Daily Report #5043

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to Collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #5043

PERIOD COVERED: 5am March 1 - 5am March 2, 2010 (DOY 060/10:00z-061/10:00z)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/WFC 11995

CCD Daily Monitor (Part 2)

This program comprises basic tests for measuring the read noise and
dark current of the ACS WFC and for tracking the growth of hot pixels.
The recorded frames are used to create bias and dark reference images
for science data reduction and calibration. This program will be
executed four days per week (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) for the duration of
Cycle 17. To facilitate scheduling, this program is split into three
proposals. This proposal covers 320 orbits (20 weeks) from 1 February
2010 to 20 June 2010.

ACS/WFC/WFC3/UV 11711

A Definitive Distance to the Coma Core Ellipticals

As the richest galaxy cluster in the local universe (cz 10, 000
km/s), the Coma cluster continues to serve as the standard of
comparison for numerous studies of galaxy properties and scaling
relations in clusters. The central importance of Coma has been
recognized with two recent HST large programs: a Treasury survey to
study the dwarf galaxy population by imaging 82 different ACS/WFC
pointings, and a program to measure Cepheid distances to two spiral
galaxies projected within the Coma core region. An accurate distance
to the Coma core is essential for comparing the galaxy luminosities
and sizes to nearby galaxies in Virgo and Fornax, while an accurate
peculiar velocity is needed for correctly tying to more distant
clusters. However, experience dictates that Cepheid distances to
clusters must be carefully verified against accurate measurements to
the dominant early-type population, especially for such an
unprecedented effort as the Coma Cepheid search (the completion of
which remains uncertain). We propose to measure highly accurate (3-4%
internal error per galaxy) SBF distances to the two giant Coma core
ellipticals. The reliability of the SBF method with the ACS/WFC has
been repeatedly demonstrated, and it is so efficient that it requires
only 3% of the number of orbits dedicated to the two current large
Coma programs. The precise ACS SBF Coma core distance will also
provide a good constraint on the Coma peculiar velocity, thus
improving the accuracy of comparisons to distant clusters. Finally,
our program will answer some longstanding puzzles surrounding the rich
globular cluster population in the core of this archetypal galaxy
cluster.

COS/FUV 11687

SNAPing Coronal Iron

This is a Snapshot Survey to explore two forbidden lines of highly
ionized iron in late-type coronal sources. Fe XII 1349 (T~ 2 MK) and
Fe XXI 1354 (T~ 10 MK) -- well known to Solar Physics -- have been
detected in about a dozen cool stars, mainly with HST/STIS. The UV
coronal forbidden lines are important because they can be observed
with velocity resolution of better than 15 km/s, whereas even the
state-of-the-art X-ray spectrometers on Chandra can manage only 300
km/s in the kilovolt band where lines of highly ionized iron more
commonly are found. The kinematic properties of hot coronal plasmas,
which are of great interest to theorists and modelers, thus only are
accessible in the UV at present. The bad news is that the UV coronal
forbidden lines are faint, and were captured only in very deep
observations with STIS. The good news is that 3rd-generation Cosmic
Origins Spectrograph, slated for installation in HST by SM4, in a mere
25 minute exposure with its G130M mode can duplicate the sensitivity
of a landmark 25-orbit STIS E140M observation of AD Leo, easily the
deepest such exposure of a late-type star so far. Our goal is to build
up understanding of the properties of Fe XII and Fe XXI in additional
objects beyond the current limited sample: how the lineshapes depend
on activity, whether large scale velocity shifts can be detected, and
whether the dynamical content of the lines can be inverted to map the
spatial morphology of the stellar corona (as in "Doppler Imaging'').
In other words, we want to bring to bear in the coronal venue all the
powerful tricks of spectroscopic remote sensing, well in advance of
the time that this will be possible exploiting the corona's native
X-ray radiation. The 1290-1430 band captured by side A of G130M also
contains a wide range of key plasma diagnostics that form at
temperatures from below 10, 000 K (neutral lines of CNO), to above
200, 000 K (semi-permitted O V 1371), including the important bright
multiplets of C II at 1335 and Si IV at 1400; yielding a diagnostic
gold mine for the subcoronal atmosphere. Because of the broad value of
the SNAP spectra, beyond the coronal iron project, we waive the normal
proprietary rights.

NIC2/WFC3/IR 11548

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

We propose NICMOS and WFC3/IR 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 11843

STIS CCD Performance Monitor

This activity measures the baseline performance and commandability of
the CCD subsystem. Only primary amplifier D is used. Bias and
Flatfield exposures are taken in order to measure bias level, read
noise, CTE, and gain. Numerous bias frames are taken to permit
construction of "superbias" frames in which the effects of read noise
have been rendered negligible. Full frame and binned observations are
made, with binning factors of 2 x 1, 1 x 2, 2 x 2. Bias frames are
taken in subarray readouts to check the bias level for ACQ and
ACQ/PEAK observations. All exposures are internals.

STIS/CCD 11844

CCD Dark Monitor Part 1

The purpose of this proposal is to monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS/CCD 11846

CCD Bias Monitor-Part 1

The purpose of this proposal is to 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.

WFC3/ACS/IR 11142

Revealing the Physical Nature of Infrared Luminous Galaxies at
0.3z2.7 Using HST and Spitzer

We aim to determine physical properties of IR luminous galaxies at
0.3z2.7 by requesting coordinated HST/NIC2 and MIPS 70um
observations of a unique, 24um flux-limited sample with complete
Spitzer mid-IR spectroscopy. The 150 sources investigated in this
program have S(24um) 0.8mJy and their mid-IR spectra have already
provided the majority targets with spectroscopic redshifts
(0.3z2.7). The proposed 150~orbits of NIC2 and 66~hours of MIPS 70um
will provide the physical measurements of the light distribution at
the rest-frame ~8000A and better estimates of the bolometric
luminosity. Combining these parameters together with the rich suite of
spectral diagnostics from the mid-IR spectra, we will (1) measure how
common mergers are among LIRGs and ULIRGs at 0.3z2.7, and establish
if major mergers are the drivers of z1 ULIRGs, as in the local
Universe, (2) study the co-evolution of star formation and blackhole
accretion by investigating the relations between the fraction of
starburst/AGN measured from mid-IR spectra vs. HST morphologies,
L(bol) and z, and (3) obtain the current best estimates of the far-IR
emission, thus L(bol) for this sample, and establish if the relative
contribution of mid-to-far IR dust emission is correlated with
morphology (resolved vs. unresolved).

WFC3/ACS/UVIS/IR 11570

Narrowing in on the Hubble Constant and Dark Energy

A measurement of the Hubble constant to a precision of a few percent
would be a powerful aid to the investigation of the nature of dark
energy and a potent "end-to end" test of the present cosmological
model. In Cycle 15 we constructed a new streamlined distance ladder
utilizing high- quality type Ia supernova data and observations of
Cepheids with HST in the near-IR to minimize the dominant sources of
systematic uncertainty in past measurements of the Hubble constant and
reduce its total uncertainty to a little under 5%. Here we propose to
exploit this new route to reduce the remaining uncertainty by more
than 30%, translating into an equal reduction in the uncertainty of
the equation of state of dark energy. We propose three sets of
observations to reach this goal: a mosaic of NGC 4258 with WFC3 in
F160W to triple its sample of long period Cepheids, WFC3/F160W
observations of the 6 ideal SN Ia hosts to triple their samples of
Cepheids, and observations of NGC 5584 the host of a new SN Ia, SN
2007af, to discover and measure its Cepheids and begin expanding the
small set of SN Ia luminosity calibrations. These observations would
provide the bulk of a coordinated program aimed at making the
measurement of the Hubble constant one of the leading constraints on
dark energy.

WFC3/IR/S/C 11929

IR Dark Current Monitor

Analyses of ground test data showed that dark current signals are more
reliably removed from science data using darks taken with the same
exposure sequences as the science data, than with a single dark
current image scaled by desired exposure time. Therefore, dark current
images must be collected using all sample sequences that will be used
in science observations. These observations will be used to monitor
changes in the dark current of the WFC3-IR channel on a day-to-day
basis, and to build calibration dark current ramps for each of the
sample sequences to be used by Gos in Cycle 17. For each sample
sequence/array size combination, a median ramp will be created and
delivered to the calibration database system (CDBS).

WFC3/UVIS 11657

The Population of Compact Planetary Nebulae in the Galactic Disk

We propose to secure narrow- and broad-band images of compact
planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Galactic Disk to study the missing link
of the early phases of post-AGB evolution. Ejected AGB envelopes
become PNe when the gas is ionized. PNe expand, and, when large
enough, can be studied in detail from the ground. In the interim, only
the HST capabilities can resolve their size, morphology, and central
stars. Our proposed observations will be the basis for a systematic
study of the onset of morphology. Dust properties of the proposed
targets will be available through approved Spitzer/IRS spectra, and so
will the abundances of the alpha- elements. We will be able thus to
explore the interconnection of morphology, dust grains, stellar
evolution, and populations. The target selection is suitable to
explore the nebular and stellar properties across the galactic disk,
and to set constraints on the galactic evolutionary models through the
analysis of metallicity and population gradients.

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 (Proposal
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 05 05
FGS REAcq 12 12
OBAD with Maneuver 05 05

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)