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Daily Report #4167
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT # 4167 PERIOD COVERED: UT July 31, 2006 (DOY 212) OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED ACS/HRC/WFC 10758 ACS CCDs daily monitor This program consists of a set of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the development of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD detectors. The files, biases and dark will be used to create reference files for science calibration. This programme will be for the entire lifetime of ACS. Changes from cycle 13:- The default gain for WFC is 2 e- /DN. As before bias frames will be collected for both gain 1 and gain 2. Dark frames are acquired using the default gain {2}. This program cover the period May, 31 2006- Oct, 1- 2006. The first half of the program has a different proposal number: 10729. ACS/WFC 10775 An ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters We propose to conduct an ACS/WFC imaging survey of Galactic globular clusters. We will construct the most extensive and deepest set of photometry and astrometry to-date for these systems reaching a main sequence mass of ~0.2 solar mass with S/N = 10. We will combine these data with archival WFPC2 and STIS images to determine proper motions for the stars in our fields. The resultant cleaned cluster CMDs will allow us to study a variety of scientific questions. These include [but are not limited to] 1} the determination of cluster ages and distances 2} the construction of main sequence mass functions and the issue of mass segregation 3} the internal motions and dynamical evolution of globular clusters, and 4} absolute cluster motions, orbits, and the Milky Way gravitational potential. We anticipate that the unique resource provided by the proposed treasury archive will play a central role in the field of globular cluster studies for decades, with a stature comparable to that of the Hubble Deep Field for high redshift studies. ACS/WFC 10829 Secular Evolution at the End of the Hubble Sequence The bulgeless disk galaxies at the end of the Hubble Sequence evolve at a glacial pace relative to their more violent, earlier-type cousins. The causes of their internal, or secular evolution are important because secular evolution represents the future fate of all galaxies in our accelerating Universe and is a key ingredient to understanding galaxy evolution in lower-density environments at present. The rate of secular evolution is largely determined by the stability of the cold ISM against collapse, star formation, and the buildup of a central bulge. Key diagnostics of the ISM's stability are the presence of compact molecular clouds and narrow dust lanes. Surprisingly, edge-on, pure disk galaxies with circular velocities below 120 km/s do not appear to contain such dust lanes. We propose to obtain ACS/WFC F606W images of a well-selected sample of extremely late-type disk galaxies to measure the characteristic scale size of the cold ISM and determine if they possess the unstable, cold ISM necessary to drive secular evolution. Our sample has been carefully constructed to include disk galaxies above and below the critical circular velocity of 120 km/s where the dust properties of edge-on disks change so remarkably. We will then use surface brightness profiles to search for nuclear star clusters and pseudobulges, which are early indicators that secular evolution is at work, as well as measure the pitch angle of the dust lanes as a function of radius to estimate the central mass concentrations. ACS/WFC 10911 Calibration of ACS F814W Surface Brightness Fluctuations The surface brightness fluctuations {SBF} method has emerged as the primary distance indicator for mapping local large-scale structures {Virgo, Fornax}, as well as the velocity field out to nearly 15,000 km/s {z 0.05}. This is because other precision distance indicators either lack the requisite depth {Cepheids, TRGB} or are too rare for adequate sampling {supernovae}, while more traditional methods {Tully-Fisher, fundamental plane} lack the necessary precision. The SBF method is now being used with great success in several major ACS Wide Field Camera programs. However, whereas the band of choice for the nearby structure studies has been F850LP, for the distant large-scale flow studies it is F814W because of its much greater throughput. As a result, the current calibration for the more distant studies is inadequate. We propose to establish the first systematic calibration of the SBF method in the important F814W ACS WFC bandpass. We will do this by measuring SBF in an optimized sample of galaxies in the nearby compact Fornax cluster. Given the large amount of effort and HST time being dedicated to F814W SBF measurements, it is imperative that we correct this outstanding calibration problem while time remains. For an extremely modest expenditure of orbits, we will remove a significant systematic error and vastly improve the overall accuracy of the ongoing ACS F814W SBF work. These data will also greatly enhance the legacy value of the HST archive for future SBF studies. ACS/WFC/HRC 10920 High-Resolution Imaging of Nearby Lyman Break Galaxy Analogs in the GALEX All-Sky Survey We have used the ultraviolet all-sky imaging survey currently being conducted by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer {GALEX} to identify for the first time a rare population of low- redshift starbursts with properties remarkably similar to high-redshift Lyman Break Galaxies. These compact UV luminous galaxies {UVLGs} resemble Lyman Break Galaxies in terms of size, UV luminosity, star-formation rate, surface brightness, mass, metallicity, kinematics, dust content, and color. They have characteristic ``ages'' {stellar mass/SFR} of only a few hundred Myr. This population of galaxies is thus worthy of study in its own right and as a sample of local analogs of Lyman Break Galaxies. We propose to image a sample of the 9 nearest and brightest compact UVLGs in the near-ultraviolet, near-infrared, and H-alpha using ACS. With these images we will 1} characterize their structure and morphology, 2} look for signs of interactions and mergers, 3} investigate the distribution and propogation of star formation over varying time scales, and 4} quantify the stellar populations and star formation history, in order to determine whether a previous generation of stars formed long before the current burst. These data will perfectly complement our existing Spitzer, GALEX, and SDSS data, and will provide important information on star- formation in the present-day universe as well as shed light on the earliest major episodes of star formation in high-redshift galaxies. ACS/WFC/NIC2 10496 Decelerating and Dustfree: Efficient Dark Energy Studies with Supernovae and Clusters We propose a novel HST approach to obtain a dramatically more useful "dust free" Type Ia supernovae {SNe Ia} dataset than available with the previous GOODS searches. Moreover, this approach provides a strikingly more efficient search-and-follow-up that is primarily pre-scheduled. The resulting dark energy measurements do not share the major systematic uncertainty at these redshifts, that of the extinction correction with a prior. By targeting massive galaxy clusters at z 1 we obtain a five-times higher efficiency in detection of Type Ia supernovae in ellipticals, providing a well-understood host galaxy environment. These same deep cluster images then also yield fundamental calibrations required for future weak lensing and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich measurements of dark energy, as well as an entire program of cluster studies. The data will make possible a factor of two improvement on supernova constraints on dark energy time variation, and much larger improvement in systematic uncertainty. They will provide both a cluster dataset and a SN Ia dataset that will be a longstanding scientific resource. 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, ACS/WFC 10802 SHOES-Supernovae, HO, for the Equation of State of Dark energy The present uncertainty in the value of the Hubble constant {resulting in an uncertainty in Omega_M} and the paucity of Type Ia supernovae at redshifts exceeding 1 are now the leading obstacles to determining the nature of dark energy. We propose a single, integrated set of observations for Cycle 15 that will provide a 40% improvement in constraints on dark energy. This program will observe known Cepheids in six reliable hosts of Type Ia supernovae with NICMOS, reducing the uncertainty in H_0 by a factor of two because of the smaller dispersion along the instability strip, the diminished extinction, and the weaker metallicity dependence in the infrared. In parallel with ACS, at the same time the NICMOS observations are underway, we will discover and follow a sample of Type Ia supernovae at z 1. Together, these measurements, along with prior constraints from WMAP, will provide a great improvement in HST's ability to distinguish between a static, cosmological constant and dynamical dark energy. NIC2/ACS/WFC/WFPC2 10532 Kinematics and morphology of the most massive field disk galaxies at z1 We propose to obtain 1 orbit NIC-2 images of a sample of the 15 most massive galaxies found at $1 z 1.3$. These were culled from over 20, 000 Keck spectra collected as part of DEEP and are unique among high redshift massive galaxy samples in being kinematically selected. We intend to test whether these potentially very young galaxies are likely precursors to massive local disks, assuming no further merging. NIC-2 images provide rest-frame optical morphologies that will show whether they are normal disky systems or instead more disturbed looking objects with multiple subcomponents, mergers, peculiar structure, etc. NIC-2 provides near-IR resolutions sufficient to enable measurements of bulges and disks subcomponents. The near-IR will fill a critical gap in the broad-band SED photometry of the galaxy and its subcomponents to estimate mean stellar ages and stellar masses and to assess whether old stellar bulges and disks are in place at that time. Finally, this sample will yield the first statistically significant results on the $z 1$ evolution of the Tully-Fisher relation for massive galaxies. In addition, we propose parallel observations with ACS WFC {V and I bands} and WFPC2 {I-band}. These will target up to 700 galaxies at redshifts 0.7 ... 1.2 for which the DEEP2 survey has obtained precision redshifts and high-resolution kinematic data. The added HST morphology and color information will allow a variety of detailed studies on dynamical, structural, and photometric evolution of galaxies. WFPC2 10748 WFPC2 CYCLE 14 Standard Darks This dark calibration program obtains dark frames every week in order to provide data for the ongoing calibration of the CCD dark current rate, and to monitor and characterize the evolution of hot pixels. Over an extended period these data will also provide a monitor of radiation damage to the CCDs. FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) HSTARS: #10386 OBAD Failed Identification @ 213/06:07:06z OBAD at 05:56:21 using FHST-1 and FHST-2 showed error corrections of V1 = -64.66, V2 = 13978.37, V3 = -3.62, RSS = 13978.52 arcseconds. Second OBAD at 06:04:16 showed error correction of V1 = -2.61, V2 = 0.26, V3 = 6.01, RSS = 6.56. OBAD success flag (mnemonic GCHACL09) returned to the "no success" state (a value of 1) at 06:13:44. REACQ(2,1,2) at 06:09:25 failed due to Search Radius Limit exceeded on FGS 2 at 06:14:16. Ops Request 17543-2 was performed at 06:15 to dump OBAD tables 369 and 370. #10387 REACQ(2,1,2) fails, Search Radius Limit on FGS 2 @ 213/06:14:16z REACQ(2,1,2) at 213/06:09:25 failed due to search radius limit exceeded on FGS 2 at 06:14:16. OBAD at 06:04:16 failed as described in HSTAR 10386. Observation affected: ACS 60. COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: #17877-0 Secondary Mirror Focus Move @ 212/1447z #17543-2 Dump OBAD tables after failed OBAD (Generic) @ 213/0615z (HSTAR # 10386) COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None) SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FGS GSacq 09 09 FGS REacq 05 04 OBAD with Maneuver 28 27 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: Secondary Mirror Focus Move Completed Flash Report The Secondary Mirror Move focus commanding was successfully completed this morning at 14:47 All of the telemetry verified correctly and the guide star acquisition following the mirror move was successful. |
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