Daily # 4214

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 4214

PERIOD COVERED: UT October 05, 2006 (DOY 278)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/HRC 10851

Solving the Riddle of the Red Rectangle: Proper Motion Study of a
Bipolar Nebula around a Binary

We propose to use ACS to obtain second-epoch, high spatial-resolution
images of the nearest Pre-Planetary nebula, the Red Rectangle {RR}.
The RR is a Rosetta Stone for testing our understanding of binarity in
the evolution of AGB stars to bipolar planetary nebulae, because it is
a known binary with well determined orbital and circumbinary disk
characteristics, and because of its proximity {330-700 pc}. Recent
analysis of archival STIS data shows evidence for outflow motion of
about 100 km/s. Thus, 2nd epoch observations, in combination with
those of 8 years ago, will yield a direct detection of proper motion
of sharp nebular structures and the overall expansion rate of this
nebula. The observations will therefore detect and characterise for
the first time, the outflow motions of a {possibly} disk-collimated
outflow from an evolved binary shaping a bipolar nebula. Deep
narrow-band imaging of the RR using the HRC and WFC with the F658N
filter will be used to trace H-alpha emission in the central and
distant parts of RR, as a probe of the shocked gas. We will run
numerical simulations of two currently competing models for shaping
the RR, using the FLASH MHD code. This code has been implemented on
the JPL supercomputer to study interacting wind processes in the
formation of pre-planetary and planetary nebulae. The model
predictions of the proper motion vectors will be compared to the
observed values, and we will investigate whether tuning of the model
parameters is adequate to find fits to the data, or these models have
to be abandoned in favor of new ones. This study will help to improve
our currently very limited understanding of the role of binarity in
the tranformation of AGB stars to planetary nebulae.

ACS/WFC 10633

GRB afterglows and host galaxies at very high redshifts

Cosmology is beginning to constrain the nature of the earliest stars
and galaxies to form in the universe, but direct observation of
galaxies at z6 remains highly challenging due to their scarcity,
intrinsically small size, and high luminosity distance. GRB
afterglows, thanks to their extreme luminosities, offer the
possibility of circumventing these normal constraints by providing
redshifts and spectral information which couldn't be obtained by
direct observation of the hosts themselves. In addition, the
association of GRBs with massive stars means that they are a tracer of
star formation, and that their hosts are likely responsible for a
large proportion of the ionizing radiation during that era. Our
collaboration is mounting a campaign to rapidly identify and study
candidate very high redshift bursts, bringing to bear a network of 2,
4 and 8m telescopes with nIR instrumentation. The capabilities of
Swift to detect faint, distant GRBs, and to report accurate positions
for many bursts in near real-time makes our program now feasible. HST
is crucial to this endeavour, allowing us {a} to monitor the late time
afterglows and hence compare them to lower-z bursts and test the use
of GRBs as standard candles; and {b} characterise the basic
properties, luminosities, and in some cases morphologies, of the
hosts, which is essential to understanding these primordial galaxies
and their relationship to other populations.

ACS/WFC 10848

Relating the host galaxies of type-2 quasars to their infrared
properties

The obscured quasar population has been found to consist of a wide
variety of objects. In this proposal, we wish to study the host
galaxies of six z~0.6 type-2 quasars selected via their mid- infrared
emission. Infrared spectra and photometry of these objects show that
they include both actively star-forming and non-starforming galaxies,
and have dust columns to the AGN ranging from moderate to high. We
will relate the host galaxy properties to the infrared properties of
these type-2 quasars, and to the host galaxies of type-1 quasars of
similar redshift and bolometric luminosity. These observations will
thus help us to understand how the different types of obscured quasars
are related to each other, and to the normal quasar population.

ACS/WFC/NIC3 10632

Searching for galaxies at z6.5 in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

We propose to obtain deep ACS {F606W, F775W, F850LP} imaging in the
area of the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field NICMOS parallel fields
and - through simultaneous parallel observations - deep NICMOS {F110W,
F160W} imaging of the ACS UDF area. Matching the extreme imaging depth
in the optical and near-IR bands will result in seven fields with
sufficiently sensitive multiband data to detect the expected typical
galaxies at z=7 and 8. Presently no such a field exist. Our combined
optical and near-IR ultradeep fields will be in three areas separated
by about 20 comoving Mpc at z=7. This will allow us to give a first
assessment of the degree of cosmic variance. If reionization is a
process extending over a large redshift interval and the luminosity
function doesn't evolve strongly beyond z=6, these data will allow us
to identify of the order of a dozen galaxies at 6.5z8.5 - using the
Lyman break technique - and to place a first constrain on the
luminosity function at z6.5. Conversely, finding fewer objects would
be an indication that the bulk of reionization is done by galaxies at
z=6. By spending 204 orbits of prime HST time we will capitalize on
the investment of 544 prime orbits already made on the Hubble Ultra
Deep Field {UDF}. We have verified that the program as proposed is
schedulable and that it will remain so even if forced to execute in
the 2-gyro mode. The data will be non-proprietary and the reduced
images will be made public within 2 months from the completion of the
observations.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8794

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 5

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 10906

The Fundamental Plane of Massive Gas-Rich Mergers: II. The QUEST QSOs

We propose deep NICMOS H-band imaging of a carefully selected sample
of 23 local QSOs. This program is the last critical element of a
comprehensive investigation of the most luminous mergers in the nearby
universe, the ultraluminous infrared galaxies {ULIRGs} and the
quasars. This effort is called QUEST: Quasar / ULIRG Evolutionary
STudy. The high-resolution HST images of the QUEST QSOs will
complement an identical set of images on the ULIRG sample obtained
during Cycle 12, an extensive set of ground-based data that include
long-slit NIR spectra from a Large VLT Program, and a large set of
mid-infrared spectra from a Cycle 1 medium-size program with Spitzer.
This unique dataset will allow us to derive with unprecedented
precision structual, kinematic, and activity parameters for a large
unbiased sample of objects spanning the entire ULIRG/QSO luminosity
function. These data will refine the fundamental plane of massive
gas-rich mergers and enable us to answer the following quesitons: {1}
Do ultraluminous mergers form elliptical galaxies, and in particular,
giant ellipticals? {2} Do ULIRGs evolve into optical bright QSOs? The
results from this detailed study of massive mergers in the local
universe will be relevant to understanding the basic physical
processes involved in creating massive early-type host on the one
hand, and growing/feeding embedded massive black holes on the other,
in major galaxy mergers. This is an important question since 50% of
cosmic star formation at high-z and most of the big BHs appear to be
formed in this process.

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 09 09
FGS REacq 05 05
OBAD with Maneuver 28 28

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)