This week on HST

HST Programs: October 3 - October 9, 2016

Selected highlights

GO 14096: RELICS: Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey

Hubble image and mass map for the cluster ACT-CL J0102-4915, one of the clusters included in the RELICS program

The overwhelming majority of galaxies in the universe are found in clusters. As such, those systems offer an important means of tracing the development of large-scale structure through the history of the universe. Moreover, as intense concentrations of mass, galaxy clusters provide highly efficient gravitational lenses, capable of concentrating and magnifying light from background high redshift galaxies to allow detailed spectropic investigations of star formation in the early universe. Hubble imaging has already revealed lensed arcs and detailed sub-structure within a handful of rich clusters. At the same time, the lensing characteristics provide information on the mass distribution within the lensing cluster. The present program builds on the highly successful CLASH program,which used 17-colour ACS/WFC3 images to map 25 galaxy clusters, tracing the mas profile and the dark matter distribution, and the Frontier Fields program, targeting six clusters for deep multi-colour imaging. RELICS is focused on using massive galaxy clusters as gravitational telescopes, searching for strongly lensed background galaxies drawn from the high redshift universe. Imaging 46 fields in 41 galaxy clusters, this program aims to identify galaxies with redshifts in the range 9 < z < 12. By targeting strongly-lensing clusters, standard models for galaxy evolution suggest that the program can deliver ~100 galaxies in that redshift range, together with more than 150 galaxies at z~8. A significant number of these galaxies should be brighter than H~25.5, and therefore accessible to more detailed follow-up observations. Conversely, the actual number of galaxies detected will set constraints on the galaxy number-redshift distribution, and the overall formation and assembly history.

GO 14163: Honing Type Ia Supernovae as Distance Indicators, Exploiting Environmental Bias for H0 and w.

Supernova in M101

Supernovae have long attracted the attention of both amateur and professional astronomers as a means of studying the violent eruption and death of massive stars and degenerates. However, in the last decade they have also acquired considerable importance as distance indicators, tracing the expansion of the universe to redshifts well beyond the reach of more conventional yardsticks, such as cepheids, and providing a key underpinning for the hypothesised existence of dark energy. Understanding the supernovae themselves, and, in particular, their progenitors, is key to accurately interpreting their luminosities and distances. Recent observations have suggested that there may be a correlation between the brightnesses of Type Ia supernovae and some characteristics of their local environment; specifically, supernovae found in close proximity to star formation appear to be sub-luminous. The present SNAP program uses the UVIS camera on WFC3 to image the locations of supernovae that have been used to map the Hubble flow, and will use the UV-to-optical flux ratio to characterise the local environment, potentially offering a means of tightening the distribution in the Hubble diagram.

GO 14767: The Panchromatic Comparative Exoplanetary Treasury Program

Artist's impression of the GJ 1214 system

The first exoplanet, 51 Peg b, was discovered through radial velocity measurements in 1995. 51 Pegb was followed by a trickle, and then a flood of other discoveries, as astronomers realised that there were other solar systems radically different from our own, where "hot jupiters" led to short-period, high-amplitude velocity variations. Then, in 1999, came the inevitable discovery that one of those hot jupiters. HD 209458b, was in an orbit aligned with our line of sight to the star, resulting in transits. Since that date, the number of known transiting exoplanet systems has grown to more than 100 from ground-based observations, most detected through wide-field photometric surveys, while the high-sensitivity data provided by Kepler has added a further 1000+ confirmed systems and ~2000 additional candidates. Transiting systems not only provide an accurate measure of the planetary radius (at least relative to the parent star), they also provide us with an opportunity to probe the atmospheric composition through spectroscopy during the transit. Hubble has made significant inroads in this area, while Spitzer has contributed measurements of planetary emissivity through observations during and after eclipse. The James Webb Space Telescope has the capability to revolutionise our knowledge in this field through highly sensitiive observations at near and mid-infra red wavelengths. The present program aims to lay the foundation for those programs by using Hubble to compile multiwavelength (UV to near-IR) spectroscopic observations of 20 exoplanets. The targets are all gas giants, ranging from super-jovian masses to neptunian masses. The observations will be obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the near-infrared grisms on Wide Field Camera 3.

GO 14668: Continuing a Snapshot Survey of the Sites of Recent, Nearby Supernovae - Cycle 24

A recent supernova in M100

Supernovae mark the (spectacular) evolutionary endpoint for a subset of stellar systems. Standard models predict that they originate from massive stars and (probably) close binaries with a compact (WD, neutron star) component, but there are still some questions remaining over whether we fully understand the range of possible progenitors. The last decade has seen the development of a number of large-scale programs, usually using moderate-sized telescopes, that are dedicated to monitoring (relatively nearby galaxies, searching for new supernovae. This program builds on observations taken in several previous cycles, and aims to obtain follow-up multi-waveband images of nearby galaxies, focusing on the sites of recent supernovae. The program concentrates on systems within 20 Mpc of the Milky Way. The observations are taken well after maximum, with the aim of using the unparalleled angular resolution of WFC3 to identify the fading remnant, search for evidence for light echoes,characterise the local stellar population and perhaps determine the nature of the likely progenitor.