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Daily Report #4771
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT****** #4771 PERIOD COVERED: 5am January 13 - 5am January 14, 2009 (DOY *************************** 013/1000z-014/1000z) OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED WFPC2 11130 AGNs with Intermediate-mass Black Holes: Testing the Black Hole-Bulge Paradigm, Part II The recent progress in the study of central black holes in galactic nuclei has led to a general consensus that supermassive {10^6-10^9 solar mass} black holes are closely connected with the formation and evolutionary history of large galaxies, especially their bulge component. Two outstanding issues, however, remain unresolved. Can central black holes form in the absence of a bulge? And does the mass function of central black holes extend below 10^6 solar masses? Intermediate-mass black holes {10^6 solar masses}, if they exist, may offer important clues to the nature of the seeds of supermassive black holes. Using the SDSS, our group has successfully uncovered a new population of AGNs with intermediate-mass black holes that reside in low-luminosity galaxies. However, very little is known about the detailed morphologies or structural parameters of the host galaxies themselves, including the crucial question of whether they have bulges or not. Surprisingly, the majority of the targets of our Cycle 14 pilot program have structural properties similar to dwarf elliptical galaxies. The statistics from this initial study, however, are really too sparse to reach definitive conclusions on this important new class of black holes. We wish to extend this study to a larger sample, by using the Snapshot mode to obtain WFPC2 F814W images from a parent sample of 175 AGNs with intermediate- mass black holes selected from our final SDSS search. We are particularly keen to determine whether the hosts contain bulges, and if so, how the fundamental plane properties of the host depend on the mass of their central black holes. We will also investigate the environment of this unique class of AGNs. WFPC2 11944 Binaries at the Extremes of the H-R Diagram We propose to use HST/Fine Guidance Sensor 1r to survey for binaries among some of the most massive, least massive, and oldest stars in our part of the Galaxy. FGS allows us to spatially resolve binary systems that are too faint to observe using ground-based, speckle or optical long baseline interferometry, and too close to resolve with AO. We propose a SNAP-style program of single orbit FGS TRANS mode observations of very massive stars in the cluster NGC 3603, luminous blue variables, nearby low mass main sequence stars, cool subdwarf stars, and white dwarfs. These observations will help us to (1) identify systems suitable for follow up studies for mass determination, (2) study the role of binaries in stellar birth and in advanced evolutionary states, (3) explore the fundamental properties of stars near the main sequence-brown dwarf boundary, (4) understand the role of binaries for X-ray bright systems, (5) find binaries among ancient and nearby subdwarf stars, and (6) help calibrate the white dwarf mass - radius relation. WFPC2 11966 The Recent Star Formation History of SINGS Galaxies The Spitzer Legacy project SINGS provided a unique view of the current state of star formation and dust in a sample of galaxies of all Hubble types. This multi-wavelength view allowed the team to create current star formation diagnostics that are independent of the dust content and increased our understanding of the dust in galaxies. Even so, using the SINGS data alone we can only make rough estimates of the recent star formation history of these galaxies. The lack of high resolution observations (especially U-band and H-alpha) means that it is impossible to estimate the ages of young clusters. In addition, the low resolution of the Spitzer and ground-based observations means that what appear to be individual Spitzer sources can actually be composed of many individual clusters with varying ages. We need to know the ages, star formation histories, and extinction of these individual clusters to understand how these clusters form and age and thus influence the evolution of the galaxy. In this proposal we address this missing area of SINGS by obtaining high-resolution WFPC2 UBVI & H-alpha observations to not only accurately locate and determine the ages of the young stellar clusters in the actively star forming SINGS galaxies but to also address a variety of other scientific issues. Over 500 HST orbits and 500 hours of Spitzter observing time have been dedicated to observations of the SINGS sample. But the HST observations have not been systematic. By adding a relatively small fraction of this time for these requested observations, we will greatly enhance the legacy value of the SINGS observations by creating a uniform high resolution multi-wavelength HST archive that matches the quality of the lower resolution SINGS archive. WFPC2 11968 The Light Echoes Around V838 Monocerotis: Cycle 16 DD This is a DD program in which we propose to obtain WFPC2 imaging of the light echo around V838 Mon in late 2008 or early 2009. We were awarded Cycle 17 time to image the echo with ACS at 2 epochs (3+4 orbits). To obtain data of similar quality with WFPC2 requires 7 orbits at 2 different pointings. Because of the SM4 delay, we are therefore requesting a 14-orbit DD program for Cycle 16, leaving the Cycle 17 allocation unchanged for continued monitoring of the event in late 2009 and 2010. V838 Monocerotis, which burst upon the astronomical scene in early 2002, is a completely unanticipated new object. It underwent a large-amplitude and very luminous outburst, during which its spectrum remained that of an extremely cool supergiant. A rapidly evolving set of light echoes around V838 Mon was discovered soon after the outburst, quickly becoming the most spectacular display of the phenomenon yet seen. These light echoes provide the means to accomplish three unique types of measurements based on continued HST imaging: (1) study MHD turbulence at high resolution and in 3 dimensions; (2) construct the first unambiguous and fully 3-D map of a circumstellar dust envelope; (3) study dust physics in a unique setting where the spectrum and light curve of the illumination, and the scattering angle, are unambiguously known. We have also used our HST data to determine the distance to V838 Mon through a novel geometric technique. Because of the extreme rarity of light echoes, this program of regular monitoring provides the only opportunity to achieve such results during the HST lifetime. We propose WFPC2 imaging in late 2008/early 2009, in order to continue the mapping of the circumstellar dust and to accomplish the other goals listed above. FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) HSTARS: 11638 - GSAcq (1,3,3) scheduled from 10:00:51 - 10:08:12 failed to RGA Hold due to QF1STOPF & QSTOP flags on FGS-1. Observations affected: WFPC Proposal 11966, observation 56 COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None) COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None) ************************ SCHEDULED***** SUCCESSFUL FGS GSacq************** 04****************** 03 FGS REacq************** 10****************** 10 OBAD with Maneuver **** 28****************** 28 SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None) |
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