HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5127

PERIOD COVERED: 5am June 28 - 5am June 29, 2010 (DOY 179/09:00z-180/09:00z)

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports

of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)

HSTARS:

12314 - GSAcq(2,1,1) @179/20:48:02z and REAcqs(2,1,1) @179/22:23:59z and

           179/23:59:50z failed to RGA Hold due to search radius limit exceeded on

           FGS2. REAcq(2,1,1) @180/01:35:40z was successful.

           Observations affected: COS #8-11 Proposal ID#11705, WFC3 #70-77 Proposal

           ID#11696, STIS #14-16 Proposal #11847 and WFC3 #78-79 Proposal #11905

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST:

18568-1 - LBBIAS Updates for Extended Gyro Guiding Intervals @ 179/21:36z, & 180/00:49z

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

                      SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq               5              4

FGS REAcq               9              7

OBAD with Maneuver 4              4

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

ACS/WFC 11996

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 3)

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 308 orbits (19.25 weeks) from 21 June 2010 to 1 November

2010.

COS/FUV 11895

FUV Detector Dark Monitor

Monitor the FUV detector dark rate by taking long science exposures

without illuminating the detector. The detector dark rate and spatial

distribution of counts will be compared to pre-launch and SMOV data in

order to verify the nominal operation of the detector. Variations of

count rate as a function of orbital position will be analyzed to find

dependence of dark rate on proximity to the SAA. Dependence of dark rate

as function of time will also be tracked.

COS/NUV 11705

Physical Properties of Quasar Outflows: From BALs to Mini-BALs

Accretion disk outflows are important components of quasar environments.

They might play a major role in facilitating accretion, regulating star

formation in the host galaxies and distributing metals to the

surrounding gas. They reveal themselves most conspicuously via broad

absorption lines (BALs), but they appear even more frequently in other

guises such as the weaker and narrower "mini-BALs." How are these

diverse outflow features related? Are mini-BALs really just "mini"

versions of the BALs, or do they represent a fundamentally different

type of outflow, with different degrees of ionization, column densities,

mass loss rates, physical origins, etc.?

We propose HST-COS spectroscopy to make the first quantitative

assessment of the outflow physical conditions across the full range of

weak/narrow mini-BALs to strong/broad BALs. Our strategy is to measure

key diagnostic lines (SVI, OVI, CIII, SIV, PV, etc.) at 930A - 1130A

(rest- frame) in a sample of 7 outflow quasars with known mini-BALs

through weak BALs. We will then 1) combine the COS data with

ground-based spectra of the same quasars to include more lines (CIV,

SiIV) at longer wavelengths, and 2) include in our analysis a nearly

identical UV/optical dataset obtained previously for a sample of quasars

with strong BALs. Our study of this combined dataset will be an

essential next step toward a more global understanding of quasar

outflows.

COS/NUV 11894

NUV Detector Dark Monitor

The purpose of this proposal is to measure the NUV detector dark rate by

taking long science exposures with no light on the detector. The

detector dark rate and spatial distribution of counts will be compared

to pre-launch and SMOV data in order to verify the nominal operation of

the detector. Variations of count rate as a function of orbital position

will be analyzed to find dependence of dark rate on proximity to the

SAA. Dependence of dark rate as function of time will also be tracked.

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 11852

STIS CCD Spectroscopic Flats C17

The purpose of this proposal is to obtain pixel-to-pixel lamp flat

fields for the STIS CCD in spectroscopic mode.

STIS/CCD/FGS 11848

CCD Read Noise Monitor

This proposal measures the read noise of all the amplifiers (A, B, C, D)

on the STIS CCD using pairs of bias frames. Full-frame and binned

observations are made in both Gain 1 and Gain 4, with binning factors of

1x1, 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2. All exposures are internals. Pairs of visits are

scheduled monthly for the first four months and then bi-monthly after

that.

WFC3/IR 11696

Infrared Survey of Star Formation Across Cosmic Time

We propose to use the unique power of WFC3 slitless spectroscopy to

measure the evolution of cosmic star formation from the end of the

reionization epoch at z>6 to the close of the galaxy- building era at

z~0.3.Pure parallel observations with the grisms have proven to be

efficient for identifying line emission from galaxies across a broad

range of redshifts. The G102 grism on WFC3 was designed to extend this

capability to search for Ly-alpha emission from the first galaxies.

Using up to 250 orbits of pure parallel WFC3 spectroscopy, we will

observe about 40 deep (4-5 orbit) fields with the combination of G102

and G141, and about 20 shallow (2-3 orbit) fields with G141 alone.

Our primary science goals at the highest redshifts are: (1) Detect Lya

in ~100 galaxies with z>5.6 and measure the evolution of the Lya

luminosity function, independent of of cosmic variance; 2) Determine the

connection between emission line selected and continuum-break selected

galaxies at these high redshifts, and 3) Search for the proposed

signature of neutral hydrogen absorption at re-ionization. At

intermediate redshifts we will (4) Detect more than 1000 galaxies in

Halpha at 0.5<z<1.8 to measure the evolution of the extinction-corrected

star formation density across the peak epoch of star formation. This is

over an order-of-magnitude improvement in the current statistics, from

the NICMOS Parallel grism survey. (5) Trace ``cosmic downsizing" from

0.5<z<2.2; and (6) Estimate the evolution in reddening and metallicty in

star- forming galaxies and measure the evolution of the Seyfert

population. For hundreds of spectra we will be able to measure one or

even two line pair ratios -- in particular, the Balmer decrement and

[OII]/[OIII] are sensitive to gas reddening and metallicity. As a bonus,

the G102 grism offers the possibility of detecting Lya emission at

z=7-8.8.

To identify single-line Lya emitters, we will exploit the wide

0.8--1.9um wavelength coverage of the combined G102+G141 spectra. All

[OII] and [OIII] interlopers detected in G102 will be reliably separated

from true LAEs by the detection of at least one strong line in the G141

spectrum, without the need for any ancillary data. We waive all

proprietary rights to our data and will make high-level data products

available through the ST/ECF.

WFC3/UV 12243

Determining the Size and Shape of Dwarf Planet Haumea from a Mutual

Event

The history of Haumea is closely intertwined with several unanswered

questions relating to the formation and evolution of the outer solar

system. Understanding Haumea and its satellites gives us unique insights

on the physics of KBO collisions, tides, surfaces, and interiors. Yet,

the most important physical properties of this dwarf planet, its density

and shape, remain only weakly constrained by degenerate light curve

inversions. The existence of mutual events between Haumea and its inner

satellite, Namaka, provide a rare opportunity to measure Haumea's size,

shape, density, albedo, and spin orientation with HST photometry. These

observations also constrain the size of Namaka, the orbits of both

satellites, and, through resolved photometry, the totally unexpected

rapid rotation of the outer satellite, Hi'iaka. After extensive attempts

at ground-based observations, it is clear that only HST photometry is

capable of securely observing and characterizing a Haumea-Namaka mutual

event. The proposed observations will observe the ~5-hour transit and

shadowing of Haumea by Namaka on June 28, 2010 with high signal-to-noise

using straightforward photometric observations with WFC3.

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/IR 11662

Improving the Radius-Luminosity Relationship for Broad-Lined AGNs with a

New Reverberation Sample

The radius-luminosity (R-L) relationship is currently the fundamental

basis for all techniques used to estimate black hole masses in AGNs, in

both the nearby and distant universe. However, the current R-L

relationship is based on 34 objects that cover a limited range in black

hole mass and luminosity. To improve our understanding of black hole

growth and evolution, the R-L relationship must be extended to cover a

broader range of black hole masses using the technique known as

reverberation mapping. To this end, we have been awarded an

unprecedented 64 nights on the Lick Observatory 3-m telescope between

March 24 and May 31, 2008, to spectroscopically monitor 12 AGNs in order

to measure their black hole masses. To properly determine the

luminosities of these 12 AGNs, we must correct them for their

host-galaxy starlight contributions using high-resolution images.

Previous work by Bentz et al. (2006) has shown that the starlight

correction to AGN luminosity measurements is an essential component to

interpreting the R-L relationship. The correction will be substantial

for each of the 12 sources we will monitor, as the AGNs are relatively

faint and embedded in nearby, bright galaxies. Starlight corrections are

not possible with ground-based images, as the PSF and bulge

contributions become indistinguishable under typical seeing conditions,

and adaptive optics are not yet operational in the spectral range where

the corrections are needed. In addition, spectral decompositions are

very model-dependent and are limited by the degree of accuracy to which

we understand emission processes and stellar populations in galaxies.

Without correcting for starlight, we will be unable to apply the results

of our Spring 2008 campaign to the body of knowledge from previous

reverberation mapping work. Therefore, we propose to obtain high

resolution, high dynamic range images of the host galaxies of the 12

AGNs in our ground-based monitoring sample, as well as one white dwarf

which will be used as a PSF model.