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Daily Report #4386



 
 
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Old June 19th 07, 04:34 PM posted to sci.astro.hubble
Cooper, Joe
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Posts: 568
Default Daily Report #4386

Notice: For the foreseeable future, the daily reports may contain apparent
discrepancies between some proposal descriptions and the listed instrument
usage. This is due to the conversion of previously approved ACS WFC or HRC
observations into WFPC2, or NICMOS observations subsequent to the loss of
ACS CCD science capability in late January.


HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 4386

PERIOD COVERED: UT June 18, 2007 (DOY 169)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

WFPC2 10880

The host galaxies of QSO2s: AGN feeding and evolution at high luminosities

Now that the presence of supermassive black holes in the nuclei of galaxies
is a well established fact, other questions related to the AGN phenomena
still have to be answered. Problems of particular interest are how the AGN
gets fed, how the black hole evolves and how the evolution of the black hole
is related to the evolution of the galaxy bulge. Here we propose to address
some of these issues using ACS/WFC + F775W snapshot images of 73 QSO2s with
redshifts in the range 0.3z0.4. These observations will be combined with
similar archival data of QSO1s and ground based data of Seyfert and normal
galaxies. First, we will intestigate whether interactions are the most
important feeding mechanism in high luminosity AGNs. This will be done in a
quantitative way, comparing the asymmetry indices of QSO2 hosts with those
of lower luminosity AGNs and normal galaxies. Second, we will do a detailed
study of the morphology of the host galaxies of both QSO types, to determine
if they are similar, or if there is an evolutionary trend from QSO2s to
QSO1s. The results from this project will represent an important step in the
understanding of AGN evolution, and may also introduce a substantial
modification to the Unified Model.

WFPC2 11024

WFPC2 CYCLE 15 INTERNAL MONITOR

This calibration proposal is the Cycle 15 routine internal monitor for
WFPC2, to be run weekly to monitor the health of the cameras. A variety of
internal exposures are obtained in order to provide a monitor of the
integrity of the CCD camera electronics in both bays {both gain 7 and gain
15 -- to test stability of gains and bias levels}, a test for quantum
efficiency in the CCDs, and a monitor for possible buildup of contaminants
on the CCD windows. These also provide raw data for generating annual
super-bias reference files for the calibration pipeline.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8794

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 5

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.

NIC2 10808

Morphologies of spectroscopically-confirmed "red and dead" galaxies at z~2.5

Using a combination of wide-field near-infrared imaging and very deep
follow-up near-infrared spectroscopy we have identified a population of
massive "red and dead" galaxies at z~2.5. The galaxies lack emission lines
and have strong Balmer/4000 Angstrom breaks, demonstrating directly that
they have evolved stellar populations. These objects are very likely
progenitors of massive ellipticals today and may be descendants of the first
generation of galaxies. We propose to image 10 of these objects with the
NIC2 camera to determine their morphologies. The goals are to 1} determine
whether they have the sizes of present-day early-types or are more compact,
as predicted by models, 2} determine the morphology, using visual
classification and quantitative methods, and 3} constrain the evolution of
the Kormendy relation from z~2.5 to the present. These observations will
show whether the oldest and most massive galaxies at z~2.5 were already
fully formed or still in the process of assembly.

NIC3 10792

Quasars at Redshift z=6 and Early Star Formation History

We propose to observe four high-redshift quasars {z=6} in the NIR in order
to estimate relative Fe/Mg abundances and the central black hole mass. The
results of this study will critically constrain models of joint quasar and
galaxy formation, early star formation, and the growth of supermassive black
holes. Different time scales and yields for alpha-elements {like O or Mg}
and for iron result into an iron enrichment delay of ~0.3 to 0.6 Gyr. Hence,
despite the well-known complexity of the FeII emission line spectrum, the
ratio iron/alpha - element is a potentially useful cosmological clock. The
central black hole mass will be estimated based on a recently revised back
hole mass - luminosity relationship. The time delay of the iron enrichment
and the time required to form a supermassive black hole {logM8 Msol, tau
~0.5Gyr} as evidenced by quasar activity will be used to date the beginning
of the first intense star formation, marking the formation of the first
massive galaxies that host luminous quasars, and to constrain the epoch when
supermassive black holes start to grow by accretion.

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 11023

WFPC2 CYCLE 15 Standard Darks - part 1

This dark calibration program obtains dark frames every week in order to
provide data for the ongoing calibration of the CCD dark current rate, and
to monitor and characterize the evolution of hot pixels. Over an extended
period these data will also provide a monitor of radiation damage to the
CCDs.

WFPC2 11079

Treasury Imaging of Star Forming Regions in the Local Group: Complementing
the GALEX and NOAO Surveys

We propose to use WFPC2 to image the most interesting star-forming regions
in the Local Group galaxies, to resolve their young stellar populations. We
will use a set of filters including F170W, which is critical to detect and
characterize the most massive stars, to whose hot temperatures colors at
longer wavelengths are not sensitive. WFPC2's field of view ideally matches
the typical size of the star-forming regions, and its spatial resolution
allows us to measure indvidual stars, given the proximity of these galaxies.
The resulting H- R diagrams will enable studies of star-formation properties
in these regions, which cover largely differing metallicities {a factor of
17, compared to the factor of 4 explored so far} and characteristics. The
results will further our understanding of the star-formation process, of the
interplay between massive stars and environment, the properties of dust, and
will provide the key to interpret integrated measurements of star-formation
indicators {UV, IR, Halpha} available for several hundreds more distant
galaxies. Our recent deep surveys of these galaxies with GALEX {FUV, NUV}
and ground-based imaging {UBVRI, Halpha, [OIII] and [SII]} provided the
identification of the most relevant SF sites. In addition to our scientific
analysis, we will provide catalogs of HST photometry in 6 bands, matched
corollary ground-based data, and UV, Halpha and IR integrated measurements
of the associations, for comparison of integrated star-formation indices to
the resolved populations. We envisage an EPO component.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

10865 - GSAcq(1,2,2) failed to RGA Hold (Gyro Control)

The GSAcq(1,2,2) scheduled at 169/21:13:04 - 21:21:09 failed to RGA Hold due
to a Search Radius Limit Exceeded Error on FGS-1. Pre-acquisition OBADs had
(RSS) attitude correction values of 1728.53 and 159.45 arcseconds.
Acquisition walk down failed due to attitude error in excess of the search
radius.

Post-acquisition OBAD/MAP had 3-axis (RSS) error value of 88.00 arcseconds

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST:

18102-0 - MSS/CSS Converged Add/Remove Gyro1Tests#27&#31 for day 169
18054-0 - Preview KF Sun Vector Data via Telemetry Diags

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSacq 07 06
FGS REacq 07 07
OBAD with Maneuver 28 28

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

Evaluation of Universal Kalman Filter performance continued. Multiple text
segments were executed, all of them successfully. Details follow.

The Kalman filter was disabled at 169/15:38, Gyro 1 input was disabled, and
the Kalman filter was re-initialized at 15:40. This established the MSS/CSS
only pre-test configuration of the KF.

At 16:00, Gyro 1 input to the converged Kalman filter was enabled during a
vehicle maneuver (test case # 27).

At 17:35 Gyro 1 input to the converged Kalman filter was disabled during a
vehicle maneuver (test case # 31).

The Kalman Filter is continuing to operate in the MSS/CSS only
configuration.
 




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