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Daily Report #4965



 
 
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Old November 4th 09, 05:21 PM posted to sci.astro.hubble
Cooper, Joe
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Default Daily Report #4965

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #4965

PERIOD COVERED: 5am November 3 - 5am November 4, 2009 (DOY 307/10:00z-308/10:00z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/WFC 11782

Measuring the Shape and Orientation of the Galactic Dark-Matter Halo
using Hypervelocity Stars

We propose to obtain high-resolution images of five hypervelocity
stars in the Galactic halo in order to establish the first-epoch
astrometric frame for them, as a part of a long-term program to
measure precise proper motions. The origin of these recently
discovered stars, all with positive radial velocities above 540 km/s,
is consistent only with being ejected from the deep potential well of
the massive black hole at the Galactic center. The deviations of their
space motions from purely radial trajectories probe the departures
from spherical symmetry of the Galactic potential, mainly due to the
triaxiality of the dark-matter halo. Reconstructing the full
three-dimensional space motion of the hypervelocity stars, through
astrometric proper motions, provides a unique opportunity to measure
the shape and orientation of the dark halo. The hypervelocity stars
allow measurement of the potential up to 75 kpc from the center,
independently of and at larger distances than are afforded by tidal
streams of satellite galaxies such as the Sagittarius dSph galaxy.
HVS3 may be associated with the LMC, rather then the Galactic center,
and would therefore present a case for a supermassive black hole at
the center of the LMC. We request one orbit with ACS/WFC for each of
the five hypervelocity stars to establish their current positions
relative to background galaxies. We will request a repeated
observation of these stars in Cycle 17, which will conclusively
measure the astrometric proper motions.

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 11848

CCD Read Noise Monitor

This proposal measures the read noise of all the amplifiers (A, B, C,
D) on the STIS CCD using pairs of bias frames. Full-frame and binned
observations are made in both Gain 1 and Gain 4, with binning factors
of 1x1, 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2. All exposures are internals. Pairs of
visits are scheduled monthly for the first four months and then
bi-monthly after that.

WFC3/ACS/IR/WFC 11563

Galaxies at z~7-10 in the Reionization Epoch: Luminosity Functions to
0.2L* from Deep IR Imaging of the HUDF and HUDF05 Fields

The first generations of galaxies were assembled around redshifts
z~7-10+, just 500-800 Myr after recombination, in the heart of the
reionization of the universe. We know very little about galaxies in
this period. Despite great effort with HST and other telescopes, less
than ~15 galaxies have been reliably detected so far at z7,
contrasting with the ~1000 galaxies detected to date at z~6, just
200-400 Myr later, near the end of the reionization epoch. WFC3 IR can
dramatically change this situation, enabling derivation of the galaxy
luminosity function and its shape at z~7-8 to well below L*,
measurement of the UV luminosity density at z~7-8 and z~8-9, and
estimates of the contribution of galaxies to reionization at these
epochs, as well as characterization of their properties (sizes,
structure, colors). A quantitative leap in our understanding of early
galaxies, and the timescales of their buildup, requires a total sample
of ~100 galaxies at z~7-8 to ~29 AB mag. We can achieve this with 192
WFC3 IR orbits on three disjoint fields (minimizing cosmic variance):
the HUDF and the two nearby deep fields of the HUDF05. Our program
uses three WFC3 IR filters, and leverages over 600 orbits of existing
ACS data, to identify, with low contamination, a large sample of over
100 objects at z~7-8, a very useful sample of ~23 at z~8-9, and limits
at z~10. By careful placement of the WFC3 IR and parallel ACS
pointings, we also enhance the optical ACS imaging on the HUDF and a
HUDF05 field. We stress (1) the need to go deep, which is paramount to
define L*, the shape, and the slope alpha of the luminosity function
(LF) at these high redshifts; and (2) the far superior performance of
our strategy, compared with the use of strong lensing clusters, in
detecting significant samples of faint z~7-8 galaxies to derive their
luminosity function and UV ionizing flux. Our recent z~7.4 NICMOS
results show that wide-area IR surveys, even of GOODS-like depth,
simply do not reach faint enough at z~7-9 to meet the LF and UV flux
objectives. In the spirit of the HDF and the HUDF, we will waive any
proprietary period, and will also deliver the reduced data to STScI.
The proposed data will provide a Legacy resource of great value for a
wide range of archival science investigations of galaxies at redshifts
z~2-9. The data are likely to remain the deepest IR/optical images
until JWST is launched, and will provide sources for spectroscopic
followup by JWST, ALMA and EVLA.

WFC3/IR 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 12045

Evolution of the 2009 Single Impact on Jupiter

The 19 July 2009 impact on Jupiter captured worldwide attention, and
sparked a highly successful WFC3 imaging program during SMOV, with the
last Hubble image acquired on 8 August. Continuing ground-based
observations have revealed significant differences between this event
and the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts in 1994: a single impact event offers
a chance to study the longer-term evolution of the impact debris field
without confusion due to overlapping aerosol debris clouds, and this
debris field evolved more slowly than the SL9 sites. Initial analysis
of our first data set reveals possible curved streamlines that
correspond to no known tropospheric vortex. To constrain the
stratospheric velocity field traced by the impact-generated aerosols,
we request 10-hour separated data (a temporal sampling rate which we
could not obtain during SMOV) that are crucial for tracking coherent
albedo features. We also requested (but were not granted) a single
orbit of high-resolution near-infrared images. These data would have
provided the sharpest visible and near-infrared images of the site,
providing context for the ongoing worldwide campaign of
lower-resolution ground-based observations.

WFC3/UV 11588

Galaxy-Scale Strong Lenses from the CFHTLS Survey

We aim to investigate the origin and evolution of early-type galaxies
using gravitational lensing, modeling the mass profiles of objects
over a wide range of redshifts. The low redshift (z = 0.2) sample is
already in place following the successful HST SLACS survey; we now
propose to build up and analyze a sample of comparable size (~50
systems) at high redshift (0.4 z 0.9) using HST WFC3 Snapshot
observations of lens systems identified by the SL2S collaboration in
the CFHT legacy survey.

WFC3/UV 11657

The Population of Compact Planetary Nebulae in the Galactic Disk

We propose to secure narrow- and broad-band images of compact
planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Galactic Disk to study the missing link
of the early phases of post-AGB evolution. Ejected AGB envelopes
become PNe when the gas is ionized. PNe expand, and, when large
enough, can be studied in detail from the ground. In the interim, only
the HST capabilities can resolve their size, morphology, and central
stars. Our proposed observations will be the basis for a systematic
study of the onset of morphology. Dust properties of the proposed
targets will be available through approved Spitzer/IRS spectra, and so
will the abundances of the alpha- elements. We will be able thus to
explore the interconnection of morphology, dust grains, stellar
evolution, and populations. The target selection is suitable to
explore the nebular and stellar properties across the galactic disk,
and to set constraints on the galactic evolutionary models through the
analysis of metallicity and population gradients.

WFC3/UV 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).

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary
reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be
investigated.)

HSTARS:

12065 - SIC&DH safed during LOS at 307/18:37:42z due to failure of
SIC&DH Pit toggle test.

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST:

18743-1 - Recover NICMOS to SAA Operate with FPA Temp Sensor (skip
steps 3-5) @ 307/1538z
18735-1 - Adjust NCS CPL Setpoint @ 307/1550z, 307/1714z
18744-1 - Recover SICDH @ 307/2238z
18745-0 - Execute Safemode Recovery @ 307/2242z
18749-3 - Recover SICDH to normal mode @ 308/0010z
18747-0 - Re-enable ACR to Reset S1 MEB @ 308/0012z
18746-0 - Re-enable NSSC-1 HV Protect Function @ 308/0020z
18751-0 - Recover WFC3 to Operate @ 308/0050z
18750-0 - Recover the ESMNCSCPL PCE @ 308/0127z

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS GSAcq 10 10
FGS REAcq 06 06
OBAD with Maneuver 05 05

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

At 307/15:37z, Ops Request 18743 was successfully completed to
transition NICMOS from safe to SAA Operate.

At 307/19:10:17z, AOS telemetry indicates the SIC&DH safed during LOS.

Ops request 18744 to power cycle the CDH2, perform SI memory dumps and
safe all the payload elements was successfully completed at
307/22:38z.

Ops request 18749-3 to recovery CDH2 to normal was successfully
completed at 308/00:08. Ops request 18746 to re-enable NSSC-1 HV
protection was completed at 308/00:21. WFC3 was recovered to operate
without power cycling the TECs at 308/00:50 via ops request 18751.

Ops Request 18750 was successfully completed at 308/01:30 UTC,
recovering the ESM up to its Operate mode, placing the NCS CPL in its
Standby state at a reservoir setpoint of -34 degC, and re-enabling the
PCE to restore visibility into various NCC telemetry.

 




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