Daily Rpt #4695

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT*** #4695

PERIOD COVERED: 5am September 12 - 5am September 15, 2008 (DOY
256/0900z-259/0900z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED


WFPC2 11797

Supplemental WFPC2 CYCLE 16 Intflat Linearity Check and Filter Rotation
Anomaly Monitor

Supplemental observations to 11029, to cover period from Aug 08 to
SM4. Intflat observations will be taken to provide a linearity check:
the linearity test consists of a series of intflats in F555W, in each
gain and each shutter. A combination of intflats, visflats, and
earthflats will be used to check the repeatability of filter wheel
motions. (Intflat sequences tied to decons, visits 1-18 in prop 10363,
have been moved to the cycle 15 decon proposal 11022 for easier
scheduling.)

Note: long-exposure WFPC2 intflats must be scheduled during ACS
anneals to prevent stray light from the WFPC2 lamps from contaminating
long ACS external exposures.

Note: These are supplemental observations to cover June to SM4 (oct 8
'08) + 6 months.

ACS/SBC 11322

BEA UV Contamination Monitor

The observations consist of imaging and spectroscopy with ACS/SBC of
the scaled OB association NGC 604 in M33 prior to SM4. Data will be
obtained with the F122M, F150LP, F165LP filters and the PR130L prism.
The observations will allow any UV contamination to be monitored by
comparing these data with identical observations to be obtaining
during the BEA phase of SMOV4. Also included are a suite of internal
Deuterium lamp flat fields to be acquired shortly before the servicing
mission for comparison with exactly the same set to be acquired in
SMOV/11398.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 11318

NICMOS Cycle 16 Multiaccum Darks

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor the dark current, read
noise, and shading profile for all three NICMOS detectors throughout
the duration of Cycle 16. This proposal is a slightly modified version
of proposal 10380 of cycle 13 and 9993 of cycle12 and is the same as
Cycle 15. Covers the period from April 08 to November 08 (inclusive)

WFPC2 11316

HST Cycle 16 & Pre-SM4 Optical Monitor

This is a continuation of the Cycle 15 & pre-SM4 Optical Monitor,
11020. Please see that proposal for a more complete description of the
observing strategy. The 6 visits comprising this proposal observe two
single standard stars with WFPC2/PC in order to establish overall OTA
focal length for the purposes of focus maintenance. The goal of this
monitoring before SM4 is to establish a best estimate of the OTA focus
entering SMOV.

WFPC2 11218

Snapshot Survey for Planetary Nebulae in Globular Clusters of the Local
Group

Planetary nebulae {PNe} in globular clusters {GCs} raise a number of
interesting issues related to stellar and galactic evolution. The
number of PNe known in Milky Way GCs, 4, is surprisingly low if one
assumes that all stars pass through a PN stage. However, it is likely
that the remnants of stars now evolving in Galactic GCs leave the AGB
so slowly that any ejected nebula dissipates long before the star
becomes hot enough to ionize it. Thus there should not be ANY PNe in
Milky Way GCs--but there are four! It has been suggested that these
PNe are the result of mergers of binary stars within GCs, i.e., that
they are descendants of blue stragglers. The frequency of occurrence
of PNe in external galaxies poses more questions, because it shows a
range of almost an order of magnitude. I propose a Snapshot survey
aimed at discovering PNe in the GC systems of Local Group galaxies
more distant than the Magellanic Clouds. These clusters, some of which
may be much younger than their counterparts in the Milky Way, might
contain many more PNe than those of our own galaxy. I will use the
standard technique of emission-line and continuum imaging, which
easily discloses PNe.

FGS 11212

Filling the Period Gap for Massive Binaries

The current census of binaries among the massive O-type stars is
seriously incomplete for systems in the period range from years to
millennia because the radial velocity variations are too small and the
angular separations too close for easy detection. Here we propose to
discover binaries in this observational gap through a Faint Guidance
Sensor SNAP survey of relatively bright targets listed in the Galactic
O Star Catalog. Our primary goal is to determine the binary frequency
among those in the cluster/association, field, and runaway groups. The
results will help us assess the role of binaries in massive star
formation and in the processes that lead to the ejection of massive
stars from their natal clusters. The program will also lead to the
identification of new, close binaries that will be targets of long
term spectroscopic and high angular resolution observations to
determine their masses and distances. The results will also be
important for the interpretation of the spectra of suspected and newly
identified binary and multiple systems.

WEPC2 11196

An Ultraviolet Survey 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 starbursts and creating/fueling
central AGN. We propose far {ACS/SBC/F140LP} and near {WFPC2/PC/F218W}
UV imaging of a sample of 27 galaxies drawn from the complete IRAS
Revised Bright Galaxy Sample {RBGS} LIRGs sample and known, from our
Cycle 14 B and I-band ACS imaging observations, to have significant
numbers of bright {23 B 21 mag} star clusters in the central 30
arcsec. The HST UV data will be combined with previously obtained HST,
Spitzer, and GALEX images to {i} calculate the ages of the clusters as
function of merger stage, {ii} measure the amount of UV light in
massive star clusters relative to diffuse regions of star formation,
{iii} assess the feasibility of using the UV slope to predict the
far-IR luminosity {and thus the star formation rate} both among and
within IR-luminous galaxies, and {iv} provide a much needed catalog of
rest- frame UV morphologies for comparison with rest-frame UV images
of high-z LIRGs and Lyman Break Galaxies. These observations will
achieve the resolution required to perform both detailed photometry of
compact structures and spatial correlations between UV and redder
wavelengths for a physical interpretation our IRX-Beta results. The
HST UV data, combined with the HST ACS, Spitzer, Chandra, and GALEX
observations of this sample, will result in the most comprehensive
study of luminous starburst galaxies to date.

WFPC2 11178

Probing Solar System History with Orbits, Masses, and Colors of
Transneptunian Binaries

The recent discovery of numerous transneptunian binaries {TNBs} opens
a window into dynamical conditions in the protoplanetary disk where
they formed as well as the history of subsequent events which sculpted
the outer Solar System and emplaced them onto their present day
heliocentric orbits. To date, at least 47 TNBs have been discovered,
but only about a dozen have had their mutual orbits and separate
colors determined, frustrating their use to investigate numerous
important scientific questions. The current shortage of data
especially cripples scientific investigations requiring statistical
comparisons among the ensemble characteristics. We propose to obtain
sufficient astrometry and photometry of 23 TNBs to compute their
mutual orbits and system masses and to determine separate primary and
secondary colors, roughly tripling the sample for which this
information is known, as well as extending it to include systems of
two near-equal size bodies. To make the most efficient possible use of
HST, we will use a Monte Carlo technique to optimally schedule our
observations.

WFPC2 11130

AGNs with Intermediate-mass Black Holes: Testing the Black Hole-Bulge
Paradigm, Part II

The recent progress in the study of central black holes in galactic
nuclei has led to a general consensus that supermassive {10^6-10^9
solar mass} black holes are closely connected with the formation and
evolutionary history of large galaxies, especially their bulge
component. Two outstanding issues, however, remain unresolved. Can
central black holes form in the absence of a bulge? And does the mass
function of central black holes extend below 10^6 solar masses?
Intermediate-mass black holes {10^6 solar masses}, if they exist, may
offer important clues to the nature of the seeds of supermassive black
holes. Using the SDSS, our group has successfully uncovered a new
population of AGNs with intermediate-mass black holes that reside in
low-luminosity galaxies. However, very little is known about the
detailed morphologies or structural parameters of the host galaxies
themselves, including the crucial question of whether they have bulges
or not. Surprisingly, the majority of the targets of our Cycle 14
pilot program have structural properties similar to dwarf elliptical
galaxies. The statistics from this initial study, however, are really
too sparse to reach definitive conclusions on this important new class
of black holes. We wish to extend this study to a larger sample, by
using the Snapshot mode to obtain WFPC2 F814W images from a parent
sample of 175 AGNs with intermediate- mass black holes selected from
our final SDSS search. We are particularly keen to determine whether
the hosts contain bulges, and if so, how the fundamental plane
properties of the host depend on the mass of their central black
holes. We will also investigate the environment of this unique class
of AGNs.

WFPC2 11113

Binaries in the Kuiper Belt: Probes of Solar System Formation and
Evolution

The discovery of binaries in the Kuiper Belt and related small body
populations is powering a revolutionary step forward in the study of
this remote region. Three quarters of the known binaries in the Kuiper
Belt have been discovered with HST, most by our snapshot surveys. The
statistics derived from this work are beginning to yield surprising
and unexpected results. We have found a strong concentration of
binaries among low-inclination Classicals, a possible size cutoff to
binaries among the Centaurs, an apparent preference for nearly equal
mass binaries, and a strong increase in the number of binaries at
small separations. We propose to continue this successful program in
Cycle 16; we expect to discover at least 13 new binary systems,
targeted to subgroups where these discoveries can have the greatest
impact.

WFPC2 11103

A Snapshot Survey of The Most Massive Clusters of Galaxies

We propose the continuation of our highly successful SNAPshot survey
of a sample of 125 very X-ray luminous clusters in the redshift range
0.3-0.7. As demonstrated by the 25 snapshots obtained so far in
Cycle14 and Cycle15 these systems frequently exhibit strong
gravitational lensing as well as spectacular examples of violent
galaxy interactions. The proposed observations will provide important
constraints on the cluster mass distributions, the physical nature of
galaxy-galaxy and galaxy-gas interactions in cluster cores, and a set
of optically bright, lensed galaxies for further 8-10m spectroscopy.
All of our primary science goals require only the detection and
characterization of high-surface-brightness features and are thus
achievable even at the reduced sensitivity of WFPC2. Because of their
high redshift and thus compact angular scale our target clusters are
less adversely affected by the smaller field of view of WFPC2 than
more nearby systems. Acknowledging the broad community interest in
this sample we waive our data rights for these observations. Due to a
clerical error at STScI our approved Cycle15 SNAP program was barred
from execution for 3 months and only 6 observations have been
performed to date - reinstating this SNAP at Cycle16 priority is of
paramount importance to reach meaningful statistics.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

11487 - GSAcq 1,2,2 failed due to Search Radius Exceeded on FGS-2 @
256/17:35:47z

Received one 486 STB message "a05" Exceeded SRL. Mnemonics QF2STOPF
and QF2SRLEX flagged out.

Possible observations affected: ACS Proposal 11322, observation 20 -
21.

11489 - NCC (NICMOS CRYO-COOLER) SAFED DURING RESTART

At 258/17:24:43 NCC safed during OPR#18282-0 (NCS Restart and
Cooldown). The NCC safed during step 14, NCS PCE On to Circulator On.
Status Buffer Message EXEC 908 P=200 T=21011 was received.

11490 - GSacq(1,2,2) Loss Lock

GSacq(1,2,2) starting at 258/20:52z loss lock at 258/21:31:06z prior
to Term EXP at 21:33:00z. WFPC2 Observation #121 for Proposal ID
#11130 had just completed science data output (3sec prior to the LOL)
at 21:31:03z. There were no other flags.

11491 - GSAcq(2,3,2) failed due to Search Radius Limit Exceed on
FGS-3.

GSAcq(2,3,2) scheduled at 259/03:08:20 - 03:16:25 failed to RGA Hold
due to Search Radius Limit Exceeded on FGS-3.

Possible Observations effected: Astrometry only, Proposal #11212

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST:

18275-0 - Safe NICMOS
18282-0 - NCS Restart and Cooldown (Post-Circulator Safing)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

*************************** SCHEDULED***** SUCCESSFUL
FGS GSacq******************** 29*************** 27
FGS REacq******************** 10*************** 10
OBAD with Maneuver*********** 78*************** 78

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

Flash Report:* NICMOS Safed @ 257/01:12:15z, Per Ops Request 18275-1.

Flash Report: NCS Restart operations unsuccessful

Upon execution of circulator start up commanding (Ops Request 18282),
a NSCC-1 Status Buffer Message indicated that the circulator was shut
down and the NCC was safed due to exceeding the maximum circulator
inverter current limit of 130.08 mA (Device Table 251). NCS Restart
operations have been suspended pending further review of the start up
signature.