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Daily Report #4937



 
 
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Old September 24th 09, 03:55 PM posted to sci.astro.hubble
Cooper, Joe
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Default Daily Report #4937


HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #4937

PERIOD COVERED: 5am September 23 - 5am September 24, 2009 (DOY 266/09:00z-267/09:00z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/WFC3 11879

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 1)

This program comprises basic tests for measuring the read noise and
dark current of the ACS WFC and for tracking the growth of hot pixels.
The recorded frames are used to create bias and dark reference images
for science data reduction and calibration. This program will be
executed four days per week (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) for the duration of
Cycle 17. To facilitate scheduling, this program is split into three
proposals. This proposal covers 352 orbits (22 weeks) from 31 August
2009 to 31 January 2010.

COS/NUV 11466

NUV Detector Dark

The purpose of this proposal is to measure the NUV detector dark rate
by taking long science exposures with no light on the detector. The
detector dark rate and spatial distribution of counts will be compared
to pre-launch data in order to verify the nominal operation of the
detector, and for use in the CalCOS calibration pipeline. Variations
of count rate as a function of orbital position will be analyzed to
find dependence of dark rate on proximity to the SAA.

COS/NUV 11899

NUV Imaging Sensitivity, Cycle 17

The purpose of this proposal is to test NUV imaging sensitivity for a
range of target spectral energy distributions. All targets have
wide-slit STIS spectra in the HST Archive. We use eleven horizontal
branch stars in the globular cluster NGC 6681 covering a range of
effective temperatures, plus a solar-analog standard star.

COS/NUV 11900

NUV Internal/External Wavelength Scale Monitor

This program monitors the offsets between the wavelength scale set by
the internal wavecal versus that defined by absorption lines in
external targets. This is accomplished by observing two external
radial velocity standard targets: HD187691 with G225M and G285M and
HD6655 with G285M and G230L. The two standard targets have little flux
in the wavelength range covered by G185M and so Feige 48 (sdO) is
observed with this grating. Both Feige 48 and HD6655 are also observed
in SMOV. The cenwaves observed in this program are a subset of the
ones used during Cycle 17. Observing all cenwaves would require a
considerably larger number of orbits. Constraints on scheduling of
each target are placed so that each target is observed once every ~2-3
months. Observing the three targets every month would also require a
considerably larger number of orbits.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 11947

Extended Dark Monitoring

This program takes a series of darks to obtain darks (including
amplifier glow, dark current, and shading profiles) for all three
cameras in the read-out sequences used in Cycle 17. A set of 12 orbits
will be observed every two months for a total of 72 orbits for a 12
month Cycle 17. This is a continuation of Cycle 16 program 11330
scaled down by ~80%.

The first orbit (Visit A0) should be scheduled in the NICMOS SMOV
after the DC Transfer Test (11406) and at least 36h before the Filter
Wheel Test (11407). Data download using fast track.

The following 28 orbits (visit A1-N2) should be scheduled AFTER the
SMOV Proposal 11407 (Filter Wheel Test). This is done in order to
monitor the dark current following an adjustment of the NCS set-point.
These visits should be executed until the final temperature is reached
during SMOV.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8795

NICMOS Post-SAA Calibration - CR Persistence Part 6

This is 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
'Use After' 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 darks. 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.

STIS/CCD 11567

Boron Abundances in Rapidly Rotating Early-B Stars

Models of rotation in early-B stars predict that rotationally driven
mixing should deplete surface boron abundances during the
main-sequence lifetime of many stars. However, recent work has shown
that many boron depleted stars are intrinsically slow rotators for
which models predict no depletion should have occurred, while
observations of nitrogen in some more rapidly rotating stars show less
mixing than the models predict. Boron can provide unique information
on the earliest stages of mixing in B stars, but previous surveys have
been biased towards narrow-lined stars because of the difficulty in
measuring boron abundances in rapidly rotating stars. The two targets
observed as part of our Cycle 13 SNAP program 10175, just before STIS
failed, demonstrate that it is possible to make useful boron abundance
measurements for early-B stars with Vsin(i) above 100 km/s. We propose
to extend that survey to a large enough sample of stars to allow
statistically significant tests of models of rotational mixing in
early-B stars.

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/MA1 12010

COS FUV Line Spread Function Characterization

In this program we will observe the star Sk-155 (an O9b star in the
SMC) with the high resolution E140H grating on STIS. Sk-155 was
observed with COS during SMOV with the purpose of confirming the
spectroscopic resolution of the FUV medium resolution gratings (G130M
and G160M). Comparison of the E140H spectra with the COS spectra shows
that the COS spectral resolution is likely significantly impacted by
broad non- Gaussian wings in the COS LSF. Further tests and
characterization of this effect is critical for evaluating the final
spectroscopic resolution of COS. However, the existing STIS/E140H
spectra of Sk-155 only cover the wavelength range 1165-1350 A (good
for testing the G130M spectral resolution). They do not extend to long
enough wavelenghts to test the COS G160M spectral resolution.
Therefore, in this supplemental STIS program we will use 2 HST orbits
to re-observe Sk 155 with STIS. We will utilize the E140H grating with
the 0.2x0.09 aperture and central wavelength of 1598 angstroms which
covers the missing wavelength range 1500-1700 angstroms.

WFC3/ACS/IR 11359

Panchromatic WFC3 Survey of Galaxies at Intermediate z: Early Release
Science Program for Wide Field Camera 3

The unique panchromatic capabilities of WFC3 will be used to survey
the structure and evolution of galaxies at the peak of the galaxy
assembly epoch. Deep ultraviolet and near-IR imaging and slitless
spectroscopy of existing deep multi-color ACS fields will be used to
gauge star-formation and the growth of stellar mass as a function of
morphology, structure and surrounding density in the critical epoch 1
z 4. Images in the F225W, F275W, and F336W filters will identify
galaxies at z 1.5 from their UV continuum breaks, and provide
star-formation indicators tied directly to both local and z 3
populations. Deep near-IR (F125W and F160W) images will probe the
stellar mass function well below 10^9 Msun for mass-complete samples.
Lastly, the WFC3 slitless UV and near-IR grisms will be used to
measure redshifts and star-formation rates from H- alpha and
rest-frame UV continuum slope. This WFC3 ERS program will survey one 4
x 2 mosaic for a total area of 50 square arcminutes to 5-sigma depths
of m_AB = 27 in most filters from the mid-UV through the near-IR.

This multicolor high spatial resolution data set will allow the user
to gauge the growth of galaxies through star-formation and merging.
High precision photometric and low- resolution spectroscopic redshifts
will allow accurate determinations of the faint-end of the luminosity
and mass functions, and will shed light on merging and tidal
disruption of stellar and gaseous disks. The WFC3 images will also
allow detailed studies of the internal structure of galaxies, and the
distribution of young and old stellar populations. This program will
demonstrate the unique power of WFC3 by applying its many diverse
modes and full panchromatic capability to a forefront problem in
astrophysics.

WFC3/ACS/IR 11600

Star Formation, Extinction, and Metallicity at 0.7z1.5: H-Alpha
Fluxes and Sizes from a Grism Survey of GOODS-N

The global star formation rate (SFR) is ~10x higher at z=1 than today.
This could be due to drastically elevated SFR in some fraction of
galaxies, such as mergers with central bursts, or a higher SFR across
the board. Either means that the conditions in z=1 star forming
galaxies could be quite different from local objects. The next step
beyond measuring the global SFR is to determine the dependence of SFR,
obscuration, metallicity, and size of the star-forming region on
galaxy mass and redshift. However, SFR indicators at z=1 typically
apply local calibrations for UV, [O II] and far-IR, and do not agree
with each other on a galaxy-by-galaxy basis. Extinction, metallicity,
and dust properties cause uncontrolled offsets in SFR calibrations.
The great missing link is Balmer H-alpha, the most sensitive probe of
SFR. We propose a slitless WFC3/G141 IR grism survey of GOODS-N, at 2
orbits/pointing. It will detect Ha+[N II] emission from 0.7z1.5, to
L(Ha) = 1.7 x 10^41 erg/sec at z=1, measuring H-alpha fluxes and sizes
for 600 galaxies, and a small number of higher-redshift emitters.
This will produce: an emission-line redshift survey unbiased by
magnitude and color selection; star formation rates as a function of
galaxy properties, e.g. stellar mass and morphology/mergers measured
by ACS; comparisons of SFRs from H-alpha to UV and far-IR indicators;
calibrations of line ratios of H-alpha to important nebular lines such
as [O II] and H-beta, measuring variations in metallicity and
extinction and their effect on SFR estimates; and the first
measurement of scale lengths of the H-alpha emitting, star-forming
region in a large sample of z~1 sources.

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 11559

Jovian Upheaval and Its Impact on Vortices

We propose observations of Jupiter with global coverage at high
resolution to quantify changes in its atmosphere during and following
the global upheaval. Only HST has the capability to obtain images with
enough spatial resolution and contrast to extract velocity fields (we
will use our newly developed technique to accomplish this), and with
WFC3 we can image Jupiter in its entirety in a single exposure. We are
in particular interested in the Red Oval BA: Will the Oval be long
lived, remain red, or turn white again, disappear? Both the merger of
its precursors, and change in color has never before been witnessed.
The Great Red Spot: This storm system appears to decrease in size and
has become rounder, both as derived from its associated cloud deck,
but also from its potential vorticity, a more dynamically-relevant
quantity. How will the GRS evolve? Will it swallow the new vortices
detected in amateur images at this same latitude band? How will this
effect the potential vorticity? In addition, we hope to understand
disturbances and stagnation points, both of which were detected during
the present global upheaval: are these cyclonic regions, can they
spawn anticyclones (as suggested by amateur images)?

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/IR 11644

A Dynamical-Compositional Survey of the Kuiper Belt: A New Window Into
the Formation of the Outer Solar System

The eight planets overwhelmingly dominate the solar system by mass,
but their small numbers, coupled with their stochastic pasts, make it
impossible to construct a unique formation history from the dynamical
or compositional characteristics of them alone. In contrast, the huge
numbers of small bodies scattered throughout and even beyond the
planets, while insignificant by mass, provide an almost unlimited
number of probes of the statistical conditions, history, and
interactions in the solar system. To date, attempts to understand the
formation and evolution of the Kuiper Belt have largely been dynamical
simulations where a hypothesized starting condition is evolved under
the gravitational influence of the early giant planets and an attempt
is made to reproduce the current observed populations. With little
compositional information known for the real Kuiper Belt, the test
particles in the simulation are free to have any formation location
and history as long as they end at the correct point. Allowing
compositional information to guide and constrain the formation,
thermal, and collisional histories of these objects would add an
entire new dimension to our understanding of the evolution of the
outer solar system. While ground based compositional studies have hit
their flux limits already with only a few objects sampled, we propose
to exploit the new capabilities of WFC3 to perform the first ever
large-scale dynamical-compositional study of Kuiper Belt Objects
(KBOs) and their progeny to study the chemical, dynamical, and
collisional history of the region of the giant planets. The
sensitivity of the WFC3 observations will allow us to go up to two
magnitudes deeper than our ground based studies, allowing us the
capability of optimally selecting a target list for a large survey
rather than simply taking the few objects that can be measured, as we
have had to do to date. We have carefully constructed a sample of 120
objects which provides both overall breadth, for a general
understanding of these objects, plus a large enough number of objects
in the individual dynamical subclass to allow detailed comparison
between and within these groups. These objects will likely define the
core Kuiper Belt compositional sample for years to come. While we have
many specific results anticipated to come from this survey, as with
any project where the field is rich, our current knowledge level is
low, and a new instrument suddenly appears which can exploit vastly
larger segments of the population, the potential for discovery -- both
anticipated and not -- is extraordinary.

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 6 6
FGS REAcq 8 8
OBAD with Maneuver 6 6

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)


 




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