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Daily Report #5132



 
 
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Old July 7th 10, 05:00 PM posted to sci.astro.hubble
Cooper, Joe
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Posts: 568
Default Daily Report #5132

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5132

PERIOD COVERED: 5am July 6 - 5am July 7, 2010 (DOY 187/09:00z-188/09:00z)

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 3 3
FGS REAcq 11 11
OBAD with Maneuver 3 3

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)



OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED:

COS/NUV/ACS/WFC/FUV 11658

Probing the Outer Regions of M31 with QSO Absorption Lines

We propose HST-COS spectroscopy of 10 quasars behind M31. Absorption
lines due to MgII, FeII, CIV, and a variety of other lines will be
searched for and measured. Six quasars lie between 1 and 4.2 Holmberg
radii near the major axis on the southwest side, where confusion with
Milky Way gas is minimized. Two lie even farther out on the southwest
side of the major axis. One lies within 1 Holmberg radius. Two of the
10 pass through M31's high velocity clouds seen in a detailed 21 cm
emission map. Exposure time estimates were based on SDSS magnitudes
and available GALEX magnitudes. Thus, using the most well-studied
external spiral galaxy in the sky, our observations will permit us to
check, better than ever before, the standard picture that quasar
metal-line absorption systems such as MgII and CIV arise in an
extended gaseous halo/disk of a galaxy well beyond its observable
optical radius. The observations will yield insights into the nature
of the gas and its connection to the very extended stellar components
of M31 that have recently been studied. Notably the observations have
the potential of extending M31's rotation curve to very large
galactocentric distances, thereby placing new constrants on M31's dark
matter halo.

Finally, we also request that the coordinated parallel orbits be
allocated to this program so that we may image the resolved stellar
content of M31's halo and outer disk.

STIS/CC 11845

CCD Dark Monitor Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS/CC 11847

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 2

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.

WFC3/ACS/IR 11235

HST NICMOS Survey of the Nuclear Regions of Luminous Infrared Galaxies
in the Local Universe

At luminosities above 10^11.4 L_sun, the space density of far-infrared
selected galaxies exceeds that of optically selected galaxies. These
`luminous infrared galaxies' (LIRGs) are primarily interacting or
merging disk galaxies undergoing enhanced star formation and Active
Galactic Nuclei (AGN) activity, possibly triggered as the objects
transform into massive S0 and elliptical merger remnants. We propose
NICMOS NIC2 imaging of the nuclear regions of a complete sample of 88
L_IR 10^11.4 L_sun luminous infrared galaxies in the IRAS Revised
Bright Galaxy Sample (RBGS: i.e., 60 micron flux density 5.24 Jy).
This sample is ideal not only in its completeness and sample size, but
also in the proximity and brightness of the galaxies. The superb
sensitivity and resolution of NICMOS NIC2 on HST enables a unique
opportunity to study the detailed structure of the nuclear regions,
where dust obscuration may mask star clusters, AGN, and additional
nuclei from optical view, with a resolution significantly higher than
possible with Spitzer IRAC. This survey thus provides a crucial
component to our study of the dynamics and evolution of IR galaxies
presently underway with Wide-Field, HST ACS/WFC3, and Spitzer IRAC
observations of these 88 galaxies. Imaging will be done with the F160W
filter (H-band) to examine as a function of both luminosity and merger
stage: (i) the luminosity and distribution of embedded star clusters,
(ii) the presence of optically obscured AGN and nuclei, (iii) the
correlation between the distribution of 1.6 micron emission and the
mid-IR emission as detected by Spitzer IRAC, (iv) the evidence of bars
or bridges that may funnel fuel into the nuclear region, and (v) the
ages of star clusters for which photometry is available via ACS/WFC3
observations. The NICMOS data, combined with the HST ACS, Spitzer, and
GALEX observations of this sample, will result in the most
comprehensive study of merging and interacting galaxies to date.

WFC3/ACS/UVIS 11360

Star Formation in Nearby Galaxies

Star formation is a fundamental astrophysical process; it controls
phenomena ranging from the evolution of galaxies and nucleosynthesis
to the origins of planetary systems and abodes for life. The WFC3,
optimized at both UV and IR wavelengths and equipped with an extensive
array of narrow-band filters, brings unique capabilities to this area
of study. The WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee (SOC) proposes an
integrated program on star formation in the nearby universe which will
fully exploit these new abilities. Our targets range from the
well-resolved R136 in 30 Dor in the LMC (the nearest super star
cluster) and M82 (the nearest starbursting galaxy) to about half a
dozen other nearby galaxies that sample a wide range of star-formation
rates and environments. Our program consists of broad band
multiwavelength imaging over the entire range from the UV to the
near-IR, aimed at studying the ages and metallicities of stellar
populations, revealing young stars that are still hidden by dust at
optical wavelengths, and showing the integrated properties of star
clusters. Narrow-band imaging of the same environments will allow us
to measure star-formation rates, gas pressure, chemical abundances,
extinction, and shock morphologies. The primary scientific issues to
be addressed a (1) What triggers star formation? (2) How do the
properties of star-forming regions vary among different types of
galaxies and environments of different gas densities and compositions?
(3) How do these different environments affect the history of star
formation? (4) Is the stellar initial mass function universal or
determined by local conditions?

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/UV 11556

Investigations of the Pluto System

We propose a set of high SNR observations of the Pluto system that
will provide improved lightcurves, orbits, and photometric properties
of Nix and Hydra. The key photometric result for Nix and Hydra will be
a vastly improved lightcurve shape and rotation period to test if the
objects are in synchronous rotation or not. A second goal of this
program will be to retrieve a new epoch of albedo map for the surface
of Pluto. These observations will also improve masses and in some case
densities for the bodies in the Pluto system.

WFC3/UV/ACS/WFC 11710

The Extreme Globular Cluster System of Abell 1689: The Ultimate Test
of Universal Formation Efficiency

The stellar masses of the most luminous galaxies poorly represent the
masses of the halos in which they reside. However, recent studies of
the very rich globular cluster (GC) populations in the centers of
galaxy clusters point toward an apparently linear scaling of the
number of GCs with the total core mass of the galaxy cluster. Thus,
unlike for the stars in cD galaxies, GC formation in these systems
appears to have proceeded with a roughly universal mass conversion
efficiency. GCs are also distinct in that their spatial distributions
are more extended than the starlight, and recent simulations suggest
that they follow the mass density profile of the merged dark matter
halos that formed stars at high redshift. To provide a definitive test
of the universal efficiency hypothesis requires measuring the number
of GCs in the most massive galaxy clusters, where the number should be
a factor of 5 or more greater than seen in M87. Likewise, the
relationship between GCs and mass density can only be tested in
systems where the total mass and mass density are well-determined.
Fortunately, the imaging power of HST brings the GC population of
Abell 1689, the most extreme high-mass lensing cluster, into range.
Estimates of the size of the A1689 GC population from available data
suggest an unprecedented 100, 000 GCs, but this number is based on the
tip of the iceberg and is extremely uncertain. We propose to obtain
the first accurate measurement of the number of GCs and their density
profile in this extraordinary system - the most massive and most
distant GC system ever studied - and thus make the ultimate test of
the universal GC formation hypothesis. Our deep I-band image will also
provide a stringent "null-detection" test of several known z7 galaxy
candidates and improve the mass model of the system by increasing the
number of usable lensed background galaxies. Finally, we will take
deep multi-band parallel observations with WFC3/IR to help in
quantifying the abundance of rare faint red objects.

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.

 




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