Daily Report #4917

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT****** #4917

PERIOD COVERED: 5am August 25 - 5am August 26, 2009 (DOY
237/09:00z-238/09:00z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/WFC3 11013

Continued M31 Monitoring for Black Hole X-ray Nova

We have been caring out a Chandra (GO+GTO) and HST (GO) program to
find Black Hole X-ray Nova (BHXN) and their optical counterparts in
M31 for several years. To date we have found 2 dozen BHXN and 3 HST
optical counterparts for these BHXN. Our results suggest a rather high
ratio of BH to neutron star (NS) binaries, or a high duty cycle for
the BHXN. We propose to continue this program, with the goal of
determining the orbital period distribution and duty cycles of these
BHXN. Current results yield 3 orbital periods and 3 upper limits. Our
proposed observations will ~double the total number of periods and
therefore yield sufficient numbers to make a first approximation of
the orbital period distribution. The orbital period distribution is
the fundamental observable parameter any binary stellar evolution
models must match, and the duty cycle is very poorly known but
directly influences the binary lifetime. M31 is the only galaxy in
which this extra-galactic study of BHXN is feasible. Furthermore, the
2 HST observations will allow us to estimate the orbital period of a
single super-Eddington source.

COS 11484

COS FUV Optics Alignment and Focus

After FUV detector functionality has been confirmed in COS25 (program
11483) and the initial focus updates determined in COS08 and COS 09
(programs 11468 and 11469), a sequence of 13 FUV focus-sweep exposures
of a sharp-lined external target will be made with each grating (4
orbits per grating) to perform a fine-focus sweep. After the data are
analyzed, a patchable constant SMS update of OSM1 focus for each
grating will be uplinked. A verification visit will be executed after
the uplink. Observations require high S/N and should be taken in
TIME-TAG (FLASH=YES) mode.

NIC2/WFC3/IR 11548

NICMOS Imaging of Protostars in the Orion A Cloud: The Role of
Environment in Star Formation

We propose NICMOS observations of a sample of 252 protostars
identified in the Orion A cloud with the Spitzer Space Telescope.
These observations will image the scattered light escaping the
protostellar envelopes, providing information on the shapes of outflow
cavities, the inclinations of the protostars, and the overall
morphologies of the envelopes. In addition, we ask for Spitzer time to
obtain 55-95 micron spectra of 75 of the protostars. Combining these
new data with existing 3.6 to 70 micron photometry and forthcoming
5-40 micron spectra measured with the Spitzer Space Telescope, we will
determine the physical properties of the protostars such as envelope
density, luminosity, infall rate, and outflow cavity opening angle. By
examining how these properties vary with stellar density (i.e.
clusters vs groups vs isolation) and the properties of the surrounding
molecular cloud; we can directly measure how the surrounding
environment influences protostellar evolution, and consequently, the
formation of stars and planetary systems. Ultimately, this data will
guide the development of a theory of protostellar evolution.

STIS/CCD 11844

CCD Dark Monitor Part 1

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS/CCD 11846

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 1

Monitor the bias in the 1x1, 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2 bin settings at gain=1,
and 1x1 at gain = 4, to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the
evolution of hot columns.

STIS20 11402

STIS-20 NUV MAMA Dark Monitor

The STIS NUV-MAMA dark current is dominated by a phosphorescent glow
from the detector window. Meta-stable states in this window are
populated by cosmic ray impacts, which, days later, can be thermally
excited to an unstable state from which they decay, emitting a UV
photon. The equilibrium population of these meta-stable states is
larger at lower temperatures; so warming up the detector from its cold
safing will lead to a large, but temporary, increase in the dark
current.

To monitor the decay of this glow, and to determine the equilibrium
dark current for Cycle 17, four 1380s NUV-MAMA ACCUM mode darks should
be taken each week during the SMOV period. Once the observed dark
current has reached an approximate equilibrium with the mean detector
temperature, the frequency of this monitor can be reduced to one pair
of darks per week.

WFC3/ACS/UVIS 11360

Star Formation in Nearby Galaxies

Star formation is a fundamental astrophysical process; it controls
phenomena ranging from the evolution of galaxies and nucleosynthesis
to the origins of planetary systems and abodes for life. The WFC3,
optimized at both UV and IR wavelengths and equipped with an extensive
array of narrow-band filters, brings unique capabilities to this area
of study. The WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee (SOC) proposes an
integrated program on star formation in the nearby universe which will
fully exploit these new abilities. Our targets range from the
well-resolved R136 in 30 Dor in the LMC (the nearest super star
cluster) and M82 (the nearest starbursting galaxy) to about half a
dozen other nearby galaxies that sample a wide range of star-formation
rates and environments. Our program consists of broad band
multiwavelength imaging over the entire range from the UV to the
near-IR, aimed at studying the ages and metallicities of stellar
populations, revealing young stars that are still hidden by dust at
optical wavelengths, and showing the integrated properties of star
clusters. Narrow-band imaging of the same environments will allow us
to measure star-formation rates, gas pressure, chemical abundances,
extinction, and shock morphologies. The primary scientific issues to
be addressed a (1) What triggers star formation? (2) How do the
properties of star-forming regions vary among different types of
galaxies and environments of different gas densities and compositions?
(3) How do these different environments affect the history of star
formation? (4) Is the stellar initial mass function universal or
determined by local conditions?

WFC3/UVIS 11432

UVIS Internal Flats

This proposal will be used to assess the stability of the flat field
structure for the UVIS detector. Flat fields will be obtained for all
filters using the internal D2 and Tungsten lamps.

This proposal corresponds to Activity Description ID WF19. It should
execute only after the following proposals have executed: WF08 - 11421
WF09 - 11422 WF11 - 11424 WF15 - 11428

WFC3/UVIS 11446

WFC3 UVIS Dark Current, Readnoise, and CTE

This proposal obtains full-frame, four-amp readout bias and dark
frames at regularly- spaced intervals throughout SMOV in order to
assess and monitor dark current, bad (warm, hot, dead) pixels, and
readnoise. In addition, a set of internals using the WFC3 calsystem
are taken to provide a baseline CTE measurement. WFC3-33

WFC3/UVIS 11905

WFC3 UVIS CCD Daily Monitor

The behavior of the WFC3 UVIS CCD will be monitored daily with a set
of full-frame, four-amp bias and dark frames. A smaller set of 2Kx4K
subarray biases are acquired at less frequent intervals throughout the
cycle to support subarray science observations. The internals from
this proposal, along with those from the anneal procedure (11909),
will be used to generate the necessary superbias and superdark
reference files for the calibration pipeline (CDBS).

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS: (None)

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

*********************** SCHEDULED***** SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSAcq************** 04***************** 04
FGS REAcq************** 13***************** 13
OBAD with Maneuver **** 03***************** 03

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)