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Daily 3544
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT # 3544 PERIOD COVERED: DOY 34 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED ACS 9438 The Origin of the Intergalactic Globular Cluster Population in Abell 1185 We request deep V and I observations with ACS to examine the properties of a newly discovered population of intergalactic globular clusters in the core of the rich galaxy cluster Abell 1185. Our previous WFPC2 observations of this field {GO-8164} revealed an excess of five times the number of objects at the expected magnitudes of globular clusters compared to the Hubble Deep Fields. The colors and luminosity function of these intergalactic globular clusters will place strong constraints on their origin, which in turn will yield new insights to the evolution of galaxy populations in dense environments ACS 9984 Cosmic Shear With ACS Pure Parallels Small distortions in the shapes of background galaxies by foreground mass provide a powerful method of directly measuring the amount and distribution of dark matter. Several groups have recently detected this weak lensing by large-scale structure, also called cosmic shear. The high resolution and sensitivity of HST/ACS provide a unique opportunity to measure cosmic shear accurately on small scales. Using 260 parallel orbits in Sloan textiti {F775W} we will measure for the first time: beginlistosetlength sep0cm setlengthemsep0cm setlength opsep0cm em the cosmic shear variance on scales 0.7 arcmin, em the skewness of the shear distribution, and em the magnification effect. endlist Our measurements will determine the amplitude of the mass power spectrum sigma_8Omega_m^0.5, with signal-to-noise {s/n} ~ 20, and the mass density Omega_m with s/n=4. They will be done at small angular scales where non-linear effects dominate the power spectrum, providing a test of the gravitational instability paradigm for structure formation. Measurements on these scales are not possible from the ground, because of the systematic effects induced by PSF smearing from seeing. Having many independent lines of sight reduces the uncertainty due to cosmic variance, making parallel observations ideal. ACS/HRC/WFC 10059 CCD Daily Monitor This program consists of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the development of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD detectors. This programme will be executed once a day for the entire lifetime of ACS. ACS/HRC/WFC/STIS/CCD 9836 The role of dark matter and intracluster gas in galaxy formation and cluster evolution We propose a fully-sampled mosaic of 41 ACS images to survey galaxy morphologies and measure weak lensing signals to the turn-around radius in the X-ray luminous cluster, MS0451-03 {z=0.54}. The aim is to isolate the physical processes which affect the evolution of cluster galaxy morphologies in the context of well-defined dynamical system. The study will be used in contrast to a successful campaign undertaken in Cycle 9 on a optically-selected target. By comparing morphologies with spectroscopic and Chandra X-ray data, we will quantify the role of the intracluster medium and associated substructures and establish the timescales and physical regions within which the various environmental processes occur. ACS/WFC 10054 ACS photometric Stability A set of four spectrophotometric standard stars {GD71, G191B2B, GD153, and HZ43} is observed once with ACS's WFC and HRC through all filters, except the ramp filters, to assess the sensitivity of the instrument and measure accurate photometric zero points. The stars are placed at the centre of the aperture, and two images are taken through each filter. This programme is based on proposals 9020 and 9654 designed for SMOV and Cycle 11, and also on programme 9563 from the interim period. No RAMP filters are calibrated here. The exposure times have been calculated to reach, on average, SNR~350 in the central pixel for broad band filters. FGS 9881 Dynamical Masses and Radii of Four White Dwarf Stars The cool white dwarf stars WD1639+153 and WD1818+126 were recently resolved by HST FGS1r to be double degenerate binary systems with projected separations of 112 mas and 174 mas respectively. At a distance of less than 50 pc they may both have periods shorter than about 20 years, making them ideal candidates for follow up studies for dynamical mass determinations. This will increase the number of white dwarfs with dynamical mass measurements from the current 4 up to 8. Continued observations of these white dwarfs along with nearby field stars with the FGS will accurately determine the orbital elements and parallax of each system. The mass and radius of all four white dwarfs can be determined to an unprecedented 1%, making it possible to test and calibrate the theoretical white dwarf mass radius relation at the cool end of the cooling curve for the DA and DC subclasses. Since the components of the binary are coeval, once the mass and radius, and hence the cooling age of each star is known, it will be possible to estimate the relation between the initial mass and final mass for all four white dwarfs. We are requesting a total of 4 HST orbits per year for the next three cycles to initiate the process that will result in a determination of the mass and radius of the four white dwarfs. NIC/NIC3 9865 The NICMOS Parallel Observing Program We propose to continue managing the NICMOS pure parallel program. Based on our experience, we are well prepared to make optimal use of the parallel opportunities. The improved sensitivity and efficiency of our observations will substantially increase the number of line-emitting galaxies detected. As our previous work has demonstrated, the most frequently detected line is Halpha at 0.7z1.9, which provides an excellent measure of current star formation rate. We will also detect star-forming and active galaxies in other redshift ranges using other emission lines. The grism observations will produce by far the best available Halpha luminosity functions over the crucial--but poorly observed--redshift range where galaxies appear to have assembled most of their stellar mass. This key process of galaxy evolution needs to be studied with IR data; we found that observations at shorter wavelengths appear to have missed a large fraction of the star-formation in galaxies, due to dust reddening. We will also obtain deep F110W and F160W images, to examine the space densities and morphologies of faint red galaxies. In addition to carrying out the public parallels, we will make the fully reduced and calibrated images and spectra available on-line, with some ground-based data for the deepest parallel fields included. NIC1 9833 T Dwarf Companions: Searching for the Coldest Brown Dwarfs Faint companions to known stars have historically led to the discovery of new classes of stellar and substellar objects. Because these discoveries are typically limited by the flux ratio of the components in the system, the intrinsically faintest companions are most effectively identified around the intrinsically faintest primaries. We propose to use NICMOS to image a sample of 22 of the coolest known {T-type} brown dwarfs in the Solar Neighborhood in order to search for fainter and cooler brown dwarf companions. The high spatial resolution of the NIC 1 detector enables us to distinguish binary systems with apparent separations greater than 0"08, or physical separations greater than 1.2 AU at the nominal distances of the objects in our sample. Furthermore, the substantial sensitivity of NICMOS imaging allows us to probe companion masses of 5-50 Jupiter masses and companion effective temperatures of 250-1300 K in a maximally efficient manner. Based on work to date, we expect that roughly 20% of the objects in our sample will be binary, and that one or two of these will likely harbor a significantly fainter secondary. Hence, we expect to find a companion cooler than any currently known brown dwarf, a potential prototype for the next spectral class. In addition, our investigation will add substantially to the sample of known binary brown dwarfs, allowing improved statistical analyses of the binary fraction, separation distribution, and mass ratio distribution of these systems, key quantities for probing brown dwarf formation. We will also identify optimal substellar systems for astrometric mass measurements, a critical check for theoretical models of brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets. NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 9997 Photometric Recalibration This proposal extends the NICMOS photometric calibration for the NCS era to cover four standard stars: G191B2B, P330E, P177D, and GD71. NIC3 9735 ACS, NICMOS, and STIS Observations of Three Ongoing Mergers We propose to make ACS {U, B, V, I, H_alpha}, NICMOS {J, H, K}, and STIS {long-slit H_alpha} observations of NGC 520, NGC 2623, and NGC 3256, three merging galaxies in the middle of the Toomre Sequence and currently in the throes of violent relaxation. Two of these {NGC 2623 and NGC 3256} are the most IR luminous galaxies in the sequence. Hence, these ongoing mergers are ideal candidates for studying the triggering mechanism responsible for the formation of stars and star clusters. The ACS observations will allow us to age date the star clusters, and reliably distinguish clusters from stars based on their apparent sizes. They will also be used in conjunction with ground-based measurements of the stellar velocity dispersion to determine dynamical masses of the clusters and hence address the question of whether the IMF is truncated. The NICMOS observations will allow us to penetrate the dust and answer several fundamental questions such as: What fraction of the young clusters are hidden by dust? How do these clusters form and evolve? The STIS observations will allow us to study the kinematics of the young cluster system and measure the pressure and shock properties which may be triggering the formation of the clusters. A better understanding of how mergers form tremendous numbers of clusters and stars in the local universe will help shed light on processes that were crucial during galaxy assembly in the high-z universe. NICMOS 8791 NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 2 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 USEAFTER 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 DARKSs. 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 9786 The Next Generation Spectral Library We propose to continue the Cycle 10 snapshot program to produce a Next Generation Spectral Library of 600 stars for use in modeling the integrated light of galaxies and clusters. This program is using the low dispersion UV and optical gratings of STIS. The library will be roughly equally divided among four metallicities, very low {[Fe/H] lt -1.5}, low {[Fe/H] -1.5 to -0.5}, near-solar {[Fe/H] -0.3 to 0.1}, and super-solar {[Fe/H] gt 0.2}, well-sampling the entire HR-diagram in each bin. Such a library will surpass all extant compilations and have lasting archival value, well into the Next Generation Space Telescope era. Because of the universal utility and community-broad nature of this venture, we waive the entire proprietary period. STIS/CCD 10017 CCD Dark Monitor-Part 1 Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD. STIS/CCD 10019 CCD Bias Monitor - Part 1 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 10023 STIS CCD Spectroscopic Flats C12 Obtain CCD flats on the STIS CCD in spectroscopic mode STIS/CCD 10085 STIS Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 12 This is the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during cycle 12. WFPC2 10070 WFPC2 CYCLE 12 Supplemental Darks Part 2/3 This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels. WFPC2 10084 WFII parallel archive proposal This is the generic target version of the WFPC2 Archival Pure Parallel program. The program will be used to take parallel images of random areas of the sky, following the recommendations of the 2002 Parallels Working Group. FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) HSTAR 9308: At AOS (034/14:08:45Z), GS Acquisition (2,1,1) was observed in FL on FGS 2 only. FGS 1 did not acquire lock. Further information following SSR engineering data dump @ 035/01:06Z. Under investigation. HSTAR 9309: During Network Failure Simulation in Building, at a moment when there was no (known) reconfiguration activity, CCS "C" String HSTnet XX (info intentionally removed) and xx (info intentionally removed), GUI telemetry data displays went 'purple' and an erroneous message was displayed, indicating a CCS shutdown was in progress. After clicking "OK" to the advisory pop-up message, both PCs data display resumed (telemetry was displayed in normal 'yellow'). Other HSTnet and Backbone GUI telemetry displays on CCS "C" String did NOT show the loss of display. There were no event messages to explain the anomaly. This anomaly has been seen on CCS "D" String during testing. Under investigation. HSTAR 9310: GS Acquisition (1,2,1) @ 034/21:41:37Z resulted in FL backup using FGS 1 due to SSLEX on FGS 2. Prior FHST RD Update @ 034/21:25Z showed good attitude error vector. FHST Map @ 034/22:17:17Z showed error values of -5.817, -5.034, and 1.052 arcsec. Under investigation. HSTAR 9311: GS Acquisition (1,2,1) @ 034/23:25:21Z resulted in FL backup using FGS 2 due to SSLEX on FGS 1. Prior FHST FM Updates @ 034/23:09Z and 23:12Z showed good attitude error vector. No FHST Maps scheduled to follow the GS acquisition due to the MEGG outline and TDRS support, a FAD could not be generated. Under investigation. COMPLETED OPS REQs: None OPS NOTES EXECUTED: 1193-0 Dump SSR-3 Event Status Buffer @034/1557z 1193-0 Dump SSR-3 Event Status Buffer @034/1647z SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES FGS GSacq 07 07 FGS REacq 08 08 FHST Update 18 18 LOSS of LOCK SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: Network Failure Simulations was conducted 034/20:55Z 035/00:20Z. Experienced some problems bringing up the Network, causing the Network to slow down, problems were resolved approximately 035/00:20Z, still some open issues to work. |
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