HUBBLE
SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science
DAILY
REPORT #5179
PERIOD
COVERED: 5am September 10 - 5am September 13, 2010 (DOY 253/09:00z-256/09:00z)
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:
18902-2
- CU/SDF Lock-up Recovery, Part C @ 253/1541z
18907-0
- Recover WFC3 from suspend mode @ 253/1912z
18908-0
- Safe and then recover ACS @2 53/2222z
18913-1
- Command COS OSM positions @ 253/2022z
18909-1
- Safe and the recover STIS @ 253/2350z
18911-2
- Safe and Recover COS to Operate @ 253/2012z
18912-0
- Recover ESM/PCE/NCS CPL @ 254/0007z
18910-0
- Safe NICMOS @ 253/2024z
COMPLETED
OPS NOTES: (None)
SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSAcq
17
17
FGS
REAcq
29
29
OBAD
with Maneuver 18 18
SIGNIFICANT
EVENTS:
Flash
Report:
Payload
Recovery commanding was completed at 254/00:09z
leaving
NICMOS in 'Safe' and ACS, STIS, COS, WFC3 and ESM in 'Operate.'
Flash
Report:
At
255/00:12z the science SMS was successfully intercepted, the first
several
STIS and WFC observations were executed in LOS; however, when data
was
acquired at 01:22 all indications are the observations were
successfully
collected.
WFC3/IR
12307
A
public SNAPSHOT Survey of Gamma-ray Burst Host Galaxies
We
propose to conduct a public infrared survey of the host galaxies of
Swift
selected gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) at z<3. By obtaining deep,
diffraction
limited imaging in the IR we will complete detections for
the
host galaxies, and in concert with our extensive ground based
afterglow
and host programmes will compile a detailed catalog of the
properties
of high-z galaxies selected by GRBs. In particular these
observations
will enable us to study the colours, luminosities and
morphologies
of the galaxies. This in turn informs studies of the nature
of
the progenitors and the role of GRBs as probes of star formation
across
cosmic history. Ultimately it provides a product of legacy value
which
will greatly complement further studies with next generation
facilities
such as ALMA and JWST.
WFC3/UV
12245
Orbital
Evolution and Stability of the Inner Uranian Moons
Nine
densely-packed inner moons of Uranus show signs of chaos and
orbital
instability over a variety of time scales. Many moons show
measureable
orbital changes within a decade or less. Long-term
integrations
predict that some moons could collide in less than one
million
years. One faint ring embedded in the system may, in fact, be
the
debris left behind from an earlier such collision. Meanwhile, the
nearby
moon Mab falls well outside the influence of the others but
nevertheless
shows rapid, as yet unexplained, changes in its orbit. It
is
embedded within a dust ring that also shows surprising variability. A
highly
optimized series of observations with WFC3 over the next three
cycles
will address some of the fundamental open questions about this
dynamically
active system: Do the orbits truly show evidence of chaos?
If
so, over what time scales? What can we say about the masses of the
moons
involved? What is the nature of the variations in Mab's orbit? Is
Mab's
motion predictable or random? Astrometry will enable us to derive
the
orbital elements of these moons with 10-km precision. This will be
sufficient
to study the year-by-year changes and, combined with other
data
from 2003-2007, the decadal evolution of the orbits. The pairing of
precise
astrometry with numerical integrations will enable us to derive
new
dynamical constraints on the masses of these moons. Mass is the
fundamental
unknown quantity currently limiting our ability to reproduce
the
interactions within this system. This program will also capitalize
upon
our best opportunity for nearly 40 years to study the unexplained
variations
in Uranus's faint outer rings.
WFC3/UV/IR
12021
An
Irradiated Disk in an Ultraluminous X-Ray Source
Whether
ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) contain stellar-mass or
intermediate-mass
black holes (IMBHs) is an important, but as yet
unresolved,
astrophysical question. We have discovered variable optical
emission
from the ULX NGC 5408 X-1 that we interpret as reprocessed
emission
in an irradiated disk. We propose simultaneous observations
with
Chandra and HST to test this interpretation and place constraints
on
the geometry of the accretion disk. The observations should provide a
means
to discriminate between stellar-mass versus intermediate-mass
black
holes.
WFC3/UVIS
11912
UVIS
Internal Flats
This
proposal will be used to assess the stability of the flat field
structure
for the UVIS detector throughout the 15 months of Cycle 17.
The
data will be used to generate on-orbit updates for the delta-flat
field
reference files used in the WFC3 calibration pipeline, if
significant
changes in the flat structure are seen.
COS/NUV/FUV
11741
Probing
Warm-Hot Intergalactic Gas at 0.5 < z < 1.3 with a Blind Survey
for
O VI, Ne VIII, Mg X, and Si XII Absorption Systems
Currently
we can only account for half of the baryons (or less) expected
to
be found in the nearby universe based on D/H and CMB observations.
This
"missing baryons problem" is one of the highest-priority challenges
in
observational extragalatic astronomy. Cosmological simulations
suggest
that the baryons are hidden in low-density, shock-heated
intergalactic
gas in the log T = 5 - 7 range, but intensive UV and X-ray
surveys
using O VI, O VII, and O VIII absorption lines have not yet
confirmed
this prediction. We propose to use COS to carry out a
sensitive
survey for Ne VIII and Mg X absorption in the spectra of nine
QSOs
at z(QSO) > 0.89. For the three highest-redshift QSOs, we will also
search
for Si XII. This survey will provide more robust constraints on
the
quantity of baryons in warm-hot intergalactic gas at 0.5 < z < 1.3,
and
the data will provide rich constraints on the metal enrichment,
physical
conditions, and nature of a wide variety of QSO absorbers in
addition
to the warm-hot systems. By comparing the results to other
surveys
at lower redshifts (with STIS, FUSE, and from the COS GTO
programs),
the project will also enable the first study of how these
absorbers
evolve with redshift at z < 1. By combining the program with
follow-up
galaxy redshift surveys, we will also push the study of
galaxy-absorber
relationships to higher redshifts, with an emphasis on
the
distribution of the WHIM with respect to the large-scale matter
distribution
of the universe.