HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5132

PERIOD COVERED: 5am July 6 - 5am July 7, 2010 (DOY 187/09:00z-188/09:00z)

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              3                 3     

FGS REAcq             11                11     

OBAD with Maneuver 3                 3     

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

COS/NUV/ACS/WFC/FUV 11658

Probing the Outer Regions of M31 with QSO Absorption Lines

We propose HST-COS spectroscopy of 10 quasars behind M31. Absorption

lines due to MgII, FeII, CIV, and a variety of other lines will be

searched for and measured. Six quasars lie between 1 and 4.2 Holmberg

radii near the major axis on the southwest side, where confusion with

Milky Way gas is minimized. Two lie even farther out on the southwest

side of the major axis. One lies within 1 Holmberg radius. Two of the 10

pass through M31's high velocity clouds seen in a detailed 21 cm

emission map. Exposure time estimates were based on SDSS magnitudes and

available GALEX magnitudes. Thus, using the most well-studied external

spiral galaxy in the sky, our observations will permit us to check,

better than ever before, the standard picture that quasar metal-line

absorption systems such as MgII and CIV arise in an extended gaseous

halo/disk of a galaxy well beyond its observable optical radius. The

observations will yield insights into the nature of the gas and its

connection to the very extended stellar components of M31 that have

recently been studied. Notably the observations have the potential of

extending M31's rotation curve to very large galactocentric distances,

thereby placing new constrants on M31's dark matter halo.

Finally, we also request that the coordinated parallel orbits be

allocated to this program so that we may image the resolved stellar

content of M31's halo and outer disk.

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.

WFC3/ACS/IR 11235

HST NICMOS Survey of the Nuclear Regions of Luminous Infrared Galaxies

in the Local Universe

At luminosities above 10^11.4 L_sun, the space density of far-infrared

selected galaxies exceeds that of optically selected galaxies. These

`luminous infrared galaxies' (LIRGs) are primarily interacting or

merging disk galaxies undergoing enhanced star formation and Active

Galactic Nuclei (AGN) activity, possibly triggered as the objects

transform into massive S0 and elliptical merger remnants. We propose

NICMOS NIC2 imaging of the nuclear regions of a complete sample of 88

L_IR > 10^11.4 L_sun luminous infrared galaxies in the IRAS Revised

Bright Galaxy Sample (RBGS: i.e., 60 micron flux density > 5.24 Jy).

This sample is ideal not only in its completeness and sample size, but

also in the proximity and brightness of the galaxies. The superb

sensitivity and resolution of NICMOS NIC2 on HST enables a unique

opportunity to study the detailed structure of the nuclear regions,

where dust obscuration may mask star clusters, AGN, and additional

nuclei from optical view, with a resolution significantly higher than

possible with Spitzer IRAC. This survey thus provides a crucial

component to our study of the dynamics and evolution of IR galaxies

presently underway with Wide-Field, HST ACS/WFC3, and Spitzer IRAC

observations of these 88 galaxies. Imaging will be done with the F160W

filter (H-band) to examine as a function of both luminosity and merger

stage: (i) the luminosity and distribution of embedded star clusters,

(ii) the presence of optically obscured AGN and nuclei, (iii) the

correlation between the distribution of 1.6 micron emission and the

mid-IR emission as detected by Spitzer IRAC, (iv) the evidence of bars

or bridges that may funnel fuel into the nuclear region, and (v) the

ages of star clusters for which photometry is available via ACS/WFC3

observations. The NICMOS data, combined with the HST ACS, Spitzer, and

GALEX observations of this sample, will result in the most comprehensive

study of merging and interacting galaxies to date.

WFC3/ACS/UVIS 11360

Star Formation in Nearby Galaxies

Star formation is a fundamental astrophysical process; it controls

phenomena ranging from the evolution of galaxies and nucleosynthesis to

the origins of planetary systems and abodes for life. The WFC3,

optimized at both UV and IR wavelengths and equipped with an extensive

array of narrow-band filters, brings unique capabilities to this area of

study. The WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee (SOC) proposes an

integrated program on star formation in the nearby universe which will

fully exploit these new abilities. Our targets range from the

well-resolved R136 in 30 Dor in the LMC (the nearest super star cluster)

and M82 (the nearest starbursting galaxy) to about half a dozen other

nearby galaxies that sample a wide range of star-formation rates and

environments. Our program consists of broad band multiwavelength imaging

over the entire range from the UV to the near-IR, aimed at studying the

ages and metallicities of stellar populations, revealing young stars

that are still hidden by dust at optical wavelengths, and showing the

integrated properties of star clusters. Narrow-band imaging of the same

environments will allow us to measure star-formation rates, gas

pressure, chemical abundances, extinction, and shock morphologies. The

primary scientific issues to be addressed are: (1) What triggers star

formation? (2) How do the properties of star-forming regions vary among

different types of galaxies and environments of different gas densities

and compositions? (3) How do these different environments affect the

history of star formation? (4) Is the stellar initial mass function

universal or determined by local conditions?

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 11556

Investigations of the Pluto System

We propose a set of high SNR observations of the Pluto system that will

provide improved lightcurves, orbits, and photometric properties of Nix

and Hydra. The key photometric result for Nix and Hydra will be a vastly

improved lightcurve shape and rotation period to test if the objects are

in synchronous rotation or not. A second goal of this program will be to

retrieve a new epoch of albedo map for the surface of Pluto. These

observations will also improve masses and in some case densities for the

bodies in the Pluto system.

WFC3/UV/ACS/WFC 11710

The Extreme Globular Cluster System of Abell 1689: The Ultimate Test of

Universal Formation Efficiency

The stellar masses of the most luminous galaxies poorly represent the

masses of the halos in which they reside. However, recent studies of the

very rich globular cluster (GC) populations in the centers of galaxy

clusters point toward an apparently linear scaling of the number of GCs

with the total core mass of the galaxy cluster. Thus, unlike for the

stars in cD galaxies, GC formation in these systems appears to have

proceeded with a roughly universal mass conversion efficiency. GCs are

also distinct in that their spatial distributions are more extended than

the starlight, and recent simulations suggest that they follow the mass

density profile of the merged dark matter halos that formed stars at

high redshift. To provide a definitive test of the universal efficiency

hypothesis requires measuring the number of GCs in the most massive

galaxy clusters, where the number should be a factor of 5 or more

greater than seen in M87. Likewise, the relationship between GCs and

mass density can only be tested in systems where the total mass and mass

density are well-determined. Fortunately, the imaging power of HST

brings the GC population of Abell 1689, the most extreme high-mass

lensing cluster, into range. Estimates of the size of the A1689 GC

population from available data suggest an unprecedented 100, 000 GCs,

but this number is based on the tip of the iceberg and is extremely

uncertain. We propose to obtain the first accurate measurement of the

number of GCs and their density profile in this extraordinary system -

the most massive and most distant GC system ever studied - and thus make

the ultimate test of the universal GC formation hypothesis. Our deep

I-band image will also provide a stringent "null-detection" test of

several known z>7 galaxy candidates and improve the mass model of the

system by increasing the number of usable lensed background galaxies.

Finally, we will take deep multi-band parallel observations with WFC3/IR

to help in quantifying the abundance of rare faint red objects.

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.