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Daily # 4230
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT # 4230 PERIOD COVERED: UT October 30, 2006 (DOY 303) OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED ACS/HRC 10738 Earth Flats 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 in the pipeline and to monitor any changes. Weekly coronagraphic monitoring is required to assess the changing position of the spots. ACS/HRC 10833 Host Galaxies of Reverberation Mapped AGNs We propose to obtain unsaturated high-resolution images of 17 reverberation-mapped active galactic nuclei in order to remove the point-like nuclear light from each image, thus yielding a "nucleus-free" image of the host galaxy. This will allow investigation of host galaxy properties: our particular interest is determination of the host-galaxy starlight contribution to the reverberation-mapping observations. This is necessary {1} for accurate determination of the relationship between the AGN nuclear continuum flux and the size of the broad Balmer-line emitting regions of AGNs, which is important in estimating black hole masses for large samples of QSOs, and {2} for accurate determination of the bolometric luminosity of the AGN proper. Through observations in Cycles 12 and 14, we have obtained or will obtain images of 18 of the 35 objects in the reverberation-mapping compilation of Peterson et al. {2004}. These observations revealed that the host-galaxy contribution, even in the higher-luminosity AGNs, is higher than expected and that all of the reverberation-mapped AGNs will have to be observed, not just the lower-luminosity sources; each source is different, and each source is important. Therefore we request time to observe the 17 remaining reverberation-mapped AGNs. ACS/HRC/WFC 10758 ACS CCDs daily monitor This program consists of a set of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the development of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD detectors. The files, biases and dark will be used to create reference files for science calibration. This programme will be for the entire lifetime of ACS. Changes from cycle 13:- The default gain for WFC is 2 e-/DN. As before bias frames will be collected for both gain 1 and gain 2. Dark frames are acquired using the default gain {2}. This program cover the period May, 31 2006- Oct, 1-2006. The first half of the program has a different proposal number: 10729. ACS/WFC 10876 SL2S: The Strong Lensing Legacy Survey Strong Gravitational Lensing is an invaluable tool to constrain the absolute mass distribution of structures irrespective of their light distribution. Strong Lensing has successfully been applied to single galaxies lensing quasars into multiple images, and to massive clusters lensing background sources into giant arcs. More recently, the Sloan Lens ACS Survey also found numerous examples of isolated, yet massive ellipticals lensing background galaxies into Einstein rings. We have started the Strong Lensing Legacy Survey {SL2S} looking for strong lenses in the 170 sq. degree CFHT-Legacy Survey, using dedicated automated search procedures, optimized for detection of arcs and Einstein rings. Thanks to the unsurpassed combined depth, area and image quality of the CFHT-LS, we uncovered a new population of lenses: the intermediate mass halo and sub-halo lenses. This new population effectively bridges the gap between single galaxies and massive clusters. Here, we propose to obtain SNAPSHOT ACS images of the 50 first strong lens candidates with Einstein radii 2"Re9" {found in the first 45 sq. degrees of CFHT-LS data released}. The ACS images will allow us to model in details the mass distribution of this new population of lensing groups under various lensing configurations. Using ACS images, we ultimately hope to provide a better understanding of the formation of structures by studying the lensing signatures of the key population of galaxy groups. ACS/WFC 10880 The host galaxies of QSO2s: AGN feeding and evolution at high luminosities Now that the presence of supermassive black holes in the nuclei of galaxies is a well established fact, other questions related to the AGN phenomena still have to be answered. Problems of particular interest are how the AGN gets fed, how the black hole evolves and how the evolution of the black hole is related to the evolution of the galaxy bulge. Here we propose to address some of these issues using ACS/WFC + F775W snapshot images of 73 QSO2s with redshifts in the range 0.3z0.4. These observations will be combined with similar archival data of QSO1s and ground based data of Seyfert and normal galaxies. First, we will intestigate whether interactions are the most important feeding mechanism in high luminosity AGNs. This will be done in a quantitative way, comparing the asymmetry indices of QSO2 hosts with those of lower luminosity AGNs and normal galaxies. Second, we will do a detailed study of the morphology of the host galaxies of both QSO types, to determine if they are similar, or if there is an evolutionary trend from QSO2s to QSO1s. The results from this project will represent an important step in the understanding of AGN evolution, and may also introduce a substantial modification to the Unified Model. ACS/WFC/HRC 10920 High-Resolution Imaging of Nearby Lyman Break Galaxy Analogs in the GALEX All-Sky Survey 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. These compact UV luminous galaxies {UVLGs} resemble Lyman Break Galaxies in terms of size, UV luminosity, star-formation rate, surface brightness, mass, metallicity, kinematics, dust content, and color. They have characteristic ``ages'' {stellar mass/SFR} of only a few hundred Myr. This population of galaxies is thus worthy of study in its own right and as a sample of local analogs of Lyman Break Galaxies. We propose to image a sample of the 9 nearest and brightest compact UVLGs in the near-ultraviolet, near-infrared, and H-alpha using ACS. With these images we will 1} characterize their structure and morphology, 2} look for signs of interactions and mergers, 3} investigate the distribution and propogation of star formation over varying time scales, and 4} quantify the stellar populations and star formation history, in order to determine whether a previous generation of stars formed long before the current burst. These data will perfectly complement our existing Spitzer, GALEX, and SDSS data, and will provide important information on star-formation in the present-day universe as well as shed light on the earliest major episodes of star formation in high-redshift galaxies. 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 10893 Sweeping Away the Dust: Reliable Dark Energy with an Infrared Hubble Diagram We propose building a high-z Hubble Diagram using type Ia supernovae observed in the infrared rest-frame J-band. The infrared has a number of exceptional properties. The effect of dust extinction is minimal, reducing a major systematic tha may be biasing dark energy measurements. Also, recent work indicates that type Ia supernovae are true standard candles in the infrared meaning that our Hubble diagram will be resistant to possible evolution in the Phillips relation over cosmic time. High signal-to-noise measurements of 9 type Ia events at z~0.4 will be compared with an independent optical Hubble diagram from the ESSENCE project to test for a shift in the derived dark energy equation of state due to a systematic bias. Because of the bright sky background, H-band photometry of z~0.4 supernovae is not feasible from the ground. Only the superb image quality and dark infrared sky seen by HST makes this test possible. This experiment may also lead to a better, more reliable way of mapping the expansion history of the universe with the Joint Dark Energy Mission. WFPC2 10748 WFPC2 CYCLE 14 Standard Darks This dark calibration program obtains dark frames every week in order to provide data for the ongoing calibration of the CCD dark current rate, and to monitor and characterize the evolution of hot pixels. Over an extended period these data will also provide a monitor of radiation damage to the CCDs. 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. FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) HSTARS: 10491 - GSacq(2,0,2) failed to RGA control GSacq(2,0,2) scheduled at 303/01:14:21 failed to RGA control due to receiving stop flag QF2STOPF. The OBAD before the GSacq showed errors of V1= -3.37, V2= -12.88, V3= 1.98, RSS= 13.46. The Map at 01:19:51 showed errors of V1= 3.99, V2= 1.52, V3= 2.58, RSS= 4.99. COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None) COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None) SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FGS GSacq 11 10 FGS REacq 04 04 OBAD with Maneuver 30 30 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None) |
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