#1
|
|||
|
|||
Daily 3695
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT # 3695 PERIOD COVERED: DOY 258 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED ACS/HRC/WFC 10061 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 10250 Star Clusters and Stellar Populations in M81 We propose a quick imaging survey of the nearby luminous spiral galaxy M81with the ACS in F814W. After Andromeda, M81 is the nearest big intermediate type spiral galaxy and is thus a primary candidate for stellar population studies. At 3.8 Mpc, 1ACS WFC pixel is 1 pc. We will cover the inner part of the galaxy where confusion is the greatest problem in cluster studies, with 24 ACS fields. This survey will provide the sample and spatial information necessary to study the globular and open cluster systems of M81, spatial distribution, metallicity, object size distribution, the GCLF, etc., in exquisite detail especially when combined with our existing ground-based multicolor imaging and planned spectroscopy. 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/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. 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. 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. WFPC2 10071 WFPC2 CYCLE 12 Supplemental Darks Part 3/3 This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels. FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) None COMPLETED OPS REQs: None OPS NOTES EXECUTED: 1267-0 Turn On NICMOS Limits @258/2105z SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES FGS Gsacq 17 17 FGS Reacq 02 02 FHST Update 13 13 LOSS of LOCK SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: Setup and Execution of HST CCS "A" String Command Timing test scheduled 259/11:00Z - 17:00Z with DOC, SOC, HITT, and CCS using CCS "A" String with PRD xx (intentionally removed). The purpose of this testing is to check the command timing for CCS Release xx (intentionally removed) with historical baselined numbers after the "A" String relocation to the GSFC. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
EVOLUTION DEAD AT AGE 126 -- R.I.P. | Ed Conrad | Astronomy Misc | 4 | August 21st 04 12:01 AM |
Monitoring NASA Daily ISS Report | JimO | Space Station | 2 | June 1st 04 10:33 PM |