Daily Report #4775

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT****** #4775

PERIOD COVERED: 5am January 21 - 5am January 22, 2009 (DOY
*************************** 021/1000z-022/1000z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

WFPC2 10877

A Snapshot Survey of the Sites of Recent, Nearby Supernovae

During the past few years, robotic {or nearly robotic} searches for
supernovae {SNe}, most notably our Lick Observatory Supernova Search
{LOSS}, have found hundreds of SNe, many of them in quite nearby
galaxies {cz 4000 km/s}. Most of the objects were discovered before
maximum brightness, and have follow-up photometry and spectroscopy;
they include some of the best-studied SNe to date. We propose to
conduct a snapshot imaging survey of the sites of some of these nearby
objects, to obtain late-time photometry that {through the shape of the
light and color curves} will help reveal the origin of their lingering
energy. The images will also provide high-resolution information on
the local environments of SNe that are far superior to what we can
procure from the ground. For example, we will obtain color-color and
color-magnitude diagrams of stars in these SN sites, to determine the
SN progenitor masses and constraints on the reddening. Recovery of the
SNe in the new HST images will also allow us to actually pinpoint
their progenitor stars in cases where pre- explosion images exist in
the HST archive. This proposal is an extension of our successful Cycle
13 snapshot survey with ACS. It is complementary to our Cycle 15
archival proposal, which is a continuation of our long-standing
program to use existing HST images to glean information about SN
environments.

FGS 11964

Post FGS1r AMA-Adjustment: OFAD Check and Alignment Calibration, 2008

The FGS1 AMA optimization proposal (11963) leaves the AMA mirror in a
new position, which shifts the FGS1r FOV relative to FGS2r and FGS3
and has the potential to change the FGS1r OFAD solution. This proposal
will use the astrometric open cluster NGC 5617 to check for 1 mas size
changes in the OFAD and to establish the new alignment of FGS1r
relative to FGS2r and FGS3 to a precision of approximately 25 mas. The
OFAD check requires 4 HST orbits before, and 4 HST orbits after, the
AMA adjustment. Each orbit observes the same stars in NGC 5617 with
FGS1r in POS mode. The alignment aspect of this proposal uses data
from these same orbits. The ICRS positions of the relevant stars are
taken from the UCAC catalog, but the proper motions taken from the
"special guide star plate ZZZT" provided by Yale University. We chose
guide stars in FGS2r and FGS3, and astrometry targets that are common
to GSC2, UCAC, and ZZZT. Each visit uses a unique guide star pair, so
that all the visits taken together have guide stars spanning the
guider FGSs FOV.

WFPC2 11113

Binaries in the Kuiper Belt: Probes of Solar System Formation and
Evolution

The discovery of binaries in the Kuiper Belt and related small body
populations is powering a revolutionary step forward in the study of
this remote region. Three quarters of the known binaries in the Kuiper
Belt have been discovered with HST, most by our snapshot surveys. The
statistics derived from this work are beginning to yield surprising
and unexpected results. We have found a strong concentration of
binaries among low-inclination Classicals, a possible size cutoff to
binaries among the Centaurs, an apparent preference for nearly equal
mass binaries, and a strong increase in the number of binaries at
small separations. We propose to continue this successful program in
Cycle 16; we expect to discover at least 13 new binary systems,
targeted to subgroups where these discoveries can have the greatest
impact.

WFPC2 11130

AGNs with Intermediate-mass Black Holes: Testing the Black Hole-Bulge
Paradigm, Part II

The recent progress in the study of central black holes in galactic
nuclei has led to a general consensus that supermassive {10^6-10^9
solar mass} black holes are closely connected with the formation and
evolutionary history of large galaxies, especially their bulge
component. Two outstanding issues, however, remain unresolved. Can
central black holes form in the absence of a bulge? And does the mass
function of central black holes extend below 10^6 solar masses?
Intermediate-mass black holes {10^6 solar masses}, if they exist, may
offer important clues to the nature of the seeds of supermassive black
holes. Using the SDSS, our group has successfully uncovered a new
population of AGNs with intermediate-mass black holes that reside in
low-luminosity galaxies. However, very little is known about the
detailed morphologies or structural parameters of the host galaxies
themselves, including the crucial question of whether they have bulges
or not. Surprisingly, the majority of the targets of our Cycle 14
pilot program have structural properties similar to dwarf elliptical
galaxies. The statistics from this initial study, however, are really
too sparse to reach definitive conclusions on this important new class
of black holes. We wish to extend this study to a larger sample, by
using the Snapshot mode to obtain WFPC2 F814W images from a parent
sample of 175 AGNs with intermediate- mass black holes selected from
our final SDSS search. We are particularly keen to determine whether
the hosts contain bulges, and if so, how the fundamental plane
properties of the host depend on the mass of their central black
holes. We will also investigate the environment of this unique class
of AGNs.

WFPC2 11944

Binaries at the Extremes of the H-R Diagram

We propose to use HST/Fine Guidance Sensor 1r to survey for binaries
among some of the most massive, least massive, and oldest stars in our
part of the Galaxy. FGS allows us to spatially resolve binary systems
that are too faint to observe using ground-based, speckle or optical
long baseline interferometry, and too close to resolve with AO. We
propose a SNAP-style program of single orbit FGS TRANS mode
observations of very massive stars in the cluster NGC 3603, luminous
blue variables, nearby low mass main sequence stars, cool subdwarf
stars, and white dwarfs. These observations will help us to (1)
identify systems suitable for follow up studies for mass
determination, (2) study the role of binaries in stellar birth and in
advanced evolutionary states, (3) explore the fundamental properties
of stars near the main sequence-brown dwarf boundary, (4) understand
the role of binaries for X-ray bright systems, (5) find binaries among
ancient and nearby subdwarf stars, and (6) help calibrate the white
dwarf mass - radius relation.

WFPC2 11969

Satellite Search for Dawn Mission Targets, Vesta and Ceres

We propose to carry out a dedicated satellite search program for
asteroids Vesta and Ceres. Despite being the two largest asteroids,
and having clear evidence of a violent collisional history for Vesta,
Vesta and Ceres do not have any satellites found so far, neither have
there been any dedicated satellite search program for them reported.
We propose to take short and long exposure mosaics to cover the whole
Hill sphere while using specific observing strategies and image
processing techniques to search in close to the center body. In
addition to its significant scientific merit, this proposed project
will be important for the planning of NASA's Dawn mission. Currently
Ceres is moving close to the Earth, making it more difficult to cover
the whole stability region of satellites with minimal HST orbit
requirement. Similar geometry will not repeat until the second half of
2009. Therefore we request DD time.

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**************** 11***************** 11
FGS REacq**************** 0******************* 0
OBAD with Maneuver* *** * 24***************** 24

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)