A Space & astronomy forum. SpaceBanter.com

Go Back   Home » SpaceBanter.com forum » Astronomy and Astrophysics » Hubble
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Daily 3615



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old May 19th 04, 08:27 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Daily 3615

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 3615

PERIOD COVERED: DOY 139

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/HRC 10050

ACS Earth Flats

High signal sky flats will be obtained by observing the bright Earth
with the HRC and WFC. These observations will be used to verify the
accuracy of the flats currently used by the pipeline and will provide
a comparison with flats derived via other techniques: L-flats from
stellar observations, sky flats from stacked GO observations, and
internal flats using the calibration lamps. Weekly coronographic
monitoring is required to assess the changing position of the spots.

ACS/HRC/WFC 10060

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 9763

Calibrating the Black Hole Mass Scale for Quasars

We propose to obtain ACS/WFC imaging of all 17 low-redshift quasars
that have black hole masses measured from reverberation mapping. This
is a key sample since all secondary methods to estimate black hole
mass in quasars depend on this local reverberation-mapped sample for
their calibration. The best external check on reverberation mapping is
whether it gives results that are consistent with the black hole mass-
host galaxy correlations of nearby galaxies. For local Seyfert
galaxies the reverberation masses appear consistent with the M-sigma
correlation, but it is not known whether this also holds true for
quasars because the stellar velocity dispersions of quasar hosts are
virtually impossible to measure. We will use the ACS data to measure
accurate bulge parameters {luminosity and effective radius} for the
host galaxies of the reverberation-mapped quasars. From the
fundamental plane or the Faber-Jackson relation, we can estimate the
host galaxy velocity dispersion and test whether the reverberation
masses follow the M-sigma relation even for objects with quasar
luminosities. This is a crucial test if we are to trust the
reverberation masses as the lowest rung on a "distance ladder" of
black hole mass estimators for quasars, so that quasars can be used to
trace the cosmological growth history of black holes. {Note added in
Phase II: the TAC awarded us 8 orbits to observe 7 quasars and a PSF
star.}

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.

FGS 9879

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.

NIC/NIC3 9865

The NICMOS Parallel Observing Program

We propose to continue managing the NICMOS pure parallel program.
Based on our experience, we are well prepared to make optimal use of
the parallel opportunities. The improved sensitivity and efficiency of
our observations will substantially increase the number of
line-emitting galaxies detected. As our previous work has
demonstrated, the most frequently detected line is Halpha at
0.7z1.9, which provides an excellent measure of current star
formation rate. We will also detect star-forming and active galaxies
in other redshift ranges using other emission lines. The grism
observations will produce by far the best available Halpha luminosity
functions over the crucial--but poorly observed--redshift range where
galaxies appear to have assembled most of their stellar mass. This key
process of galaxy evolution needs to be studied with IR data; we found
that observations at shorter wavelengths appear to have missed a large
fraction of the star-formation in galaxies, due to dust reddening. We
will also obtain deep F110W and F160W images, to examine the space
densities and morphologies of faint red galaxies. In addition to
carrying out the public parallels, we will make the fully reduced and
calibrated images and spectra available on-line, with some
ground-based data for the deepest parallel fields included.

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.

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.

STIS/CCD 10018

CCD Dark Monitor-Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS/CCD 10020

CCD Bias Monitor - Part 2

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.

STIS/CCD/MA1 9759

Confirmation of New Candidates for the Study of Intergalactic Helium

The reionization of intergalactic helium is believed to take place
between redshift 3 and 4. The study of HeII Lyman-alpha absorption in
four quasars at 2.7z3.3 demonstrates the great potential of such an
intergalactic-medium {IGM} probe and suggests that the reionization
epoch is at higher redshifts. Clean quasar sightlines may be found
only from massive pre-selection processes in the optical and UV,
because of random, severe absorption by intervening Lyman-limit
systems. The SDSS has discovered approximately 36000 quasars, and we
propose to verify the UV detectability in 70 top candidates for helium
studies extending to even higher redshift. Our proposed approach has
already proven successful, and additional positive confirmations will
allow follow-up observations, with STIS, to pinpoint the epoch of
reionization of the IGM, and the evolution of its properties near that
period.

WFPC2 10070

WFPC2 CYCLE 12 Supplemental Darks Part 2/3

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:
1234-0 - TDW Cross-support tracking (T77 CODE) @ 139/1757z, 139/2125z,
140/0037z, 140/0403z
1236-0 - Change Limits MAMA1 Threshold Voltage @ 140/0722z

SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES
FGS
GSacq 11 11
FGS REacq 7 7
FHST Update 17 17
LOSS of LOCK


SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: None


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Monitoring NASA Daily ISS Report JimO Space Station 2 June 1st 04 10:33 PM
JimO Speaks on 'Daily Planet' re Hubble JimO Policy 0 February 11th 04 11:53 PM
Spirit's daily activities schedule? Matti Anttila Policy 0 January 15th 04 09:39 AM
best site for daily schedule of rover activity? bob History 2 January 5th 04 01:16 PM
Investor's Business Daily: Rethinking NASA dougk Policy 1 August 28th 03 12:07 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:47 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SpaceBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.