| Program Number | Principal Investigator | Program Title |
|---|---|---|
| 13281 | Sebastiano Cantalupo, University of California - Santa Cruz | Illuminating the Dark Phases of Galaxy-Formation with the Help of a z=2.4 Quasar |
| 13282 | You-Hua Chu, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign | A Search for Surviving Companions of Type Ia Supernovae in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| 13308 | Ming Zhao, The Pennsylvania State University | Near-IR spectroscopy of the highly inflated, hottest known Jupiter KOI-13.01 |
| 13339 | Matthias Stute, Eberhard Karls Universitat, Tubingen | R Aqr: a prototype for non-relativistic astrophysical jets and a key for understanding jet formation |
| 13361 | William P. Blair, The Johns Hopkins University | Discovering and Characterizing the Young Supernova Remnant Population in M101 |
| 13388 | Gregory James Schwarz, American Astronomical Society | Fundamental properties of novae outburst: Coordinated HST and XMM ToO observations |
| 13434 | Tiffany Meshkat, Universiteit Leiden | Transmission spectroscopy through the debris disk of Fomalhaut |
| 13435 | Matteo Monelli, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias | Multiple populations in external globular glusters: the Fornax dSph, the LMC, and the SMC |
| 13447 | Selma E. de Mink, Carnegie Institution of Washington | The massive monsters living deep in the Tarantula nebula: How massive are they really? |
| 13466 | Kailash C. Sahu, Space Telescope Science Institute | Determining the Mass of Proxima Centauri through Astrometric Microlensing |
| 13467 | Jacob L. Bean, University of Chicago | Follow The Water: The Ultimate WFC3 Exoplanet Atmosphere Survey |
| 13472 | Wendy L. Freedman, Carnegie Institution of Washington | The Hubble Constant to 1%? STAGE 4: Calibrating the RR Lyrae PL relation at H-Band using HST and Gaia Parallax Stars |
| 13482 | Britt Lundgren, University of Wisconsin - Madison | The Evolving Gas Content of Galaxy Halos: A Complete Census of MgII Absorption Line Host Galaxies at 0.7 < z < 2.5 |
| 13483 | Goeran Oestlin, Stockholm University | eLARS - extending the Lyman Alpha Reference Sample |
| 13633 | John R. Spencer, Southwest Research Institute | A Kuiper Belt Object for the New Horizons Mission |
| 13643 | Gaspard Duchene, University of California - Berkeley | Imaging the tenuous dusty atmosphere of edge-on protoplanetary disks |
| 13661 | Matthew Auger, University of Cambridge | A SHARP View of the Structure and Evolution of Normal and Compact Early-type Galaxies |
| 13663 | Susan D. Benecchi, Planetary Science Institute | Precise Orbit Determination for a New Horizons KBO |
| 13671 | Harald Ebeling, University of Hawaii | Beyond MACS: A Snapshot Survey of the Most Massive Clusters of Galaxies at z>0.5 |
| 13712 | Kunio M. Sayanagi, Hampton University | Target of Opportunity Observation of an Episodic Storm on Uranus |
| 13729 | Andy Lawrence, University of Edinburgh, Institute for Astronomy | Slow-blue PanSTARRS transients : high amplification microlens events? |
| 13730 | Adam Leroy, The Ohio State University | Maps of Recent Star Formation to Match ALMA Observations of the Nearest Nuclear Starburst |
| 13731 | Eileen T Meyer, Space Telescope Science Institute | The Real Impact of Extragalactic Jets on Their Environments: Measuring the Advance Speed of Hotspots with HST |
| 13740 | Daniel Stern, Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Clusters Around Radio-Loud AGN: Spectroscopy of Infrared-Selected Galaxy Clusters at z>1.4 |
| 13773 | Rupali Chandar, University of Toledo | H-alpha LEGUS: Unveiling the Interplay Between Stars, Star Clusters, and Ionized Gas |
| 13779 | Sangeeta Malhotra, Arizona State University | The Faint Infrared Grism Survey (FIGS) |
| 13819 | Trent J. Dupuy, University of Texas at Austin | Dynamical Masses for Free-Floating Planetary-Mass Binaries |
| 13834 | Roeland P. van der Marel, Space Telescope Science Institute | The Proper Motion Field along the Magellanic Bridge: a New Probe of the LMC-SMC interaction |
| 13842 | Frederick Hamann, University of Florida | Testing the Youth and Transition Object Status of FeLoBAL Quasars |
| 13845 | Adam Muzzin, Sterrewacht Leiden | Resolved H-alpha Maps of Star-forming Galaxies in Distant Clusters: Towards a Physical Model of Satellite Galaxy Quenching |
| 13858 | Annalisa De Cia, Weizmann Institute of Science | The environment of the rarest and most energetic supernovae: do pair-instability explosions exist in the nearby Universe? |
| 13864 | David Jewitt, University of California - Los Angeles | Hubble Imaging of a Newly Discovered Active Asteroid |
GO 13282: A Search for Surviving Companions of Type Ia Supernovae in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Combined HST and Chnadra imaging of the supernova remnant SNR 0509-67.5 in the LMC |
Type Ia supernovae are generally believed to be produced by the explosive deflagration of white dwarf star that exceeds the Chandrasekhar due to accretion from a binary companion, either a hydrogen-burning main-sequence/red giant star or another degenerate. In double degenerate systems, the white dwarfs merge and explode; in the single degenerate mode, the non-degenerate companion is likely to survive, albeit in a stripped, ablated form. Besides providing crucial information on stellar evolution and how stars enrich the interstellar medium, Type Ia supernovae have acquired global importance in recent years through their use as distance indicators. Indeed, these objects played a crucial role in identifying dark energy and the accelerating universe. In that context, it is important to obtain a better udnerstanding of the underlying mechanism and the distribution of intrinsic properties of these exploding stars.Relatively nearby supernovae that can be probed in detail are therefore crucial to the large mapping of the cosmic flow. The present program aims to probe whether the double degenerate or single degenerate mode of formation is more important by using HST imaging to search for survivors in a sample of nine supernova remnants in the LMC. If the double degenerate mechanism is the dominant mechanism, then few survivors of the progenitor explosion will be found. |
GO 13435: Multiple populations in external globular glusters: the Fornax dSph, the LMC, and the SMC
The colour-magnitude diagram from the LMC cluster, NGC 1846 |
Globular clusters are remnants of the first substantial burst of star formation in the Milky Way. With typical masses of a few x 105 solar masses, distributed among several x 106 stars, the standard picture holds that these are simple systems, where all the stars formed in a single starburst and, as a consequence, have the same age and metallicity. Adecade ago, the only known exception to this rule was the cluster Omega Centauri, which is significantly more massive than most clusters and has both double main sequence and a range of metallicities among the evolved stars. Since then detailed photometric investigations, based primarily on data taken by HST's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide-Field Camera 3, have shown that many other clusters have multiple populations. Examples include NGC 2808, which shows evidence for three distinct branches to the main sequence, NGC 1851, 47 Tucanae and NGC 6752 - all relatively massive clusters. However, even classical extremely metal-poor systems, such as NGC 6397, show some evidence for a broadening of the main sequence that probably reflects abundance differences (metals or helium) among the stellar members. Globular clusters are also present in other galaxies, and past HST programs have probed a number of clusters in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. The present program aims extend coverage to additional clusters in the LMC, together with systems in the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Fornax dwarf spheroidal. These clusters will be targeted for observation with WFC3, both UVIS and near-IR channels, and with ACS. |
GO 13633: A Kuiper Belt Object for the New Horizons Mission
Hubble Space Telescope images of the Pluto system, including the recently discovered moons, P4 and P5 |
The Kuiper Belt lies beyond the orbit of Neptune, extending from ~30 AU to ~50 AU from the Sun, and includes at least 70,000 objects with diameters exceeding 100 km. Setting aside Pluto, the first trans-Neptunian objects were discovered in the early 1990s. Most are relatively modest in size, with diameters of a few hundred km and photometric properties that suggest an icy composition, similar to Pluto and its main satellite, Charon. In recent years, a handful of substantially larger bodies have been discovered, with diameters of more than 1000 km; indeed, one object, Eris (2003 UB13), is slightly larger than Pluto (2320 km) and 25% more massive. We know the mass for Eris because it has a much lower mass companion, Dysnomia, which orbits Eris with a period of 16 days (see this recent press release ). Pluto itself has at least 5 companions: Charon, which is about 1/7th the mass of Pluto, and the much smaller bodies, Hydra, Nix, P4 and P5 discovered through HST observations within the last few years. The New Horizons Mission was launched on January 19th 2006 with the prime purpose of providing the first detailed examination of Pluto. The Pluto encounter represents the first phase of the originally-proposed mission. Following the fly-by, set for Bastille day in 2015, the aim is to re-direct New Horizons towards one or more smaller members of the Kuiper Belt, with the goal of providing a closer look at these icy bodies. However, New Horizons needs to identify an appropriate target - a KBO with orbital parameters such that New Horizons can use its modest complement of remaining fuel to reach the target. Adding a further complication, Pluto happens to lie within 5 degrees of the Galactic Plane and the consequent high star density has proven a barrier to deep ground-based searches. As a consequence, the New Horizons team was awarded Hubble time to search an area roughly the size of the full moon for a suitable target. These observations are significantly deeper than previous surveys, and as a result will lead to a better understanding of the size distribution of smaller objects (< 20 km diameter) in the Kuiper Belt. |
GO 13834: The Proper Motion Field along the Magellanic Bridge: a New Probe of the LMC-SMC interaction
The Large Magellanic Cloud (upper left) with the Small Magellanic Cloud (right) and the (foreground) Galactic globular cluster47 Tucanae |
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) are the most massive satellites of the Milky Way galaxy. The orbital motions of these systems can be used to probe the mass distribution of Milky Way, and backtracking the orbits can shed light on how the three systems have interacted, In particular, the well known Magellanic Stream, stretching between the two Clouds, is thought to be a product either of interactions between the Clouds, or of ram-stripping of gas from the LMC on its last passage through the Plane of the Milky Way. Understanding the full scope of the interactions demands knowledge of the tangential motions of these systems - that is, proper motion measurements. Given the distances of the Clouds (~50 kpc.), the actual motions amount to only a few milliarcseconds, but the high spatial resolution and high stability of HST imaging makes such measurements possible. Past observing programs (eg GO 11730) have concentrated on the LMC, using the now-defunct ACS High Resolution Camera (ACS/HRC), the Planetary Camera on WFPC2 and the UVIS camera on WFC3 to target known QSOs lying behind the Clouds; the QSOs serve as fixed reference points for absolute astrometry of the numerous foreground LMC/SMC stars. A recent Cycle 21 program focused on the SMC, targeting 30 newly identified background QSos for WFC3 observations over a two-year period. The present program exapnds observations to several fields along the Magellanic bridge, a complex of gas and stars that conencts the two clouds, and will test the hypothsesis that the clouds are undergoing their first interaction with teh Milky Way. |