HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science



DAILY REPORT # 4378



PERIOD COVERED: UT June 06, 2007 (DOY 157)



OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED



WFPC2 10833



Host Galaxies of Reverberation Mapped AGNs



We propose to obtain unsaturated high-resolution images of 17

reverberation-mapped active galactic nuclei in order to remove the

point-like nuclear light from each image, thus yielding a "nucleus-free"

image of the host galaxy. This will allow investigation of host galaxy

properties: our particular interest is determination of the host-galaxy

starlight contribution to the reverberation-mapping observations. This

is necessary {1} for accurate determination of the relationship between

the AGN nuclear continuum flux and the size of the broad Balmer-line

emitting regions of AGNs, which is important in estimating black hole

masses for large samples of QSOs, and {2} for accurate determination of

the bolometric luminosity of the AGN proper. Through observations in

Cycles 12 and 14, we have obtained or will obtain images of 18 of the 35

objects in the reverberation-mapping compilation of Peterson et al.

{2004}. These observations revealed that the host-galaxy contribution,

even in the higher-luminosity AGNs, is higher than expected and that all

of the reverberation- mapped AGNs will have to be observed, not just the

lower-luminosity sources; each source is different, and each source is

important. Therefore we request time to observe the 17 remaining

reverberation-mapped AGNs.



ACS/SBC 10862



Comprehensive Auroral Imaging of Jupiter and Saturn during the

International Heliophysical Year A comprehensive set of observations of

the auroral emissions from Jupiter and Saturn is proposed for the

International Heliophysical Year in 2007, a unique period of especially

concentrated measurements of space physics phenomena throughout the

solar system. We propose to determine the physical relationship of the

various auroral processes at Jupiter and Saturn with conditions in the

solar wind at each planet. This can be accomplished with campaigns of

observations, with a sampling interval not to exceed one day, covering

at least one solar rotation. The solar wind plasma density approaching

Jupiter will be measured by the New Horizons spacecraft, and a separate

campaign near opposition in May 2007 will determine the effect of

large-scale variations in the interplanetary magnetic field {IMF} on the

Jovian aurora by extrapolation from near-Earth solar wind measurements.

A similar Saturn campaign near opposition in Jan. 2007 will combine

extrapolated solar wind data with measurements from a wide range of

locations within the Saturn magnetosphere by Cassini. In the course of

making these observations, it will be possible to fully map the auroral

footprints of Io and the other satellites to determine both the local

magnetic field geometry and the controlling factors in the

electromagnetic interaction of each satellite with the corotating

magnetic field and plasma density. Also in the course of making these

observations, the auroral emission properties will be compared with the

properties of the near-IR ionospheric emissions {from ground-based

observations} and non thermal radio emissions, from ground-based

observations for Jupiter?s decametric radiation and Cassini plasma wave

measurements of the Saturn Kilometric Radiation {SKR}.



NIC2 10798



Dark Halos and Substructure from Arcs & Einstein Rings



The surface brightness distribution of extended gravitationally lensed

arcs and Einstein rings contains super-resolved information about the

lensed object, and, more excitingly, about the smooth and clumpy mass

distribution of the lens galaxies. The source and lens information can

non-parametrically be separated, resulting in a direct "gravitational

image" of the inner mass-distribution of cosmologically-distant galaxies

{Koopmans 2005; Koopmans et al. 2006 [astro-ph/0601628]}. With this goal

in mind, we propose deep HST ACS-F555W/F814W and NICMOS-F160W WFC

imaging of 20 new gravitational-lens systems with spatially resolved

lensed sources, of the 35 new lens systems discovered by the Sloan Lens

ACS Survey {Bolton et al. 2005} so far, 15 of which are being imaged in

Cycle-14. Each system has been selected from the SDSS and confirmed in

two time- efficient HST-ACS snapshot programs {cycle 13&14}.

High-fidelity multi-color HST images are required {not delivered by the

420s snapshots} to isolate these lensed images {properly cleaned,

dithered and extinction-corrected} from the lens galaxy surface

brightness distribution, and apply our "gravitational maging" technique.

Our sample of 35 early-type lens galaxies to date is by far the largest,

still growing, and most uniformly selected. This minimizes selection

biases and small-number statistics, compared to smaller, often

serendipitously discovered, samples. Moreover, using the WFC provides

information on the field around the lens, higher S/N and a better

understood PSF, compared with the HRC, and one retains high spatial

resolution through drizzling. The sample of galaxy mass distributions -

determined through this method from the arcs and Einstein ring HST

images - will be studied to: {i} measure the smooth mass distribution of

the lens galaxies {dark and luminous mass are separated using the HST

images and the stellar M/L values derived from a joint stellar-dynamical

analysis of each system}; {ii} quantify statistically and individually

the incidence of mass-substructure {with or without obvious luminous

counter- parts such as dwarf galaxies}. Since dark-matter substructure

could be more prevalent at higher redshift, both results provide a

direct test of this prediction of the CDM hierarchical

structure-formation model.



NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8794



NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 5



A new procedure proposed to alleviate the CR-persistence problem of

NICMOS. Dark frames will be obtained immediately upon exiting the SAA

contour 23, and every time a NICMOS exposure is scheduled within 50

minutes of coming out of the SAA. The darks will be obtained in parallel

in all three NICMOS Cameras. The POST-SAA darks will be non- standard

reference files available to users with a USEAFTER date/time mark. The

keyword 'USEAFTER=date/time' will also be added to the header of each

POST-SAA DARK frame. The keyword must be populated with the time, in

addition to the date, because HST crosses the SAA ~8 times per day so

each POST-SAA DARK will need to have the appropriate time specified, for

users to identify the ones they need. Both the raw and processed images

will be archived as POST-SAA DARKSs. Generally we expect that all NICMOS

science/calibration observations started within 50 minutes of leaving an

SAA will need such maps to remove the CR persistence from the science

images. Each observation will need its own CRMAP, as different SAA

passages leave different imprints on the NICMOS detectors.



NIC2 11155



Dust Grain Evolution in Herbig Ae Stars: NICMOS Coronagraphic Imaging

and Polarimetry



We propose to take advantage of the sensitive coronagraphic capabilities

of NICMOS to obtain multiwavelength coronagraphic imaging and

polarimetry of primordial dust disks around young intermediate-mass

stars {Herbig Ae stars}, in order to advance our understanding of how

dust grains are assembled into larger bodies. Because the polarization

of scattered light is strongly dependent on scattering particle size and

composition, coronagraphic imaging polarimetry with NICMOS provides a

uniquely powerful tool for measuring grain properties in spatially

resolved circumstellar disks. It is widely believed that planets form

via the gradual accretion of planetesimals in gas-rich, dusty

circumstellar disks, but the connection between this suspected process

and the circumstellar disks that we can now observe around other stars

remains very uncertain. Our proposed observations, together with

powerful 3-D radiative transfer codes, will enable us to quantitatively

determine dust grain properties as a function of location within disks,

and thus to test whether dust grains around young stars are in fact

growing in size during the putative planet-formation epoch. HST imaging

polarimetry of Herbig Ae stars will complement and extend existing

polarimetric studies of disks around lower-mass T Tauri stars and debris

disks around older main-sequence stars. When combined with these

previous studies, the proposed research will help us establish the

influence of stellar mass on the growth of dust grains into larger

planetesimals, and ultimately to planets. Our results will also let us

calibrate models of the thermal emission from these disks, a critical

need for validating the properties of more distant disks inferred on the

basis of spectral information alone.



WFPC2 10902



The Nearest Luminous Blue Compact Galaxies: A Window on Galaxy Formation



As we move to intermediate and high redshifts, Luminous Blue Compact

Galaxies {LBCGs} become increasingly common. The nearest LBCGs, with

their violent starbursts and rich populations of super star clusters

{SSCs} and globular clusters {GCs}, thus provide ideal laboratories for

studying galaxy evolution. Many LBCGs appear to be involved in mergers

between dwarf galaxies, triggering their starbursts. The starburst

regions in LBCGs consist of numerous young star clusters, whose

populations are both easily measurable with HST and easily modelled.

Studying cluster populations provides a powerful probe of the starburst

and merger history which is possible neither for closer objects {of

which there are too few} or for those at high redshift {which are too

far away}. We have previously studied the closest LBCG with WFPC2 and

found hundreds of bright compact SSCs and GCs. In particular, we found a

population of intermediate-age {~2 Gyr} GCs, indicating a past event of

massive cluster formation. We now propose a multi-wavelength study of

the three other LBCGs with the highest known number of SSCs. The

extinction is small in these galaxies and age estimates robust. The age

distribution of GCs and SSCs will be used to study the past evolution of

the galaxies. For each LBCG, we will map its cluster formation history,

unveiling its merger and starburst history, and thereby shed light on

some of the processes involved in galaxy evolution at high redshift.



WFPC2 11032



CTE Extended Targets Closeout



Measuring the charge transfer efficiency {CTE} of an astronomical CCD

camera is crucial to determining the CCD's photometric fidelity across

the field of view. WFPC2's CTE has degraded steadily over the last 13

years because of continuous exposure to trapped particles in HST's

radiation environment. The fraction of photometric signal lost from

WFPC2's CTI {change transfer inefficiency} is a function of WFPC2's time

in orbit, the integrated signal in the image, the location of the image

on the CCD, and the background signal. Routine monitoring of WFPC2's

degrading CTE over the last 13 years has primarily concerned the effects

of CTI on point-source photometry. However, most of the sources imaged

by WFPC2 are extended rather than point-like. This program aims to

characterize the effects of CTI on the photometry and morphology of

extended sources near the end of WFPC2's functional life. Images of a

standard field within the rich galaxy cluster Abell 1689 are recorded

with each WFPC2 camera using the F606W and F814W filters. These images

will be compared with contemporaneous images of Abell 1689 recorded with

the field rotated by approximately 180 degrees to assess differences

between extended sources imaged near and far from the serial register.

The images will also be compared with similar images recorded in Cycle 8

{Program 8456} to characterize the rate of CTE degradation over the

lifetime of WFPC2.



FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:



Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports

of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.)



HSTARS: (None) 10851 - NICMOS suspended. Upon acquisition of signal at

05:46:44 NICMOS was suspended with a status buffer message NICMOS 632,

parameter = 210, time = 43954, indicating "MECH_2_MAX_RETRIES_EXCEEDED".

The number of positioning error retries attempted during a Filter Wheel

2 movement exceeded the maximum limit. Actual time of status buffer

message was 05:14:05.



COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)



COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)



SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSacq 8 8

FGS REacq 3 3

OBAD with Maneuver 20 20



SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)