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Daily Report #4468



 
 
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Old October 16th 07, 04:28 PM posted to sci.astro.hubble
Cooper, Joe
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Default Daily Report #4468

Notice: Due to the conversion of some ACS WFC or HRC observations into
WFPC2, or NICMOS observations after the loss of ACS CCD science
capability in January, there may be an occasional discrepancy between
a proposal's listed (and correct) instrument usage and the abstract
that follows it.


HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT***** # 4468

PERIOD COVERED: UT October 15, 2007 (DOY 288)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

WFPC2 11024

WFPC2 CYCLE 15 INTERNAL MONITOR

This calibration proposal is the Cycle 15 routine internal monitor for
WFPC2, to be run weekly to monitor the health of the cameras. A
variety of internal exposures are obtained in order to provide a
monitor of the integrity of the CCD camera electronics in both bays
{both gain 7 and gain 15 -- to test stability of gains and bias
levels}, a test for quantum efficiency in the CCDs, and a monitor for
possible buildup of contaminants on the CCD windows. These also
provide raw data for generating annual super-bias reference files for
the calibration pipeline.

NIC3 11107

Imaging of Local Lyman Break Galaxy Analogs: New Clues to Galaxy
Formation in the Early Universe

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
{LBGs}. These "compact UV luminous galaxies" {UVLGs} resemble LBGs in
terms of size, SFR, surface brightness, mass, metallicity, kinematics,
dust, and color. The UVLG sample offers the unique opportunity of
investigating some very important properties of LBGs that have
remained virtually inaccessible at high redshift: their morphology and
the mechanism that drives their star formation. Therefore, in Cycle 15
we have imaged 7 UVLGs using ACS in order to 1} characterize their
morphology and look for signs of interactions and mergers, and 2}
probe their star formation histories over a variety of timescales. The
images show a striking trend of small-scale mergers turning large
amounts of gas into vigorous starbursts {a process referred to as
dissipational or "wet" merging}. Here, we propose to complete our
sample of 31 LBG analogs using the ACS/SBC F150LP {FUV} and WFPC2
F606W {R} filters in order to create a statistical sample to study the
mechanism that triggers star formation in UVLGs and its implications
for the nature of LBGs. Specifically, we will 1} study the trend
between galaxy merging and SFR in UVLGs, 2} artificially redshift the
FUV images to z=1-4 and compare morphologies with those in similarly
sized samples of LBGs at the same rest-frame wavelengths in e.g.
GOODS, UDF, and COSMOS, 3} determine the presence and morphology of
significant stellar mass in "pre-burst" stars, and 4} study their
immediate environment. Together with our Spitzer {IRAC+MIPS}, GALEX,
SDSS and radio data, the HST observations will form a unique union of
data that may for the first time shed light on how the earliest major
episodes of star formation in high redshift galaxies came about. This
proposal was adapted from an ACS HRC+WFC proposal to meet the new
Cycle 16 observing constraints, and can be carried out using the
ACS/SBC and WFPC2 without compromising our original science goals.

WFPC2 11023

WFPC2 CYCLE 15 Standard Darks - part 1

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 11141

White dwarfs in the open star cluster NGC 188

White dwarf cooling sequences represent the only ways in which we can
determine ages of Galactic components such as the disk and the halo,
and they are an independent check on main sequence ages of globular
star clusters. These age measurements rely heavily on theoretical
cooling models, many of which disagree by as much as a few gigayears
for the coolest white dwarfs. Further, observations of the white dwarf
sequence in the super metal- rich open cluster NGC 6791 have found a
white dwarf age several gigayears younger than the accepted cluster
age determined by main-sequence fitting. The white dwarf sequence of
the solar-metallicity, 7-Gyr old open cluster NGC 188 can provide some
much-needed insight into these uncertainties, but previous HST
observations were too shallow to detect the oldest, faintest white
dwarfs in the cluster. We propose deep imaging of two fields at the
center of the cluster with the following goals: {1} To detect the end
of the white dwarf cooling sequence, providing a much-needed empirical
data point for cool white dwarf evolutionary models, {2} to compare
the white dwarf luminosity function of NGC 188 with that of NGC 6791
to determine if the odd white dwarf sequence in the latter cluster is
due to the cluster's high metallicity or due to a shortcoming in
theoretical models, and {3} to determine via photometry the masses of
white dwarfs formed by solar-mass stars, a quantity not yet
empirically measured.

WFPC2 11170

UV Imaging of the Martian Corona and the Escape of Hydrogen

ACS SBC UV imaging observations of Mars are proposed to study the
extended hydrogen corona, with application to the escape of hydrogen
and the history of water on Mars. These observations will be scheduled
when Mars is distant from the Earth, so that a field of view of +/-
4-5 Mars radii can be obtained to image the full range of the highly
extended martian hydrogen corona through its H Ly alpha emission. The
observations will also be obtained when the Sun-Earth-Mars angle is
close to 90 degrees, so that any asymmetry along the Mars-Sun line can
be observed. The observed 2-dimensional brightness distribution will
be related to local density using two existing radiative transfer
codes, and the upward flux and velocity distributions will be
determined by comparison with runs from an exospheric distribution
model. These observations, combined with simultaneous Ly alpha
observations by the SPICAM instrument on Mars Express from within the
atmosphere, will provide the first tight constraints on the total
escape flux and importance of nonthermal processes on the rate of
escape.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

11024 - GSAcq(2,1,2) failed to RGA Hold (Gyro Control)

Upon acquisition of signal at 288/09:56:46, the GSAcq(2,1,2) scheduled
at 288/09:26:40 - 09:34:44 had failed to RGA Hold due to (QF2STOPF)
stop flag indication on FGS-2. Pre-acquisition OBAD1 (RSS) attitude
correction error not available due to LOS. OBAD2 had (RSS) value of
4.86 arcseconds

REACQ(2,1,2) at 11:00:00 was successful.

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

*********************** SCHEDULED***** SUCCESSFUL

FGS GSacq************** 06**************** 05
FGS REacq************** 09**************** 09
OBAD with Maneuver **** 30**************** 30

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)


 




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