Daily Rpt #4597

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 4597

PERIOD COVERED: UT April 24, 2008 (DOY 115)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/SBC/WFPC2 11230

HST FUV Observations of Brightest Cluster Galaxies: The Role of Star
Formation in Cooling Flows and BCG Evolution

The intracluster medium (ICM) now appears to be a very dynamic place where
heating and cooling processes vie for dominance and an uneasy equilibrium is
maintained. Since these same processes may operate during the process of
galaxy formation, the centers of clusters of galaxies provide low redshift
laboratories for studying the critical processes involved in galaxy
formation and black hole growth. At the present time, the main questions are
(1) How much gas is cooling out of the ICM? (2) How much star formation is
ongoing? (3) What is the impact of the gas and star formation on the central
BCG? In order to measure the current star formation in BCGs we have
undertaken a program of Spitzer IRAC and MIPS observations. We are in
process of obtaining observations of a sample of Brightest Cluster Galaxies
in 70 clusters selected from the ROSAT all sky survey. In about 25% of the
sources observed so far, we detect a mid-IR excess which we attribute to
dust heated by star formation. We propose to obtain ACS/SBC observations of
the Lyman Alpha emission line and the adjacent FUV continuum in 7 BCGs which
are in cooling core clusters of galaxies and have a large mid-IR excess. We
also propose WFPC2 F606W observations of the two clusters without high
resolution imaging to allow us to image the dust on the same scale as the
Far UV continuum. The FUV will allow us to confirm the presense of ongoing
starformation in these BCGs and will allow us to rule out an AGN as the
dominant contributer to the mid-IR. The morphology and spatial extent of the
young stars and the heated dust and CO will constrain the spatial scale over
which star formation occurs and thus where the cooling gas is deposited. The
combination of our FUV and IR observations will allow us to estimate the
star formation rates which must balance the rate at which cold gas is
deposited in the BCG. Our proposed FUV observations will produce unique
information about the cooling gas, the true mass accretion rates, and the
star formation rates in BCGs and its effect on the galaxy.

FGS 11211

An Astrometric Calibration of Population II Distance Indicators

In 2002 HST produced a highly precise parallax for RR Lyrae. That
measurement resulted in an absolute magnitude, M{V}= 0.61+/-0.11, a useful
result, judged by the over ten refereed citations each year since. It is,
however, unsatisfactory to have the direct, parallax-based, distance scale
of Population II variables based on a single star. We propose, therefore, to
obtain the parallaxes of four additional RR Lyrae stars and two Population
II Cepheids, or W Vir stars. The Population II Cepheids lie with the RR
Lyrae stars on a common K-band Period-Luminosity relation. Using these
parallaxes to inform that relationship, we anticipate a zero-point error of
0.04 magnitude. This result should greatly strengthen confidence in the
Population II distance scale and increase our understanding of RR Lyrae star
and Pop II Cepheid astrophysics.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8795

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 6

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 i mages. Each observation will need its own CRMAP, as
different SAA passages leave different imprints on the NICMOS detectors.

NIC3 11107

Imaging of Local Lyman Break Galaxy Analogs: New Clues to Galaxy
Formation in the Early Universe

We have used the ultraviolet all-sky imaging survey currently being
conducted by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer {GALEX} to identify for the first
time a rare population of low-redshift starbursts with properties remarkably
similar to high-redshift Lyman Break Galaxies {LBGs}. These "compact UV
luminous galaxies" {UVLGs} resemble LBGs in terms of size, SFR, surface
brightness, mass, metallicity, kinematics, dust, and color. The UVLG sample
offers the unique opportunity of investigating some very important
properties of LBGs that have remained virtually inaccessible at high
redshift: their morphology and the mechanism that drives their star
formation. Therefore, in Cycle 15 we have imaged 7 UVLGs using ACS in order
to 1} characterize their morphology and look for signs of interactions and
mergers, and 2} probe their star formation histories over a variety of
timescales. The images show a striking trend of small- scale mergers turning
large amounts of gas into vigorous starbursts {a process referred to as
dissipational or "wet" merging}. Here, we propose to complete our sample of
31 LBG analogs using the ACS/SBC F150LP {FUV} and WFPC2 F606W {R} filters in
order to create a statistical sample to study the mechanism that triggers
star formation in UVLGs and its implications for the nature of LBGs.
Specifically, we will 1} study the trend between galaxy merging and SFR in
UVLGs, 2} artificially redshift the FUV images to z=1-4 and compare
morphologies with those in similarly sized samples of LBGs at the same
rest-frame wavelengths in e.g. GOODS, UDF, and COSMOS, 3} determine the
presence and morphology of significant stellar mass in "pre- burst" stars,
and 4} study their immediate environment. Together with our Spitzer
{IRAC+MIPS}, GALEX, SDSS and radio data, the HST observations will form a
unique union of data that may for the first time shed light on how the
earliest major episodes of star formation in high redshift galaxies came
about. This proposal was adapted from an ACS HRC+WFC proposal to meet the
new Cycle 16 observing constraints, and can be carried out using the ACS/SBC
and WFPC2 without compromising our original science goals.

WFPC2 10869

The upper atmosphere and the escape state of the transiting
very-hot-Jupiter HD189733b

The observation of the HD209458b transits in Lyman-alpha revealed that the
atmosphere of this planet is escaping. These observations raised the
question of the evaporation state of hot- Jupiters. Is the evaporation
specific to HD209458b or general to hot-Jupiters? What is the evaporation
mechanism, and how does the escape rate depend on the planetary system
characteristics? The recent discovery of HD189733b, a planet transiting a
bright and nearby K0 star {V=7.7}, offers the unprecedented opportunity to
answer these questions. Indeed, among the stars harboring transiting
planets, HD189733 presents the largest apparent brightness in Lyman-alpha,
providing capabilities to constrain the escape rate to high accuracy. With
ACS/PR110L we will observe stellar emission lines to search for atmospheric
absorptions during the transits. HD189733b being a very short period planet
orbiting a nearby late type star with bright chromospheric emission lines,
it is by far the best target to make significant progress in that field.

WFPC2 11156

Monitoring Active Atmospheres on Uranus and Neptune

We propose Snapshot observations of Uranus and Neptune to monitor changes in
their atmospheres on time scales of weeks and months. Uranus equinox is only
months away, in December 2007. Hubble Space Telescope observations during
the past several years {Hammel et al. 2005, Icarus 175, 284 and references
therein} have revealed strongly wavelength- dependent latitudinal structure,
the presence of numerous visible-wavelength cloud features in the northern
hemisphere, at least one very long-lived discrete cloud in the southern
hemisphere, and in 2006 the first dark spot ever seen on Uranus. Long-term
ground-based observations {Lockwood and Jerzekiewicz, 2006, Icarus 180, 442;
Hammel and Lockwood 2007, Icarus 186, 291} reveal seasonal brightness
changes whose origins are not well understood. Recent near-IR images of
Neptune obtained using adaptive optics on the Keck Telescope, together with
HST observations {Sromovsky et al. 2003, Icarus 163, 256 and references
therein} which include previous Snapshot programs {GO 8634, 10170, 10534}
show a general increase in activity at south temperate latitudes until 2004,
when Neptune returned to a rather Voyager-like appearance. Further Snapshot
observations of these two dynamic planets will elucidate the nature of
long-term changes in their zonal atmospheric bands and clarify the processes
of formation, evolution, and dissipation of discrete albedo features.

WFPC2 11160

Escape fraction and stellar populations in a highly magnified
Lyman-Break Galaxy

Understanding how star-forming galaxies contribute to cosmic reionization is
one of the frontiers of observational cosmology. A key ingredient in this
issue is measuring the escape fraction of Lyman-continuum photons in high
redshift galaxies (z3). Gravitationally lensed Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs)
act as important laboratories for studying the resolved physical properties
at sub-kpc scales with high signal-to-noise. Correlating the local escape
fraction with physical parameters derived from stellar population modeling
(such as the star formation rate, age and reddening) will offer new insights
into understanding the physical processes involved with the production of
ionizing photons. We propose here follow-up observations of the "Cosmic
Eye", a remarkable, highly magnified (x 30), Lyman-break galaxy at z~3.07
using WFPC2 and NICMOS. Deep ultraviolet WFPC2 imaging will provide a
detailed study of variations in the escape fraction, while WFPC2 and
NICMOS/NIC2 imaging will complement the current broad-band detections to
allow a precise modeling of the spatially-dependent spectral energy
distribution. This will allow the first comprehensive analysis between the
escape fraction, the local SED and the dynamics of a distant galaxy.

WFPC2 11169

Collisions in the Kuiper belt

For most of the 15 year history of observations of Kuiper belt objects, it
has been speculated that impacts must have played a major role in shaping
the physical and chemical characteristics of these objects, yet little
direct evidence of the effects of such impacts has been seen. The past 18
months, however, have seen an explosion of major new discoveries giving some
of the first insights into the influence of this critical process. From a
diversity of observations we have been led to the hypotheses that: {1}
satellite-forming impacts must have been common in the Kuiper belt; {2} such
impacts led to significant chemical modification; and {3} the outcomes of
these impacts are sufficiently predictable that we can now find and study
these impact-derived systems by the chemical and physical attributes of both
the satellites and the primaries. If our picture is correct, we now have in
hand for the first time a set of incredibly powerful tools to study the
frequency and outcome of collisions in the outer solar system. Here we
propose three linked projects that would answer questions critical to the
multiple prongs of our hypothesis. In these projects we will study the
chemical effects of collisions through spectrophotometric observations of
collisionally formed satellites and through the search for additional
satellites around primaries with potential impact signatures, and we will
study the physical effects of impacts through the examination of tidal
evolution in proposed impact systems. The intensive HST program that we
propose here will allow us to fully test our new hypotheses and will provide
the ability to obtain the first extensive insights into outer solar system
impact processes.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

11271 - GSAcq(2,3,2) failed to RGA Hold (Gyro Control)

Upon acquisition of signal at 116/06:41:00, the GSAcq(2,3,2) scheduled at
116/06:07:53 - 06:15:58 had failed to RGA Hold due to a Search Radius Limit
Exceeded Error on FGS-2. One 486 ESB "a05" (FGS Coarse Track failed-Search
Radius Limit Exceeded) was received. Pre-acquisition OBAD1 attitude
correction value is not available due to LOS. Pre-acq OBAD2 had (RSS) value
of 154.13 arcseconds. Post-acq OBAD/MAP was not scheduled.

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS GSacq 13 12
FGS REacq 02 02
OBAD with Maneuver 30 30

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)