cm^-2. Third, we

will identify those sightlines which could provide a measurement of the

primordial D/H ratio. By carrying out this survey, we can also help

place meaningful constraints on two key quantities of cosmological

relevance. First, we will estimate the amount of metals in the LLS using

the f(N), and ground based observations of metal line transitions.

Second, by determining f(N) of the PLLS, we can constrain the amplitude

of the ionizing UV background at z~2 to a greater precision. This survey

is ideal for a snapshot observing program, because the on-object

integration times are all well below 30 minutes, and follow-up

observations from the ground require minimal telescope time due to the

QSO sample being bright.

 

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 11907

 

UVIS Cycle 17 Contamination Monitor

 

The UV throughput of WFC3 during Cycle 17 is monitored via weekly

standard star observations in a subset of key filters covering 200-600nm

and F606W, F814W as controls on the red end. The data will provide a

measure of throughput levels as a function of time and wavelength,

allowing for detection of the presence of possible contaminants.

 

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               10              10     

FGS REAcq               07              07     

OBAD with Maneuver 09              09     

 

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)