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Daily 3840
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT # 3840 PERIOD COVERED: DOYs 105-107 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8793 NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 4 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. NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8792 NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 3 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. ACS/HRC/WFC 10436 Black Hole Growth and the Black Hole Mass -- Bulge Relations for AGNs Recent work has shown that the mass of a black hole is tightly correlated with the bulge mass of its host galaxy. This relation needs to be understood in the context of black hole growth in its active phase. Highly accreting AGNs, like narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies {NLS1s}, are found to lie below the black hole mass -- bulge velocity dispersion correlation of normal galaxies and broad line AGNs. This result was obtained using FWHM{[OIII]} as a surrogate for the bulge velocity dispersion. To test this result we propose to obtain high resolution images of 10 NLS1s that do not lie on the black hole mass--sigma relation and measure accurate bulge parameters {luminosity and effective radius}. We will obtain an alternate handle on the bulge velocity dispersion through the fundamental plane relations and also find the locus of these NLS1s on the black hole mass--bulge luminosity plane. Testing this result is crucial to understanding the role of accretion on black hole growth, the observed correlations of the black hole mass with the bulge, and the formation and evolution of galaxies. ACS/WFC/NIC2/WFPC 10413 2 Resolving the Red Giant Population in Early Type Galaxies This project addresses the fundamental issue of the age and abundance of the stellar populations in early type galaxies. We propose deep imaging observations with ACS/WFC in F606W, F814W, and NICMOS/NIC2 in F110W, F160W to create optical/IR color-magnitude diagrams of the upper red giant branch in the nearest example of a bona fide elliptical galaxy, NGC3379, and simultaneously in the disk and halo of its companion, the S0 galaxy NGC3384. These observations will build upon the results from our NICMOS study of NGC3379, which produced the first deep IR color-magnitude data for a normal, luminous elliptical galaxy. This is the most direct way to establish the metallicity, metallicity spread, and presence of intermediate age populations in these representative Hubble types, exploring their star formation histories and evolution. The data will enable comparison with M32, the M31 halo, NGC5128, and other nearby galaxies similarly observed with HST. ACS/HRC/WFC 10389 ACS CCDs daily monitor - Cycle 13 - Part 2 This program consists of a set of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the development of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD detectors. The files, biases and dark will be used to create reference files for science calibration. This programme will be for the entire lifetime of ACS. NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 10380 Cycle 13 NICMOS dark current, shading profile, and read noise monitoring program 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 13. This proposal is an essentially unchanged continuation of PID 9993 which cover the duration of Cycle 12. WFPC2 10363 WFPC2 CYCLE 13 Intflat and Visflat Sweeps and Filter Rotation Anomaly Monitor Using intflat observations, this WFPC2 proposal is designed to monitor the pixel-to-pixel flatfield response and provide a linearity check. The intflat sequences, to be done once during the year, are similar to those from the Cycle 12 program 10075. The images will provide a backup database as well as allow monitoring of the gain ratios. The sweep is a complete set of internal flats, cycling through both shutter blades and both gains. The linearity test consists of a series of intflats in F555W, in each gain and each shutter. As in Cycle 12, we plan to continue to take extra visflat, intflat, and earthflat exposures to test the repeatability of filter wheel motions. NIC3 10337 The COSMOS 2-Degree ACS Survey NICMOS Parallels The COSMOS 2-Degree ACS Survey NICMOS Parallels. This program is a companion to program 10092. ACS/HRC 10255 A Never Before Explored Phase Space: Resolving Close White Dwarf / Red Dwarf We propose an ACS Snapshot imaging survey to resolve a well-defined sample of highly probable white dwarf plus red dwarf close binaries. These candidates were selected from a search for white dwarfs with infrared excess from the 2MASS database. They represent unresolved systems {separations less than approximately 2" in the 2MASS images} and are distributed over the whole sky. Our HST+ACS observations will be sensitive to a separation range {1-20 AU} never before probed by any means. The proposed study will be the first empirical test of binary star parameters in the post-AGB phase, and cannot be accomplished from the ground. By resolving as few as 20 of our ~100 targets with HST, we will be able to characterize the distribution of orbital semi- major axes and secondary star masses. ACS/WFC/NIC/NIC3/W 10246 FPC2 The HST survey of the Orion Nebula Cluster We propose a Treasury Program of 104 HST orbits to perform the definitive study of the Orion Nebula Cluster, the Rosetta stone of star formation. We will cover with unprecedented sensitivity {23-25 mag}, dynamic range {~12 mag}, spatial resolution {50mas}, and simultaneous spectral coverage {5 bands} a ~450 square arcmin field centered on the Trapezium stars. This represents a tremendous gain over the shallow WFC1 study made in 1991 with the aberrated HST on an area ~15 times smaller. We maximize the HST observing efficiency using ACS/WFC and WFPC2 in parallel with two opposite roll angles, to cover the same total field. We will assemble the richest, most accurate and unbiased HR diagram for pre-main-sequence objects ever made. Combined with the optical spectroscopy already available for ~1000 sources and new deep near-IR imaging and spectroscopy {that we propose as Joint HST-NOAO observations}, we will be able to attack and possibly solve the most compelling questions on stellar evolution: the calibration of pre-main-sequence evolutionary tracks, mass segration and the variation of the initial mass function in different environments, the evolution of mass accretion rates vs. age and environment, disk dissipation in environments dominated by hard vs. soft-UV radiation, stellar multiplicity vs. disk fraction. In addition, we expect to discover and classify an unknown, but substantial, population of pre-Main Sequence binaries, low mass stars and brown dwarfs down to ~10 MJup. This is also the best possible way to discover dark silhouette disks in the outskirts of the Orion Nebula and study their evolutionary status through multicolor imaging. This program is timely and extremely well leveraged to other programs targeting Orion: the ACS H-alpha survey of the Orion Nebula, the recently completed 850ks ultradeep Chandra survey, the large GTO programs to be performed with SIRTF, plus the availability of 2MASS and various deep JHK surveys of the core recently done with 8m class telescopes. ACS/WFC 10217 The ACS Fornax Cluster Survey The two rich clusters nearest to the Milky Way, and the only large collections of early- type galaxies within ~ 25 Mpc, are the Virgo and Fornax Clusters. We propose to exploit the exceptional imaging capabilities of the ACS/WFC to carry out the most comprehensive imaging survey to date of early-type galaxies in Fornax: the ACS Fornax Cluster Survey. Deep ACS/WFC images -- in the F475W {g'} and F850LP {z'} bands -- will be acquired for 44 E, S0, dE, dE, N and dS0 cluster members. In Cycle 11, we initiated a similar program targeting early-type galaxies in the Virgo Cluster {the ACS Virgo Cluster Survey; GO-9401}. Our proposed survey of Fornax would yield an extraordinary dataset which would complement that already in hand for Virgo, and allow a definitive study of the role played by environment in the structure, formation and evolution of early-type galaxies and their globular cluster systems, nuclei, stellar populations, dust content, nuclear morphologies and merger histories. It would also be a community resource for years to come and, together with the ACS Virgo Cluster Survey, constitute one of the lasting legacies of HST. NIC1 10208 NICMOS Differential Imaging Search for Planetary Mass Companions to Nearby Young Brown Dwarfs We propose to use the differential spectral imaging capability of HST/NICMOS {NIC1} to search for planetary mass companions. We target the twelve most nearby {within 30 pc}, isolated {no known close companion}, and young { 1Gyr} brown dwarfs. All of them have spectral type L and show signs of Lithium absorption, which clearly proves their substellar nature and youth. Planetary mass companions with masses down to 6 Jupiter masses, and at separations larger than 3 A.U. are bright enough for a direct detection with HST/NICMOS using the spectral differential imaging technique in two narrow-band filters placed on and off molecular bands. The proposed project has the potential to lead to the first direct detection of a planetary mass object in orbit around a nearby brown dwarf. ACS/WFC/NIC2 10189 PANS-Probing Acceleration Now with Supernovae Type Ia supernovae {SNe Ia} provide the most direct evidence for an accelerating Universe, a result widely attributed to dark energy. Using HST in Cycle 11 we extended the Hubble diagram with 6 of the 7 highest-redshift SNe Ia known, all at z1.25, providing conclusive evidence of an earlier epoch of cosmic deceleration. The full sample of 16 new SNe Ia match the cosmic concordance model and are inconsistent with a simple model of evolution or dust as alternatives to dark energy. Understanding dark energy may be the biggest current challenge to cosmology and particle physics. To understand the nature of dark energy, we seek to measure its two most fundamental properties: its evolution {i.e., dw/dz}, and its recent equation of state {i.e., w{z=0}}. SNe Ia at z1, beyond the reach of the ground but squarely within the reach of HST with ACS, are crucial to break the degeneracy in the measurements of these two basic aspects of dark energy. The SNe Ia we have discovered and measured with HST in Cycle 11, now double the precision of our knowledge of both properties. Here we propose to quadruple the sample of SNe Ia at z1 in the next two cycles, complementing on-going surveys from the ground at z1, and again doubling the precision of dark energy constraints. Should the current best fit model prove to be the correct one, the precision expected from the current proposal will suffice to rule out a cosmological constant at the 99% confidence level. Whatever the result, these objects will provide the basis with which to extend our empirical knowledge of this newly discovered and dominant component of the Universe, and will remain one of the most significant legacies of HST. In addition, our survey and follow-up data will greatly enhance the value of the archival data within the target Treasury fields for galaxy studies. NIC2 10177 Solar Systems In Formation: A NICMOS Coronagraphic Survey of Protoplanetary and Debris Disks Until recently, despite decades of concerted effort applied to understanding the formation processes that gave birth to our solar system, the detailed morphology of circumstellar material that must eventually form planets has been virtually impossible to discern. The advent of high contrast, coronagraphic imaging as implemented with the instruments aboard HST has dramatically enhanced our understanding of natal planetary system formation. Even so, only a handful of evolved disks {~ 1 Myr and older} have been imaged and spatially resolved in light scattered from their constituent grains. To elucidate the physical processes and properties in potentially planet-forming circumstellar disks, and to understand the nature and evolution of their grains, a larger spatially resolved and photometrically reliable sample of such systems must be observed. Thus, we propose a highly sensitive circumstellar disk imaging survey of a well-defined and carefully selected sample of YSOs {1-10 Myr T Tau and HAeBe stars} and { app 10 Myr} main sequence stars, to probe the posited epoch of planetary system formation, and to provide this critically needed imagery. Our resolved images will shed light on the spatial distributions of the dust in these thermally emissive disks. In combination with their long wavelength SEDs the physical properties of the grains will be discerned, or constrained by our photometrically accurate surface brightness sensitivity limits for faint disks which elude detection. Our sample builds on the success of the exploratory GTO 7233 program, using two-roll per orbit PSF-subtracted NICMOS coronagraphy to provide the highest detection sensitivity to the smallest disks around bright stars which can be imaged with HST. Our sample will discriminate between proposed evolutionary scenarios while providing a legacy of cataloged morphologies for interpreting mid- and far-IR SEDs that the recently launched Spitzer Space Telescope will deliver. NIC2 10176 Coronagraphic Survey for Giant Planets Around Nearby Young Stars A systematic imaging search for extra-solar Jovian planets is now possible thanks to recent progress in identifying "young stars near Earth". For most of the proposed young {~ 30 Myrs} and nearby {~ 60 pc} targets, we can detect a few Jupiter-mass planets as close as a few tens of AUs from the primary stars. This represents the first time that potential analogs of our solar system - that is planetary systems with giant planets having semi-major axes comparable to those of the four giant planets of the Solar System - come within the grasp of existing instrumentation. Our proposed targets have not been observed for planets with the Hubble Space Telescope previously. Considering the very successful earlier NICMOS observations of low mass brown dwarfs and planetary disks among members of the TW Hydrae Association, a fair fraction of our targets should also turn out to posses low mass brown dwarfs, giant planets, or dusty planetary disks because our targets are similar to {or even better than} the TW Hydrae stars in terms of youth and proximity to Earth. Should HST time be awarded and planetary mass candidates be found, proper motion follow-up of candidate planets will be done with ground-based AOs. ACS/WFC 10174 Dark-matter halos and evolution of high-z early-type galaxies Gravitational lensing and stellar dynamics provide two complementary methods to determine the mass distribution and evolution of luminous and dark-matter in early-type {E/S0} galaxies. The combined study of stellar dynamics and gravitational lensing allows one to break degeneracies inherent to each method separately, providing a clean probe of the internal structure of massive galaxies. Since most lens galaxies are at redshifts z=0.1-1.0, they also provide the required look-back time to study their structural and stellar-population evolution. We recently analyzed 5 E/S0 lens galaxies between z=0.5 and 1.0, combining exquisite Hubble Space Telescope imaging data with kinematic data from ground-based Keck spectroscopy, placing the first precise constraints on the dark- matter mass fraction and its inner slope beyond the local Universe. To expand the sample to ~30 systems -- required to study potential trends and evolution in the E/S0 mass profiles -- we propose to target the 49 E/S0 lens-galaxy candidates discovered by Bolton et al. {2004} from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey {SDSS}. With the average lens rate being 40% and some systems having a lensing probability close to unity, we expect to discover ~20 strong gravitational lenses from the sample. This will triple the current sample of 9 E/S0 systems, with data in hand. With the sample of 30 systems, we will be able to determine the average slope of the dark-matter and total mass profile of E/S0 galaxies to 10% and 4% accuracy, respectively. If present, we can simultaneously detect 10% evolution in the total mass slope with 95% confidence. This will provide unprecedented constraints on E/S0 galaxies beyond the local Universe and allow a stringent test of their formation scenarios and the standard cosmological model. NIC1 10143 Ultracool companions to the nearest L dwarfs We propose to conduct the most sensitive survey to date for low mass companions to nearby L dwarfs. We will use NICMOS to image targets drawn from a volume-complete sample of 70 L dwarfs within 20 parsecs. The combination of infrared imaging and proximity will allow us to search for T dwarf companions at separations as small as 1.6 AU. This is crucial, since no ultracool binaries are currently known with separations exceeding 15 AU. Only 10 dwarfs in this sample have previous HST observations primarily at optical wavelengths. With the increased sensitivity of our survey, we will provide the most stringent test to date of brown dwarf models which envisage formation as ejected stellar embryos. In addition, our observations will be capable of detecting binaries with mass ratios as low as 0.3, and will therefore also test the apparent preference for equal-mass ultracool binaries. Finally, our observations offer the best prospect to date of detecting companions significantly cooler than the coolest t dwarf currently known. FGS 10106 An Astrometric Calibration of the Cepheid Period-Luminosity Relation We propose to measure the parallaxes of 10 Galactic Cepheid variables. When these parallaxes {with 1-sigma precisions of 10% or better} are added to our recent HST FGS parallax determination of delta Cep {Benedict et al 2002}, we anticipate determining the Period-Luminosity relation zero point with a 0.03 mag precision. In addition to permitting the test of assumptions that enter into other Cepheid distance determination techniques, this calibration will reintroduce Galactic Cepheids as a fundamental step in the extragalactic distance scale ladder. A Period-Luminosity relation derived from solar metallicity Cepheids can be applied directly to extragalactic solar metallicity Cepheids, removing the need to bridge with the Large Magellanic Cloud and its associated metallicity complications. ACS/WFC/WFPC2 10092 The COSMOS 2-Degree ACS Survey We will undertake a 2 square degree imaging survey {Cosmic Evolution Survey -- COSMOS} with ACS in the I {F814W} band of the VIMOS equatorial field. This wide field survey is essential to understand the interplay between Large Scale Structure {LSS} evolution and the formation of galaxies, dark matter and AGNs and is the one region of parameter space completely unexplored at present by HST. The equatorial field was selected for its accessibility to all ground-based telescopes and low IR background and because it will eventually contain ~100, 000 galaxy spectra from the VLT-VIMOS instrument. The imaging will detect over 2 million objects with I 27 mag {AB, 10 sigma}, over 35, 000 Lyman Break Galaxies {LBGs} and extremely red galaxies out to z ~ 5. COSMOS is the only HST project specifically designed to probe the formation and evolution of structures ranging from galaxies up to Coma-size clusters in the epoch of peak galaxy, AGN, star and cluster formation {z ~0.5 to 3}. The size of the largest structures necessitate the 2 degree field. Our team is committed to the assembly of several public ancillary datasets including the optical spectra, deep XMM and VLA imaging, ground-based optical/IR imaging, UV imaging from GALEX and IR data from SIRTF. Combining the full-spectrum multiwavelength imaging and spectroscopic coverage with ACS sub-kpc resolution, COSMOS will be Hubble's ultimate legacy for understanding the evolution of both the visible and dark universe. FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) HSTAR 9774: GSACQ(3,2,2) failed, Search Radius Limit on FGS 3 @ 107/2151z. Guide Star Acquisition GSACQ(3,2,2) at 21:45:04z failed to gyro control due to Search Radius Limit exceeded on FGS 3 at 21:51:32 and again at 21:55:41z. 486 ESB "A0C" received. Full Maneuver Updates prior to failure had normal size errors. REacq(3,2,2)sheduled for 107/23:13:47 - 23:19:31 also failed due to SRLEX on FGS#3. Observations affected: ACS 89 to 91,1,2 and WFPC 1. Under investigation. HSTAR 9775: GSacq (3,1,1) resulted in FLBU 1,0,1 @ 108/0112z GSacq(3,1,1) scheduled at 108/01:04:51z resulted in fine lock backup (1,0,1), due to scan step limit exceeded on FGS 3 at 108/01:12:11z. Possible Observations affected: WFPC 1. Previous FM updates scheduled for 108/00:41:14z and 00:43:59z both passed with small error. The following map scheduled for 108/01:55z had attitude errors of -8.089, -6.777 and -6.901 arcsec. Under investigation. COMPLETED OPS REQs: None OPS NOTES EXECUTED: None SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES FGS Gsacq 31 30 107/2145z (HSTAR 9774) FGS Reacq 21 20 107/2313z (HSTAR 9774) FHST Update 36 36 LOSS of LOCK SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:None |
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