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Daily Report #4509



 
 
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Old December 18th 07, 04:44 PM posted to sci.astro.hubble
Cooper, Joe
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Default Daily Report #4509

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT****** # 4509

PERIOD COVERED: UT December 17, 2007 (DOY 351)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/SBC 11225

The Wavelength Dependence of Accretion Disk Structure

We can now routinely measure the size of quasar accretion disks using
gravitational microlensing of lensed quasars. The next step to testing
accretion disk models is to measure the size of accretion disks as a
function of wavelength, particularly at the UV and X-ray wavelengths
that should probe the inner, strong gravity regime. Here we focus on
two four-image quasar lenses that already have optical {R band} and
X-ray size measurements using microlensing. We will combine the HST
observations with ground-based monitoring to measure the disk size as
a function of wavelength from the near-IR to the UV. We require HST to
measure the image flux ratios in the ultraviolet continuum near the
Lyman limit of the quasars. The selected targets have estimated black
hole masses that differ by an order of magnitude, and we should find
wavelength scalings for the two systems that are very different
because the Blue/UV wavelengths should correspond to parts of the disk
near the inner edge for the high mass system but not in the low mass
system. The results will be modeled using a combination of simple thin
disk models and complete relativistic disk models. While requiring
only 18 orbits, success for one system requires observations in both
Cycles 16 and 17.

FGS 11018

Long Term Stability of FGS1r in Position Mode

It is known from our experience with FGS3, and later with FGS1r, that
an FGS on orbit experiences long term evolution, presumably due to
disorption of water from the instrument's graphite epoxy composits.
This manifests principly as a change in the plate scale and
secondarily as a change in the geometric distortions. These effects
are well modeled by adjustments to the rhoA and kA parameters which
are used to transform the star selector servo angles into FGS {x, y}
detector space coordinates. By observing the relative positions of
selected stars in a standard cluster at a fixed telescope pointing and
orientation, the evolution of rhoA and kA can be monitored and
calibrated to preserve the astrometric performance of FGS1r.

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

NIC2 11219

Active Galactic Nuclei in nearby galaxies: a new view of the origin of
the radio-loud radio- quiet dichotomy?

Using archival HST and Chandra observations of 34 nearby early-type
galaxies {drawn from a complete radio selected sample} we have found
evidence that the radio-loud/radio-quiet dichotomy is directly
connected to the structure of the inner regions of their host galaxies
in the following sense: [1] Radio-loud AGN are associated with
galaxies with shallow cores in their light profiles [2] Radio-quiet
AGN are only hosted by galaxies with steep cusps. Since the brightness
profile is determined by the galaxy's evolution, through its merger
history, our results suggest that the same process sets the AGN
flavour. This provides us with a novel tool to explore the
co-evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes, and it opens a
new path to understand the origin of the radio-loud/radio-quiet AGN
dichotomy. Currently our analysis is statistically incomplete as the
brightness profile is not available for 82 of the 116 targets. Most
galaxies were not observed with HST, while in some cases the study is
obstructed by the presence of dust features. We here propose to
perform an infrared NICMOS snapshot survey of these 82 galaxies. This
will enable us to i} test the reality of the dichotomic behaviour in a
substantially larger sample; ii} extend the comparison between
radio-loud and radio-quiet AGN to a larger range of luminosities.

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 10915

ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey

Existing HST observations of nearby galaxies comprise a sparse and
highly non-uniform archive, making comprehensive comparative studies
among galaxies essentially impossible. We propose to secure HST's
lasting impact on the study of nearby galaxies by undertaking a
systematic, complete, and carefully crafted imaging survey of ALL
galaxies in the Local Universe outside the Local Group. The resulting
images will allow unprecedented measurements of: {1} the star
formation history {SFH} of a 100 Mpc^3 volume of the Universe with a
time resolution of Delta[log{t}]=0.25; {2} correlations between
spatially resolved SFHs and environment; {3} the structure and
properties of thick disks and stellar halos; and {4} the color
distributions, sizes, and specific frequencies of globular and disk
clusters as a function of galaxy mass and environment. To reach these
goals, we will use a combination of wide-field tiling and pointed deep
imaging to obtain uniform data on all 72 galaxies within a
volume-limited sample extending to ~3.5 Mpc, with an extension to the
M81 group. For each galaxy, the wide-field imaging will cover out to
~1.5 times the optical radius and will reach photometric depths of at
least 2 magnitudes below the tip of the red giant branch throughout
the limits of the survey volume. One additional deep pointing per
galaxy will reach SNR~10 for red clump stars, sufficient to recover
the ancient SFH from the color-magnitude diagram. This proposal will
produce photometric information for ~100 million stars {comparable to
the number in the SDSS survey} and uniform multi- color images of half
a square degree of sky. The resulting archive will establish the
fundamental optical database for nearby galaxies, in preparation for
the shift of high- resolution imaging to the near-infrared.

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.

WFPC2 11178

Probing Solar System History with Orbits, Masses, and Colors of
Transneptunian Binaries

The recent discovery of numerous transneptunian binaries {TNBs} opens
a window into dynamical conditions in the protoplanetary disk where
they formed as well as the history of subsequent events which sculpted
the outer Solar System and emplaced them onto their present day
heliocentric orbits. To date, at least 47 TNBs have been discovered,
but only about a dozen have had their mutual orbits and separate
colors determined, frustrating their use to investigate numerous
important scientific questions. The current shortage of data
especially cripples scientific investigations requiring statistical
comparisons among the ensemble characteristics. We propose to obtain
sufficient astrometry and photometry of 23 TNBs to compute their
mutual orbits and system masses and to determine separate primary and
secondary colors, roughly tripling the sample for which this
information is known, as well as extending it to include systems of
two near-equal size bodies. To make the most efficient possible use of
HST, we will use a Monte Carlo technique to optimally schedule our
observations.

WFPC2 11202

The Structure of Early-type Galaxies: 0.1-100 Effective Radii

The structure, formation and evolution of early-type galaxies is still
largely an open problem in cosmology: how does the Universe evolve
from large linear scales dominated by dark matter to the highly
non-linear scales of galaxies, where baryons and dark matter both play
important, interacting, roles? To understand the complex physical
processes involved in their formation scenario, and why they have the
tight scaling relations that we observe today {e.g. the Fundamental
Plane}, it is critically important not only to understand their
stellar structure, but also their dark-matter distribution from the
smallest to the largest scales. Over the last three years the SLACS
collaboration has developed a toolbox to tackle these issues in a
unique and encompassing way by combining new non-parametric strong
lensing techniques, stellar dynamics, and most recently weak
gravitational lensing, with high-quality Hubble Space Telescope
imaging and VLT/Keck spectroscopic data of early-type lens systems.
This allows us to break degeneracies that are inherent to each of
these techniques separately and probe the mass structure of early-type
galaxies from 0.1 to 100 effective radii. The large dynamic range to
which lensing is sensitive allows us both to probe the clumpy
substructure of these galaxies, as well as their low-density outer
haloes. These methods have convincingly been demonstrated, by our
team, using smaller pilot-samples of SLACS lens systems with HST data.
In this proposal, we request observing time with WFPC2 and NICMOS to
observe 53 strong lens systems from SLACS, to obtain complete
multi-color imaging for each system. This would bring the total number
of SLACS lens systems to 87 with completed HST imaging and effectively
doubles the known number of galaxy-scale strong lenses. The deep HST
images enable us to fully exploit our new techniques, beat down
low-number statistics, and probe the structure and evolution of
early-type galaxies, not only with a uniform data-set an order of
magnitude larger than what is available now, but also with a fully
coherent and self-consistent methodological approach!

WFPC2 11361

Hubble Heritage Observations of Mars at 2007 Opposition

We will obtain images of Mars at opposition in December 2007.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

11105 - Firefox on SMORWS7 cannot install updates

When Firefox is opened on SMORWS7, it complains that it cannot install
the updates that it had previously downloaded because Admin access is
needed.

11106 - GSAcq(2,12) failed to RGA Hold(Gyro Control)

GSAcq(2,1,2) scheduled at 352/02:00:12 - 02:08:17 failed to RGA Hold
due to (QF2STOPF) sto flag indication on FGS-2 during acquisition
walkdown. Pre-acquisition OBADs had (RSS) values of 1136.36 and 9.50
arseconds. Post-acq OBAD/MAP had 3-axis (RSS) value of 0.70
arcseconds. This acquisition is in On Orbit FSW/FGE Hybrid Test Mode
scheduled.

11107 - GSAcq(1,2,2) requires multiple attempts to achieve CT-DV

OTA SE review of PTAS processing data revealed that GSAcq(1,2,2)
required four attempts to achieve CT-DV on FGS1.

11108 - GSAcq(1,2,2) requires multiple attempts to achieve CT-DV

OTA SE review of PTAS processing revealed GSAcq(1,2,2) at 342/05:27:40
required several attempts to achieve CT-DV. The acquisition was
successful.

11109 - GSAcq(1,2,2) requires multiple attempts to achieve CT-DV

OTA SE review of PTAS processing reveals that GSAcq(1,2,2) at
342/07:02 required multiple attempts to achieve CT-DV. The acquisition
was successful.

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST:

18054-0 - Preview KF Sun Vector Data via Telemetry Diags - 2 times
18164-0 - FSW/FGE hybrid mode on-orbit test commanding
17597-9 - FHST Stuck-on-Bottom Macro Execution

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

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

FGS GSacq************** 08**************** 07
FGS REacq************** 06**************** 06
OBAD with Maneuver **** 28**************** 28

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

The FGS Hybrid mode was enabled in FSW at 351/12:50 this morning and
the first FGS-2R Hybrid mode acquisition was successful at 351/13:20.

FGS-2R performed Hydrid mode acquisitions throughout the day. At
352/05:03 the FGE/FSW Hybrid Mode was disabled via Ops Request 18164.
The TMDIAG locations were then restored to their nominal values for
the KF sun vector data via generic ops request 18054. Nine of the 10
hybrid mode acquisitions were successful. The one failure was
unrelated to hybrid mode performance. Initial analysis indicates that
the hybrid mode acquisitions executed as expected. Additional data
analysis will be performed by the OTA group and presented at the GSAWG
meeting on Wednesday. The first post-hybrid acquisition at 352/05:14
was successful.


 




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