Daily Rpt #4983

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #4983

PERIOD COVERED: 5am December 1 - 5am December 2, 2009 (DOY 335/10:00z-336/10:00z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

COS/FUV 11897

FUV Spectroscopic Sensitivity Monitoring

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor sensitivity in each FUV
grating mode to detect any changes due to contamination or other
causes.

COS/NUV 11896

NUV Spectroscopic Sensitivity Monitoring

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor sensitivity of each NUV
grating mode to detect any changes due to contamination or other
causes.

STIS/CCD 11844

CCD Dark Monitor Part 1

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS/CCD 11846

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 1

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor the bias in the 1x1, 1x2,
2x1, and 2x2 bin settings at gain=1, and 1x1 at gain = 4, to build up
high-S/N superbiases and track the evolution of hot columns.

STIS/CCD 11849

STIS CCD Hot Pixel Annealing

This purpose of this activity is to repair radiation induced hot pixel
damage to the STIS CCD by warming the CCD to the ambient instrument
temperature and annealing radiation-damaged pixels.

Radiation damage creates hot pixels in the STIS CCD Detector. Many of
these hot pixels can be repaired by warming the CCD from its normal
operating temperature near - 83 deg. C to the ambient instrument
temperature (~ +5 deg. C) for several hours. The number of hot pixels
repaired is a function of annealing temperature. The effectiveness of
the CCD hot pixel annealing process is assessed by measuring the dark
current behavior before and after annealing and by searching for any
window contamination effects.

STIS/CCD/MA1/MA2 11866

Echelle Grating Blaze Function Zero Points

We will observe the flux standard G191B2B, obtaining echelle spectra
in all primary and intermediate wavelength settings. While this was
done in cycle 10 (8915), the echelle blaze shift has proved to depend
sensitively on side of operation, time and the exact MSM positioning.
We therefore believe it is important to obtain a complete set of post-
repair data at default MSM position to allow a comprehensive solution
for the echelle blaze shifts on a repaired side 2.

WFC3/ACS/IR 11142

Revealing the Physical Nature of Infrared Luminous Galaxies at
0.3z2.7 Using HST and Spitzer

We aim to determine physical properties of IR luminous galaxies at
0.3z2.7 by requesting coordinated HST/NIC2 and MIPS 70um
observations of a unique, 24um flux- limited sample with complete
Spitzer mid-IR spectroscopy. The 150 sources investigated in this
program have S(24um) 0.8mJy and their mid-IR spectra have already
provided the majority targets with spectroscopic redshifts
(0.3z2.7). The proposed 150~orbits of NIC2 and 66~hours of MIPS 70um
will provide the physical measurements of the light distribution at
the rest-frame ~8000A and better estimates of the bolometric
luminosity. Combining these parameters together with the rich suite of
spectral diagnostics from the mid-IR spectra, we will (1) measure how
common mergers are among LIRGs and ULIRGs at 0.3z2.7, and establish
if major mergers are the drivers of z1 ULIRGs, as in the local
Universe, (2) study the co-evolution of star formation and blackhole
accretion by investigating the relations between the fraction of
starburst/AGN measured from mid-IR spectra vs. HST morphologies,
L(bol) and z, and (3) obtain the current best estimates of the far-IR
emission, thus L(bol) for this sample, and establish if the relative
contribution of mid-to-far IR dust emission is correlated with
morphology (resolved vs. unresolved).

WFC3/ACS/UVIS 11724

Direct Age Determination of the Local Group dE Galaxies NGC 147 and
NGC 185

The origin of dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies remains a mystery and the
dE galaxies of the Local Group provide the best opportunity to study
this galaxy class in detail. We propose to obtain ACS photometry of
main sequence turnoff stars in the M31 dE satellites NGC 147 and NGC
185. Because these galaxies have little to no stars younger than 1
Gyr, resolving the main sequence turnoff is required to directly
quantify their star formation histories. NGC 147 and NGC 185 are the
only two dEs for which a clean measurement is feasible with the HST.
This proposal was accepted in Cycle 15, but little data were taken
before the failure of ACS. The main sequence turnoffs of NGC 147 and
NGC 185 are expected to be at an apparent magnitude of V=29; we
request F606W/F814W imaging one half magnitude fainter than this limit
(three magnitudes fainter than the deepest previous dE observations).
Quantifying the ratio of old to intermediate-age stars will allow us
to discriminate between competing models of dE formation. On-going
Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy of several hundred red giant stars in each of
these two dE galaxies, coupled with dynamical modeling and spectral
synthesis, will complement the ACS measurement by providing
information on chemical abundance patterns, dark matter content and
internal dynamics. The proposed ACS data will be the first to directly
quantify the onset and duration of star formation episodes in dE
galaxies, and will thereby form the cornerstone in what promises to be
the most comprehensive study of this class of galaxies.

WFC3/ACS/UVIS 11877

HST Cycle 17 and Post-SM4 Optical Monitor

This program is the Cycle 17 implementation of the HST Optical
Monitoring Program.

The 36 orbits comprising this proposal will utilize ACS (Wide Field
Channel) and WFC3 (UVIS Channel) to observe stellar cluster members in
parallel with multiple exposures over an orbit. Phase retrieval
performed on the PSF in each image will be used to measure primarily
focus, with the ability to explore apparent coma, and astigmatism
changes in WFC3.

The goals of this program are to: 1) monitor the overall OTA focal
length for the purposes of maintaining focus within science tolerances
2) gain experience with the relative effectiveness of phase retrieval
on WFC3/UVIS PSFs 3) determine focus offset between the imagers and
identify any SI-specific focus behavior and dependencies

If need is determined, future visits will be modified to interleave
WFC3/IR channel and STIS/CCD focii measurements.

WFC3/IR 11666

Chilly Pairs: A Search for the Latest-type Brown Dwarf Binaries and
the Prototype Y Dwarf

We propose to use HST/NICMOS to image a sample of 27 of the nearest (
20 pc) and lowest luminosity T-type brown dwarfs in order to identify
and characterize new very low mass binary systems. Only 3 late-type T
dwarf binaries have been found to date, despite that fact that these
systems are critical benchmarks for evolutionary and atmospheric
models at the lowest masses. They are also the most likely systems to
harbor Y dwarf companions, an as yet unpopulated putative class of
very cold (T 600 K) brown dwarfs. Our proposed program will more
than double the number of T5-T9 dwarfs imaged at high resolution, with
an anticipated yield of ~5 new binaries with initial characterization
of component spectral types. We will be able to probe separations
sufficient to identify systems suitable for astrometric orbit and
dynamical mass measurements. We also expect one of our discoveries to
contain the first Y-type brown dwarf. Our proposed program complements
and augments ongoing ground-based adaptive optics surveys and provides
pathway science for JWST.

WFC3/IR/S/C 11929

IR Dark Current Monitor

Analyses of ground test data showed that dark current signals are more
reliably removed from science data using darks taken with the same
exposure sequences as the science data, than with a single dark
current image scaled by desired exposure time. Therefore, dark current
images must be collected using all sample sequences that will be used
in science observations. These observations will be used to monitor
changes in the dark current of the WFC3-IR channel on a day-to-day
basis, and to build calibration dark current ramps for each of the
sample sequences to be used by Gos in Cycle 17. For each sample
sequence/array size combination, a median ramp will be created and
delivered to the calibration database system (CDBS).

WFC3/UVIS 11594

A WFC3 Grism Survey for Lyman Limit Absorption at z=2

We propose to conduct a spectroscopic survey of Lyman limit absorbers
at redshifts 1.8 z 2.5, using WFC3 and the G280 grism. This
proposal intends to complete an approved Cycle 15 SNAP program
(10878), which was cut short due to the ACS failure. We have selected
64 quasars at 2.3 z 2.6 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Spectroscopic Quasar Sample, for which no BAL signature is found at
the QSO redshift and no strong metal absorption lines are present at z
2.3 along the lines of sight. The survey has three main
observational goals. First, we will determine the redshift frequency
dn/dz of the LLS over the column density range 16.0 log(NHI) 20.3
cm^-2. Second, we will measure the column density frequency
distribution f(N) for the partial Lyman limit systems (PLLS) over the
column density range 16.0 log(NHI) 17.5 cm^-2. Third, we will
identify those sightlines which could provide a measurement of the
primordial D/H ratio. By carrying out this survey, we can also help
place meaningful constraints on two key quantities of cosmological
relevance. First, we will estimate the amount of metals in the LLS
using the f(N), and ground based observations of metal line
transitions. Second, by determining f(N) of the PLLS, we can constrain
the amplitude of the ionizing UV background at z~2 to a greater
precision. This survey is ideal for a snapshot observing program,
because the on-object integration times are all well below 30 minutes,
and follow-up observations from the ground require minimal telescope
time due to the QSO sample being bright.

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

The behavior of the WFC3 UVIS CCD will be monitored daily with a set
of full-frame, four-amp bias and dark frames. A smaller set of 2Kx4K
subarray biases are acquired at less frequent intervals throughout the
cycle to support subarray science observations. The internals from
this proposal, along with those from the anneal procedure (Proposal
11909), will be used to generate the necessary superbias and superdark
reference files for the calibration pipeline (CDBS).

WFC3/UVIS 11908

Cycle 17: UVIS Bowtie Monitor

Ground testing revealed an intermittent hysteresis type effect in the
UVIS detector (both CCDs) at the level of ~1%, lasting hours to days.
Initially found via an unexpected bowtie-shaped feature in flatfield
ratios, subsequent lab tests on similar e2v devices have since shown
that it is also present as simply an overall offset across the entire
CCD, i.e., a QE offset without any discernable pattern. These lab
tests have further revealed that overexposing the detector to count
levels several times full well fills the traps and effectively
neutralizes the bowtie. Each visit in this proposal acquires a set of
three 3x3 binned internal flatfields: the first unsaturated image will
be used to detect any bowtie, the second, highly exposed image will
neutralize the bowtie if it is present, and the final image will allow
for verification that the bowtie is gone.

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 10 10
FGS REAcq 8 8
OBAD with Maneuver 7 7

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)