HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5183

PERIOD COVERED: 5am September 16 - 5am September 17, 2010 (DOY 259/09:00z-260/09:00z)

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               7              7

OBAD with Maneuver 3              3

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

ACS/WFC 12210

SLACS for the Masses: Extending Strong Lensing to Lower Masses and

Smaller Radii

Strong gravitational lensing provides the most accurate possible

measurement of mass in the central regions of early-type galaxies

(ETGs). We propose to continue the highly productive Sloan Lens ACS

(SLACS) Survey for strong gravitational lens galaxies by observing a

substantial fraction of 135 new ETG gravitational-lens candidates with

HST-ACS WFC F814W Snapshot imaging. The proposed target sample has been

selected from the seventh and final data release of the Sloan Digital

Sky Survey, and is designed to complement the distribution of previously

confirmed SLACS lenses in lens-galaxy mass and in the ratio of Einstein

radius to optical half-light radius. The observations we propose will

lead to a combined SLACS sample covering nearly two decades in mass,

with dense mapping of enclosed mass as a function of radius out to the

half-light radius and beyond. With this longer mass baseline, we will

extend our lensing and dynamical analysis of the mass structure and

scaling relations of ETGs to galaxies of significantly lower mass, and

directly test for a transition in structural and dark-matter content

trends at intermediate galaxy mass. The broader mass coverage will also

enable us to make a direct connection to the structure of well-studied

nearby ETGs as deduced from dynamical modeling of their line-of-sight

velocity distribution fields. Finally, the combined sample will allow a

more conclusive test of the current SLACS result that the intrinsic

scatter in ETG mass-density structure is not significantly correlated

with any other galaxy observables. The final SLACS sample at the

conclusion of this program will comprise approximately 130 lenses with

known foreground and background redshifts, and is likely to be the

largest confirmed sample of strong-lens galaxies for many years to come.

STIS/CCD 11845

CCD Dark Monitor Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS/CCD 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 11999

JWST Calibration from a Consistent Absolute Calibration of Spitzer &

Hubble

Recently, Gordon, Bohlin, et al. submitted a successful Spitzer proposal

for cross calibration of HST and Spitzer. The cross-calibration targets

are stars in three categories: WDs, A-stars, and G-stars. Traditionally,

IR flux standards are extrapolations of stellar models that are tied to

absolute fluxes at shorter wavelengths. HST absolute flux standards are

among the best available with a solid basis that uses pure hydrogen

models of hot WD stars for the SED slopes and is tied to Vega at 5556A

via precise Landolt V-band photometry. Consistently matching models to

our three categories of HST observations along with Spitzer photometry

and the few existing absolute IR flux determinations will provide a

solid basis for JWST flux calibration over its 0.8-30micron range. The

goal of this proposal is to complete the HST observations of the set of

HST/Spitzer cross-calibration stars. Using a variety of standard stars

with three different spectral types will ensure that the final

calibration is not significantly affected by systematic uncertainties.

STIS/CCD/MA/S/C 12244

Mapping Ganymede's Time Variable Aurora in the Search for a Subsurface

Ocean

A very exciting, unresolved question about Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is

whether Ganymede harbors a saline subsurface water ocean under its icy

crust. A saline, electrically conductive water ocean will modify

Ganymede's magnetic field environment and thus also the locations of

Ganymede's northern and southern aurora ovals. Without an ocean,

Ganymede's aurora ovals will rock by ~10 degrees towards and away from

Jupiter within 5.25 hours. However, with an ocean the shift will be up

to only ~4 degrees. We propose two visits of five consecutive STIS

orbits at eastern elongation to monitor and resolve with sufficient

precision the shift in locations of Ganymede's aurora ovals to

determine whether an ocean is present on Ganymede. Addressing this

question is timely as NASA/ESA are planning a Jupiter system mission

including a Ganymede orbiter with the objective to characterize Ganymede

as potential habitat.

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/IR 12265

Determining the Physical Nature of a Unique Giant Lya Emitter at z=6.595

We propose deep WFC3/IR imaging for a giant Lya emitter (LAE) with a

Keck spectroscopic redshift of z=6.595 discovered by extensive

narrow-band imaging with Subaru in the SXDS-UKIDSS/UDS field. This

remarkable object is unique in many respects including its large stellar

mass and luminous nebula which extends over 17 kpc; no equivalent source

has been found in other surveys. The nature of this rare object is

unclear. Fundamental to progress is determining the origin of star

formation in such an early massive object; if the age of the stellar

population is short we are likely witnessing a special moment in the

formation history of a massive galaxy. The heating source for the nebula

is also unclear; options include intense star formation, the infall of

cold gas onto a dark halo or shock heating from a merger. We will take

deep broad-band (F125W and F160W) images and an intermediate-band

(F098M) image which will be analyzed in conjunction with ultra-deep IRAC

3.6 and 4.5 micron data being taken by the Spitzer/SEDS project. These

data will enable us to constrain the star formation rate and stellar

age. Moreover, the UV continuum morphology and Lya-line distribution

will be investigated for evidence of a major merger, cold accretion, or

hot bubbles associated with outflows. We will address the physical

origin of the remarkable object observed at an epoch where massive

galaxies are thought to begin their assembly.

WFC3/UV/IR 12234

Differentiation in the Kuiper belt: a Search for Silicates on Icy

Bodies.

We currently have a large on-going program (Go Program 11644, 120

orbits) to exploit the superb stability and photometric characteristics

of HST and the broad range in wavelength coverage of the WFC3 to make

broad-band vis/IR spectral observations of a large sample of Kuiper belt

objects. Though the survey is currently only ~50% complete, the quality

and unprecedented signal-to-noise of these observations has revealed the

existence of a previously undiscovered spectral variability not

explainable within our current understanding of these objects.

A possible explanation for this variability is that with this faint set

of Kuiper belt objects, we are beginning to see the difference between

larger differentiated objects and smaller non-differentiated objects.

Its seems that the small and likely undifferentiated objects are

exhibiting silicate features that affect our photometry - features not

exhibited by the icy mantles of larger icy bodies.

We propose a small add-on survey to dramatically increase the scientific

results of our large program. The proposed observations will use the

proven capabilities of WFC3 to make broad and narrow-band photometric

observations to detect spectral features in the 1.0-1.3 micron range of

a small subset of our sources. The 13 targets have been carefully

selected to cover the range of spectral variability detected in our

large program as well as sample the entire dynamical range and physical

sizes of these targets. These observations will allow the identification

of undifferentiated Kuiper belt objects by detection of their silicate

features. As a probe for differentiation, these observations could

constrain the natal locations of different Kuiper belt classes, a

constraint currently unavailable to formation models. This small set of

observations will allow the calibration of the spectral variability seen

in our large program, and drastically enhance the scientific output of

our full Cycle 17 sample.

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 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.

-Lynn                                                   HST AOD Mission Success:    "There is only DO...no try. "*

Lynn F. Bassford               office#: 301-286-2876  
Hubble Space Telescope
CHAMP Mission Operations Manager
CHAMP Flight Operations Team Manager
Lockheed Martin Mission Services (LMMS)