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 3542



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old February 2nd 04, 09:03 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Daily 3542

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 3542

PERIOD COVERED: DOYs 30-32

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

S/C/NIC1/NIC3 9994

NICMOS Focus Stability

The purpose of this activity is to determine if the best focus
determined in SMOV is stable. This program will execute in
approximately one month intervals starting about 1 month after the
last execution of proposal 8980.

ACS 9984

Cosmic Shear With ACS Pure Parallels

Small distortions in the shapes of background galaxies by foreground
mass provide a powerful method of directly measuring the amount and
distribution of dark matter. Several groups have recently detected
this weak lensing by large-scale structure, also called cosmic shear.
The high resolution and sensitivity of HST/ACS provide a unique
opportunity to measure cosmic shear accurately on small scales. Using
260 parallel orbits in Sloan textiti {F775W} we will measure for the
first time: beginlistosetlength sep0cm setlengthemsep0cm setlength
opsep0cm em the cosmic shear variance on scales 0.7 arcmin, em the
skewness of the shear distribution, and em the magnification effect.
endlist Our measurements will determine the amplitude of the mass
power spectrum sigma_8Omega_m^0.5, with signal-to-noise {s/n} ~ 20,
and the mass density Omega_m with s/n=4. They will be done at small
angular scales where non-linear effects dominate the power spectrum,
providing a test of the gravitational instability paradigm for
structure formation. Measurements on these scales are not possible
from the ground, because of the systematic effects induced by PSF
smearing from seeing. Having many independent lines of sight reduces
the uncertainty due to cosmic variance, making parallel observations
ideal.

FGS 9969

FGS Astrometry of the Extrasolar Planet of Epsilon Eridani

We propose observations with HST/FGS in Position Mode to determine the
astrometric elements {perturbation orbit semimajor axis and
inclination} of the candidate extra-solar planet around the K2 V star
Epsilon Eridani that has been detected by Doppler spectroscopy. These
observations will also permit us to determine the actual mass of the
planet by providing the sin{i} factor which can not be determined with
the radial velocity method. High precision radial velocity {RV}
measurements spanning the years 1980.8--2000.0 for the nearby {3.22
pc} star Epsilon Eri show convincing variations with a period of ~ 7
yrs. These data represent a combination of six independent data sets
taken with four different telescopes. A least squares orbital solution
using robust estimation yields orbital parameters of period, P = 6.9
yrs, velocity K- amplitude = 19 m/s, eccentricity e = 0.6, projected
companion mass M_B sin{i} = 0.83 M_Jupiter. An estimate of the
inclination yields a perturbation semi-major axis, Alpha = 0arcs0022,
easily within the reach of HST/FGS astrometry.

ACS/HRC/WFC 9919

The Morphological, Photometric, and Spectroscopic Properties of
Intermediate Redshift Cluster Galaxies:

New and fundamental constraints on the evolutionary state of high
redshift clusters will be made by obtaining deep, multiband images
{SDSS r, i, z} over the central 1.5 Mpc regions of seven distant
clusters in the range 0.76 z 1.27. The ACS data will allow us to
{1} definitively establish the morphological composition and star
formation rates as functions of clustercentric radius, local density,
x-ray luminosity {obtained from accompanying Chandra, and XMM data},
{2} explore the relationship between substructure, kinematics, and
morphology, {3} strongly constrain the galaxy merger frequency and the
origins of elliptical and S0 galaxies, {4} measure the mass
distribution independently from the light {via gravitational lensing}
enabling comparisons with kinematically derived masses, and {5} study
the evolution of the structure of the brightest cluster members. The
clusters selected for this program already have extensive
spectroscopic observations and NIR imaging is either in hand or
underway from approved ground based programs. To date, the lower part
of this redshift range has only been marginally studied with HST. Our
sample includes the two most distant, spectroscopically confirmed
superclusters and will significantly increase the baseline over which
evolutionary effects can be studied. The data will also be used to
identify very high-z galaxies via their unique spectral properties.

FGS 9883

Parallaxes of Extreme Halo Subgiants: Calibrating Globular Cluster
Distances and the Ages of the Oldest Stars

The ages of the oldest stars are a key constraint on the evolution of
our Galaxy, the history of star formation, and cosmological models.
These ages are usually determined from globular clusters. However, it
is alternatively possible to determine ages of extreme Population II
subgiants in the solar neighborhood based on trigonometric parallaxes,
without any recourse to clusters. This approach completely avoids the
vexing issues of cluster distances, reddenings, and chemical
compositions. There are 3 known nearby, extremely metal-deficient Pop
II subgiants with Hipparcos parallax errors of 6-11% which are
available for such age determinations. At present, based on the latest
isochrones, the derived ages of these stars {HD 84937, HD 132475, and
HD 140283} are all close to 14 Gyr, uncomfortably close to or higher
than current estimates of the age of the universe. However, the errors
in the Hipparcos parallaxes imply uncertainties of at least 2 Gyr in
the ages of the 3 stars. We propose to measure parallaxes of these
three Pop II subgiants using HST's Fine Guidance Sensor 1R. We expect
to reduce the Hipparcos parallax error bars by factors of 5-6,
providing the most stringent test yet of current theoretical stellar
models of Pop II stars and pushing the age uncertainties to below 0.5
Gyr. These data will also provide a major new constraint on the
distance scale of globular clusters, with wide implications for
stellar evolution and the calibration of Pop II standard candles.

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.

ACS/WFC 9860

ESSENCE: Measuring the Dark Energy Equation of State

The accelerating universe appears to be dominated by a dark energy
with a significant negative pressure. The ratio of the pressure to
density of this mysterious energy {its equation of state} is an
observable which can differentiate between the proliferating candidate
theories. We propose to estimate the dark energy equation of state by
observing Type Ia supernovae at redshifts near z=0.7 with HST in
concert with the on-going ESSENCE NOAO Survey program that is
discovering and studying supernovae between 0.3z0.8. We show that an
interesting constraint on the equation of state can be made with
supernovae observed at modest redshifts given the current knowledge of
the matter density. We will follow 10 Type Ia supernovae discovered
from the ground and passed to HST without disrupting its schedule. The
full data set will constrain the equation of state to 10% and strictly
limit the range of possible dark energy models. In keeping with the
ESSENCE policy, these observations will available to the community
immediately.

STIS/CCD 9854

Anomalous Flux Ratios in Quadruple Gravitationally Lensed QSOs

We propose to observe eight {8} gravitationally lensed systems which
exhibit quadruple images of the background high redshift quasars.
Models invoking a smooth potential fit the observed image positions
accurately, in most cases better than 5 milliarcseconds. But the same
models dramatically fail to predict the observed flux ratios. These
anomalous flux ratios can be attributed to micro- or milli-lensing in
the massive lensing halo. In this proposal, we will isolate the source
of the anomalous flux ratios by using the superior resolution of
HST/STIS to obtain spectrophotometric data and compare the emission
line flux ratio of the QSOs to the continuum flux ratios. Due to the
much larger size of the broad emission line regions, the flux ratios
in the emission lines should only be affected by milli-lensing if the
sub-halos are comparable or larger in projected size than the source
region. That is, flux ratios observed in the QSO continuum are
senstive to substructure on all scales {both micro- and
milli-lensing}, while the broad emission lines are insensitive to
micro-lensing due to the larger physical size of the source emission
region. This sample of eight quasars will provide the definitive
evidence to distinguish between possible sources causing the observed
anomalous flux ratios.

ACS/HRC/WFC/STIS/CCD 9836

The role of dark matter and intracluster gas in galaxy formation and
cluster evolution

We propose a fully-sampled mosaic of 41 ACS images to survey galaxy
morphologies and measure weak lensing signals to the turn-around
radius in the X-ray luminous cluster, MS0451-03 {z=0.54}. The aim is
to isolate the physical processes which affect the evolution of
cluster galaxy morphologies in the context of well-defined dynamical
system. The study will be used in contrast to a successful campaign
undertaken in Cycle 9 on a optically-selected target. By comparing
morphologies with spectroscopic and Chandra X-ray data, we will
quantify the role of the intracluster medium and associated
substructures and establish the timescales and physical regions within
which the various environmental processes occur.

NIC2 9801

Are OH/IR Stars the Youngest post-AGB stars? A NICMOS Imaging Survey

Essentially all well-characterized preplanetary nebulae {PPNe}--
objects in transition between the AGB and planetary nebula
evolutionary phases - are bipolar, whereas the mass-loss envelopes of
AGB stars are strikingly spherical. In order to understand the
processes leading to bipolar mass-ejection, we need to know at what
stage of stellar evolution does bipolarity in the mass-loss first
manifest itself. We have recently hypothesized that most OH/IR stars
{evolved mass- losing stars with OH maser emission} are very young
PPNe. We are conducting a multiwavelength survey program of imaging
and spectroscopic observations of such objects, using a large,
morphologically unbiased sample selected using IRAS 12-to-25 micron
colors. Our ongoing HST/SNAP imaging survey of the optically bright
half of this sample with WFPC2 and ACS is highly successful: 19/32
objects observed are extended with bipolar/multipolar shapes
{remaining objects are unresolved}. Slightly more than 50% of our
sample are optically too faint or undetected but have strong near-IR
counterparts -- we therefore propose a NICMOS SNAPshot imaging survey
of these optically-faint OH/IR stars. These observations are crucial
for determining how and when the bipolar geometry asserts itself. The
results from our NICMOS survey {together with the WFPC2/ACS survey}
will allow us to draw general conclusions about the onset of bipolar
mass-ejection during late stellar evolution. Our complementary program
of interferometric mapping of the OH maser emission in our sources is
yielding kinematic information with spatial resolution comparable to
that in the HST images. The HST/radio data will provide crucial input
for theories of post-AGB stellar evolution. In addition, these data
will also indicate whether the multiple concentric rings, "searchlight
beams'', and truncated equatorial disks recently discovered with HST
in a few PPNe, are common or rare phenomena.

STIS 9786

The Next Generation Spectral Library

We propose to continue the Cycle 10 snapshot program to produce a Next
Generation Spectral Library of 600 stars for use in modeling the
integrated light of galaxies and clusters. This program is using the
low dispersion UV and optical gratings of STIS. The library will be
roughly equally divided among four metallicities, very low {[Fe/H] lt
-1.5}, low {[Fe/H] -1.5 to -0.5}, near-solar {[Fe/H] -0.3 to 0.1}, and
super-solar {[Fe/H] gt 0.2}, well-sampling the entire HR-diagram in
each bin. Such a library will surpass all extant compilations and have
lasting archival value, well into the Next Generation Space Telescope
era. Because of the universal utility and community-broad nature of
this venture, we waive the entire proprietary period.

STIS/CCD/MA1 9785

Search for Core-disrupting Wide-Angle Winds

We propose to obtain observations with STIS/FUV-MAMA of H$_2$
fluorescent lines along the cavity surrounding the star T Tau N. Since
H$_2$ fluorescent lines are direct tracers of shock-excitation in
low-mass star-forming regions, the high resolution achievable with
STIS will allow us to delineate the region of interaction between the
wind and the cloud, and to investigate the geometry of the outflow at
unprecedentedly close distances to its source, 100 AU. Our
observations will allow us to confirm, map out, and provide
quantitative estimates of the off-axis {wide-angle} flow for the first
time. Understanding the geometry of the wind is crucial because {1} it
determines whether outflows can disrupt their natal cores, and {2} it
tests theories of jet production and collimation.

ACS/HRC 9782

Measuring Black Hole Masses in Double Peaked Broad Lined AGNs

To date there have been few black hole {BH} mass estimates for
luminous broad line AGN, including those derived from reverberation
mapping. In this context, objects with "double-peaked" broad lines are
particularly important because the line emission is believed to arise
in a relativistically rotating accretion disk. If this model is
correct, then the BH mass can be determined directly from periodic
variations in the line-profile shape. In two cases {Arp 102B and NGC
1097} such variations have been claimed. The goal of this proposal is
to confront the relativistic disk model for the double-peaked Balmer
lines with independent limits on the central masses for 5 of the
nearest and brightest "double-peaked emitters" {NGC 1097, Arp 102B,
Pictor A, 3C390.3, 3C332}, determined by using STIS long-slit
spectroscopy to map the velocity field of circum-nuclear ionized gas.
These observations will critically test the idea that the line
emission in these objects comes from an accretion disk and thus
provide unique insights into the physical processes operating in both
the BLR and the "central engine".

STIS 9633

STIS parallel archive proposal - Nearby Galaxies - Imaging and
Spectroscopy

Using parallel opportunities with STIS which were not allocated by the
TAC, we propose to obtain deep STIS imagery with both the Clear
{50CCD} and Long-Pass {F28X50LP} filters in order to make
color-magnitude diagrams and luminosity functions for nearby galaxies.
For local group galaxies, we also include G750L slitless spectroscopy
to search for e.g., Carbon stars, late M giants and S-type stars. This
survey will be useful to study the star formation histories, chemical
evolution, and distances to these galaxies. These data will be placed
immediately into the Hubble Data Archive.

ACS 9438

The Origin of the Intergalactic Globular Cluster Population in Abell
1185

We request deep V and I observations with ACS to examine the
properties of a newly discovered population of intergalactic globular
clusters in the core of the rich galaxy cluster Abell 1185. Our
previous WFPC2 observations of this field {GO-8164} revealed an excess
of five times the number of objects at the expected magnitudes of
globular clusters compared to the Hubble Deep Fields. The colors and
luminosity function of these intergalactic globular clusters will
place strong constraints on their origin, which in turn will yield new
insights to the evolution of galaxy populations in dense environments

NICMOS 8791

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 2

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.

S/C 4974

TRTTEST

No available description

STIS/CCD 10085

STIS Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 12

This is the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during
cycle 12.

WFPC2 10084

WFII parallel archive proposal

This is the generic target version of the WFPC2 Archival Pure Parallel
program. The program will be used to take parallel images of random
areas of the sky, following the recommendations of the 2002 Parallels
Working Group.

STIS/MA1 10083

HST UV Images of Saturn's Aurora Coordinated with Cassini Solar Wind
Measurements

A key measurement goal of the Cassini mission to Saturn is to obtain
simultaneous solar wind and auroral imaging measurements in a campaign
scheduled for Jan. 2004. Cassini will measure the solar wind
approaching Saturn continuously from 9 Jan. - 6 Feb., but not closer
to Saturn due to competing spacecraft orientation constraints. The
only system capable of imaging Saturn's aurora in early 2004 will be
HST. In this community DD proposal we request the minimum HST time
needed to support the Cassini mission during the solar wind campaign
with UV images of Saturn's aurora. Saturn's magnetosphere is
intermediate between the "closed" Jovian case with large internal
sources of plasma and the Earth's magnetosphere which is open to solar
wind interactions. Saturn's aurora has been shown to exhibit large
temporal variations in brightness and morphology from Voyager and HST
observations. Changes of auroral emitted power exceeding one order of
magnitude, dawn brightenings, and latitudinal motions of the main oval
have all been observed. Lacking knowledge of solar wind conditions
near Saturn, it has not been possible to determine its role in
Saturn's auroral processes, nor the mechanisms controlling the auroral
precipitation. During Cassini's upcoming approach to Saturn there will
be a unique opportunity to answer these questions. We propose to image
one complete rotation of Saturn to determine the corotational and
longitudinal dependences of the auroral activity. We will then image
the active sector of Saturn once every two days for a total coverage
of 26 days during the Cassini campaign to measure the upstream solar
wind parameters. This is the minimum coverage needed to ensure
observations of the aurora under solar wind pressure variations of
more than a factor of two, based on the solar wind pressure variations
measured by Voyager 2 near Saturn on the declining phase of solar
activity. The team of proposers has carried out a similar coordinated
observing campaign of Jupiter during the Cassini flyby, resulting in a
set of papers and HST images on the cover of Nature on 28 February
2002.

WFPC2 10082

POMS Test Proposal: WFII backup parallel archive proposal

This is a POMS test proposal designed to simulate scientific plans

WFPC2 10073

Earth Flats

This proposal monitors flatfield stability. This proposal obtains
sequences of Earth streak flats to construct high quality flat fields
for the WFPC2 filter set. These flat fields will allow mapping of the
OTA illumination pattern and will be used in conjuction with previous
internal and external flats to generate new pipeline superflats. These
Earth flats will complement the Earth flat data obtained during cycles
4-11.

WFPC2 10069

WFPC2 CYCLE 12 Supplemental Darks, Part 1/3

This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to
provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot
pixels.

ACS/HRC/WFC 10059

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 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/WFC 10046

CCD Hot Pixel Annealing

Hot pixel annealing will be performed once every 4 weeks. The CCD TECs
will be turned off and heaters will be activated to bring the detector
temperatures to about +20C. This state will be held for approximately
12 hours, after which the heaters are turned off, the TECs turned on,
and the CCDs returned to normal operating condition. To assess the
effectiveness of this procedure, a bias and two dark images will be
taken after the annealing procedure for both WFC and HRC. The HRC
darks are taken in parallel with the WFC darks.

ACS/WFC 10043

External CTE Monitor

Monitor CTE changes during cycle 11. Determine CTE.

STIS/MA1 10034

Cycle 12 MAMA Dark Monitor

This test performs the routine monitoring of the MAMA detector dark
noise. This proposal will provide the primary means of checking on
health of the MAMA detectors systems through frequent monitoring of
the background count rate. The purpose is to look for evidence of
change in dark indicative of detector problem developing.

STIS/CCD 10019

CCD Bias Monitor - Part 1

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 10017

CCD Dark Monitor-Part 1

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTAR 9302: GS Acquisition (1,2,1) @ 031/02:35:23Z failed to RGA
control due to SRLE on FGS 1. Prior FHST FM Updates U2,3FM @
031/02:10Z and 02:13Z had good attitude errors. GS Re-acquisition @
031/04:06:26Z took two attempts, but was successful. Under
investigation.

HSTAR 9303: GS Acquisition (3,2,2) @ 032/02:33:19Z resulted in FL
backup (3,0,3) due to SSLE on FGS 3. Subsequent GS Re-acquisitions
(3,2,2) @ 032/04:09:56Z, 032/05:45:05Z, 032/07:21:49Z, 032/08:57:45Z,
and 032/10:33:42Z will also result in FL backup.Under investigation.

HSTAR 9304: GS Acquisition (1,2,2) @ 032/12:14:00Z resulted in FL
backup using FGS 2 due to SSLEX on FGS 1. Prior FHST FM Updates @
032/11:53Z and 11:55Z showed good attitude error vector. FHST Map @
032/12:50Z showed error values of -20.737, -13.107, and -14.441
arcsec. Under investigation.

HSTAR 9306: GS Acquisition (1,2,1) @ 033/03:45:46Z resulted in FL
backup using FGS 1. After coming out of the ZOE @ 033/03:51:56Z, no
flags were observed. Under investigation.

COMPLETED OPS REQs:
17085 TRT Trending Test 2004-030 @030/2228z

OPS NOTES EXECUTED:
1160-2 Default Config for TLMDIAGs @030/2351z

SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES
FGS GSacq 27 26 031/0235z
(HSTAR#9302)
FGS REacq 16 16
FHST Update 57 57
LOSS of LOCK



SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

Successfully completed the second TRT Trending Test 030/21:01Z -
22:28Z (OR 17085 with attached Transient Rate Trending Test script).
The test performed exactly as expected. A very preliminary look at
the data indicates extended transitions were seen for some of the
iterations. This data will now be combined with the first run of this
test to look for trends. Subsequent GS acquisition (using FGS 2) @
030/23:55Z was successful.


 




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 02:36 PM.


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.