HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5118

PERIOD COVERED: 5am June 15 - 5am June 16, 2010 (DOY 166/09:00z-167/09:00z)

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               6               6

FGS REAcq               9               9

OBAD with Maneuver 4               4

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

COS/NUV 11538

COS-GTO: Imaging of Mid-UV Emissions from Io in Eclipse

The atmosphere and corona of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io emit light at a

wide variety of wavelengths, from FUV neutral O and S lines to SO

emission at 1.7 microns. These emissions provide important constraints

on the distribution and chemistry of Io's atmosphere, and Io's

interaction with the Jovian magnetosphere. The neutral O and S FUV

emissions, shortward of 2000, have been imaged extensively by HST/STIS

and visible emissions (from neutral Na, K and O line emission, and SO2

continuum emission) have been imaged by the Galileo, Cassini, and New

Horizons spacecraft, but the spatial distribution of emissions in the

2000-3000 region, thought to be dominated by SO2 electron impact

continuum emission, has not yet been determined. Earlier long-slit

observations with STIS indicated strong concentration of 2800? emission

over the active volcano Prometheus (Jessup et al. 2004), suggesting

local volcanic control, but Cassini images suggest that the SO2

continuum seen at longer wavelengths is instead concentrated over the

sub-Jovian and anti-Jovian points where there are magnetic connections

between Io and the Jovian magnetosphere- the anti-Jovian point is close

to Prometheus. A series of 200-second integrations taken in Jupiter

eclipse should determine whether emission is concentrated over volcanos

or over the sub-Jovian point, and should be able to observe motion of

the emission due to changing magnetic field orientation if it is

magnetically controlled. This observation will also provide experience

in the use of COS in imaging mode.

COS/NUV/FUV 11598

How Galaxies Acquire their Gas: A Map of Multiphase Accretion and

Feedback in Gaseous Galaxy Halos

We propose to address two of the biggest open questions in galaxy

formation - how galaxies acquire their gas and how they return it to the

IGM - with a concentrated COS survey of diffuse multiphase gas in the

halos of SDSS galaxies at z = 0.15 - 0.35. Our chief science goal is to

establish a basic set of observational facts about the physical state,

metallicity, and kinematics of halo gas, including the sky covering

fraction of hot and cold material, the metallicity of infall and

outflow, and correlations with galaxy stellar mass, type, and color -

all as a function of impact parameter from 10 - 150 kpc. Theory suggests

that the bimodality of galaxy colors, the shape of the luminosity

function, and the mass-metallicity relation are all influenced at a

fundamental level by accretion and feedback, yet these gas processes are

poorly understood and cannot be predicted robustly from first

principles. We lack even a basic observational assessment of the

multiphase gaseous content of galaxy halos on 100 kpc scales, and we do

not know how these processes vary with galaxy properties. This ignorance

is presently one of the key impediments to understanding galaxy

formation in general. We propose to use the high-resolution gratings

G130M and G160M on the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph to obtain sensitive

column density measurements of a comprehensive suite of multiphase ions

in the spectra of 43 z < 1 QSOs lying behind 43 galaxies selected from

the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. In aggregate, these sightlines will

constitute a statistically sound map of the physical state and

metallicity of gaseous halos, and subsets of the data with cuts on

galaxy mass, color, and SFR will seek out predicted variations of gas

properties with galaxy properties. Our interpretation of these data will

be aided by state-of-the-art hydrodynamic simulations of accretion and

feedback, in turn providing information to refine and test such models.

We will also use Keck, MMT, and Magellan (as needed) to obtain optical

spectra of the QSOs to measure cold gas with Mg II, and optical spectra

of the galaxies to measure SFRs and to look for

outflows. In addition to our other science goals, these observations

will help place the Milky Way's population of multiphase, accreting High

Velocity Clouds (HVCs) into a global context by identifying analogous

structures around other galaxies. Our program is designed to make

optimal use of the unique capabilities of COS to address our science

goals and also generate a rich dataset of other absorption-line systems

STIS/CC 11845

CCD Dark Monitor Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS/CC 11847

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 2

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 11849

STIS CCD Hot Pixel Annealing

This purpose of this activity is to repair radiation induced hot pixel

damage to the STIS CCD by warming the CCD to the ambient instrument

temperature and annealing radiation-damaged pixels.

Radiation damage creates hot pixels in the STIS CCD Detector. Many of

these hot pixels can be repaired by warming the CCD from its normal

operating temperature near -83 deg. C to the ambient instrument

temperature (~ +5 deg. C) for several hours. The number of hot pixels

repaired is a function of annealing temperature. The effectiveness of

the CCD hot pixel annealing process is assessed by measuring the dark

current behavior before and after annealing and by searching for any

window contamination effects.

STIS/CCD/MA2 11568

A SNAPSHOT Survey of the Local Interstellar Medium: New NUV Observations

of Stars with Archived FUV Observations

We propose to obtain high-resolution STIS E230H SNAP observations of

MgII and FeII interstellar absorption lines toward stars within 100

parsecs that already have moderate or high-resolution far-UV (FUV),

900-1700 A, observations available in the MAST Archive. Fundamental

properties, such as temperature, turbulence, ionization, abundances, and

depletions of gas in the local interstellar medium (LISM) can be

measured by coupling such observations. Due to the wide spectral range

of STIS, observations to study nearby stars also contain important data

about the LISM embedded within their spectra. However, unlocking this

information from the intrinsically broad and often saturated FUV

absorption lines of low-mass ions, (DI, CII, NI, OI), requires first

understanding the kinematic structure of the gas along the line of

sight. This can be achieved with high resolution spectra of high-mass

ions, (FeII, MgII), which have narrow absorption lines, and can resolve

each individual velocity component (interstellar cloud). By obtaining

short (~10 minute) E230H observations of FeII and MgII, for stars that

already have moderate or high- resolution FUV spectra, we can increase

the sample of LISM measurements, and thereby expand our knowledge of the

physical properties of the gas in our galactic neighborhood. STIS is the

only instrument capable of obtaining the required high resolution data

now or in the foreseeable future.

WFC3/ACS/IR 11731

Studying Cepheid Systematics in M81: H-Band Observations

The local value of the Hubble Constant remains one of the most important

constraints in cosmology, but improving on the 10% accuracy of the HST

Key Project is challenging. No improvements will be convincing until the

metallicity dependence is well constrained and blending effects are

fully understood. M81 and its dwarf companion Holmberg IX are superb

laboratories for studying Cepheid systematics because they contain large

numbers of bright Cepheids with a good spread in metallicity lying at a

common, relatively close distance. We have identified 180 12<P< 70 day

Cepheids in these two galaxies using the Large Binocular Telescope

(compared to 30 in total by the KP), and will expand the sample further

in 2008-2009. We will use 10 orbits with WFC3/IR to obtain H-band images

of 100 Cepheids in M81 to add to the ACS/BVI calibrations we will obtain

from archival data and 1 orbit with WFC3/UVIS to add B-band data for

Holmberg IX. Four band BVIH photometry will allow us to flux calibrate,

estimate extinction, measure metallicity effects and then check the

results in detail. We can also examine blending effects on WFC3/IR data

in a relatively nearby galaxy before it is applied to more distant

galaxies. Our M81 sample is three times larger than the next best

sample, that of NGC4258, and suffers less from blending because M81 is

at half the distance, so it is an excellent laboratory for studying

Cepheid systematics even if it lacks as precise a geometric distance as

NGC4258.

WFC3/IR 11694

Mapping the Lnteraction Between High-Redshift Galaxies and the

Lntergalactic Environment

With the commissioning of the high-throughput large-area camera WFC3/IR,

it is possible for the first time to undertake an efficient survey of

the rest-frame optical morphologies of galaxies at the peak epoch of

star formation in the universe. We therefore propose deep WFC3/IR

imaging of over 320 spectroscopically confirmed galaxies between

redshift 1.6 < z < 3.4 in well-studied fields which lie along the line

of sight to bright background QSOs. The spectra of these bright QSOs

probe the IGM in the vicinity of each of the foreground galaxies along

the line of sight, providing detailed information on the physical state

of the gas at large galactocentric radii. In combination with our

densely sampled UV/IR spectroscopy, stellar population models, and

kinematic data in these fields, WFC3/IR imaging data will permit us to

construct a comprehensive picture of the structure, dynamics, and star

formation properties of a large population of galaxies in the early

universe and their effect upon their cosmological environment.

WFC3/IR 11921

WFC3 IR PSF Wings

The IR PSF wings will be evaluated at 5 field points (near the field

center and corners) in two filters (F098M and F160W) to check for image

stability. Full frame images of a moderately bright, isolated star will

be obtained at each field position with a series of increasing exposure

times designed to permit construction of a very high SNR PSF with

dynamic range sufficient to evaluate the wing intensity to >5 arcsec

radius. The images will also permit examination of potential straylight

effects, electronic cross-talk and image persistence.

This is a repeat of SMOV activity WFC3-26 (program 11439.) The results

of the two programs will be compared. The data will be analyzed using

the code and techniques described in ISR WFC3 2008-41 (Hartig). Profiles

of encircled energy will be compared to those obtained from program

11439.

WFC3/IR/S/C 11929

IR Dark Current Monitor

Analyses of ground test data showed that dark current signals are more

reliably removed from science data using darks taken with the same

exposure sequences as the science data, than with a single dark current

image scaled by desired exposure time. Therefore, dark current images

must be collected using all sample sequences that will be used in

science observations. These observations will be used to monitor changes

in the dark current of the WFC3-IR channel on a day-to-day basis, and to

build calibration dark current ramps for each of the sample sequences to

be used by Gos in Cycle 17. For each sample sequence/array size

combination, a median ramp will be created and delivered to the

calibration database system (CDBS).

WFC3/UV 11906

WFC3 UVIS CCD Gain

The absolute gain of each quadrant of the WFC3 UVIS detector will be

measured for the nominal detector readout configuration and at the

on-orbit operating temperature.

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.

WFC3/UVIS/IR 11700

Bright Galaxies at z>7.5 with a WFC3 Pure Parallel Survey

The epoch of reionization represents a special moment in the history of

the Universe as it is during this era that the first galaxies and star

clusters are formed. Reionization also profoundly affects the

environment where subsequent generations of galaxies evolve. Our

overarching goal is to test the hypothesis that galaxies are responsible

for reionizing neutral hydrogen. To do so we propose to carry out a pure

parallel WFC3 survey to constrain the bright end of the redshift z>7.5

galaxy luminosity function on a total area of 176 arcmin^2 of sky.

Extrapolating the evolution of the luminosity function from z~6, we

expect to detect about 20 Lyman Break Galaxies brighter than M_* at z~8

significantly improving the current sample of only a few galaxies known

at these redshifts. Finding significantly fewer objects than predicted

on the basis of extrapolation from z=6 would set strong limits to the

brightness of M_*, highlighting a fast evolution of the luminosity

function with the possible implication that galaxies alone cannot

reionize the Universe. Our observations will find the best candidates

for spectroscopic confirmation, that is bright z>7.5 objects, which

would be missed by small area deeper surveys. The random pointing nature

of the program is ideal to beat cosmic variance, especially severe for

luminous massive galaxies, which are strongly clustered. In fact our

survey geometry of 38 independent fields will constrain the luminosity

function like a contiguous single field survey with two times more area

at the same depth. Lyman Break Galaxies at z>7.5 down to m_AB=26.85 (5

sigma) in F125W will be selected as F098M dropouts, using three to five

orbits visits that include a total of four filters (F606W, F098M, F125W,

F160W) optimized to remove low-redshift interlopers and cool stars. Our

data will be highly complementary to a deep field search for high- z

galaxies aimed at probing the faint end of the luminosity function,

allowing us to disentangle the degeneracy between faint end slope and

M_* in a Schechter function fit of the luminosity function. We waive

proprietary rights for the data. In addition, we commit to release the

coordinates and properties of our z>7.5 candidates within one month from

the acquisition of each field.