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Daily # 3974



 
 
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Old October 28th 05, 04:02 PM
Joe Cooper
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Default Daily # 3974

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 3974

PERIOD COVERED: UT October 25, 2005 (DOY 298)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/HRC 10114

Lyman_alpha FUV observations of the Sun in time and effects on planetary
atmospheres

The chromospheric H I Ly_alpha 1215.6 feature is the dominant source of
short-wave emission in the Sun and solar-type stars, contributing about
80-90% of the total FUV flux and 30-60% of the total flux between 1 and
1500 A. Also, this important chromospheric line is the major cooling
channel for cool star atmospheres. Accurate Ly_alpha fluxes are the only
missing element of our ongoing "Sun in Time" program. This program
studies a sample of single G0-5 V stars with well-known physical
properties that serve as proxies for the Sun {and solar-mass stars} over
their main sequence lifetimes. One of the major goals of the program is
the determination of the spectral irradiance of the early Sun. Our
analyses indicate that the strong XUV emissions of the young Sun have
played a crucial role in the developing planetary system. In particular,
the expected strong Ly_alpha line flux may have greatly influenced the
photoionization, photochemical evolution and possible erosion of
planetary atmospheres, as well as played a role in the origin and
development of life on Earth. The "Sun in Time" data can also be applied
to investigate the atmospheric loss of exoplanets around solar-type
stars resulting from XUV heating, which can eventually lead to the
evaporation of "hot Jupiters". We propose to determine accurate FUV and
Ly-alpha fluxes and irradiances for 4 representative solar proxies with
ages from 130 Myr to 6.7 Gyr. The proposed study is of capital
importance in reconstructing the evolutionary histories of exoplanets
already known and additional planets that missions such as COROT,
Kepler, SIM, and Darwin/TPF will discover in the coming years.

ACS/SBC 10739

Internal Flat Field Stability

The stability of the CCD flat fields will be monitored using the
calibration lamps and a sub-sample of the filter set. For the SBC
imaging filters, differences in the low-frequency flat field structure
with wavelength will be assessed. New high signal P-flats will be
obtained for the SBC prisms.

ACS/WFC 10491

A Snapshot Survey of the most massive clusters of galaxies

We propose a snapshot survey of a sample of 124 high X-ray luminosity
clusters in the redshift range 0.3-0.7. Similarly luminous clusters at
these redshifts frequently exhibit strong gravitational lensing. The
proposed observations will provide important constraints on the nature
of the cluster mass distributions and a set of optically bright, lensed
galaxies for further 8-10m spectroscopy. We acknowledge the broad
community interest in this sample and waive our data rights for these
observations.

ACS/WFC 10493

A Survey for Supernovae in Massive High-Redshift Clusters

We propose to measure, to an unprecedented 30% accuracy, the SN-Ia rate
in a sample of massive z=0.5-0.9 galaxy clusters. The SN-Ia rate is a
poorly known observable, especially at high z, and in cluster
environments. The SN rate and its redshift dependence can serve as
powerful discrimiminants for a number of key issues in astrophysics and
cosmology. Our observations will: 1. Put clear constraints on the
characteristic SN-Ia "delay time, " the typical time between the
formation of a stellar population and the explosion of some of its
members as SNe-Ia. Such constraints can exclude entire categories of
SN-Ia progenitor models, since different models predict different
delays. 2. Help resolve the question of the dominant source of the high
metallicity in the intracluster medium {ICM} - SNe-Ia, or core-collapse
SNe from an early stellar population with a top-heavy IMF, perhaps those
population III stars responsible for the early re-ionization of the
Universe. Since clusters are excellent laboratories for studying
enrichment {they generally have a simple star-formation history, and
matter cannot leave their deep potentials}, the results will be relevant
for understanding metal enrichment in general, and the possible role of
first generation stars in early Universal enrichment. 3. Reveal, via
nuclear variability, the AGN fraction in clusters at this redshift, to
be compared with the field AGN fraction. This will be valuable input for
understanding black-hole demographics, AGN evolution, and ICM
energetics. 4. Potentially discover intergalactic cluster SNe, which can
trace the stripped stellar population at high z.

ACS/WFC 10496

Decelerating and Dustfree: Efficient Dark Energy Studies with Supernovae
and Clusters

We propose a novel HST approach to obtain a dramatically more useful
"dust free" Type Ia supernovae {SNe Ia} dataset than available with the
previous GOODS searches. Moreover, this approach provides a strikingly
more efficient search-and-follow-up that is primarily pre- scheduled.
The resulting dark energy measurements do not share the major systematic
uncertainty at these redshifts, that of the extinction correction with a
prior. By targeting massive galaxy clusters at z 1 we obtain a
five-times higher efficiency in detection of Type Ia supernovae in
ellipticals, providing a well-understood host galaxy environment. These
same deep cluster images then also yield fundamental calibrations
required for future weak lensing and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich measurements of
dark energy, as well as an entire program of cluster studies. The data
will make possible a factor of two improvement on supernova constraints
on dark energy time variation, and much larger improvement in systematic
uncertainty. They will provide both a cluster dataset and a SN Ia
dataset that will be a longstanding scientific resource.

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.

FGS 10610

Astrometric Masses of Extrasolar Planets and Brown Dwarfs

We propose observations with HST/FGS to estimate the astrometric
elements {perturbation orbit semi-major axis and inclination} of
extra-solar planets orbiting six stars. These companions were originally
detected by radial velocity techniques. We have demonstrated that FGS
astrometry of even a short segment of reflex motion, when combined with
extensive radial velocity information, can yield useful inclination
information {McArthur et al. 2004}, allowing us to determine companion
masses. Extrasolar planet masses assist in two ongoing research
frontiers. First, they provide useful boundary conditions for models of
planetary formation and evolution of planetary systems. Second, knowing
that a star in fact has a plantary mass companion, increases the value
of that system to future extrasolar planet observation missions such as
SIM PlanetQuest, TPF, and GAIA.

FGS 10757

Monitoring FGS1r's Interferometric Response as a Function of Spectral
Color

This proposal obtains reference point source Transfer Functions
{S-Curves} for FGS1r through the F583W filter and the F5ND attenuator at
the center position of the FGS1r FOV for a variety of stars of different
spectral types. These Transfer Functions are needed to support the
analysis of GO science data for the study of close and wide binary star
systems and for determining the angular size and shape of extended
sources. This proposal observes stars that have been observed in
previous cycles to monitor the long term evolution of the FGS1r
S-curves. This proposal also {1} monitors the FGS1r Lateral Color
response {using stars Latcol-A and Latcol-B}, {2} calibrates the
"Pos/Trans" bias of a star's position as determined from Transfer mode
and Position mode observations, and {3} calibrates the shift of a star's
centroid when observed with F5ND relative to that when observed with
F583W.

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8793

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 4

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.

WFPC2 10360

WFPC2 CYCLE 13 INTERNAL MONITOR

This calibration proposal is the Cycle 13 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 {gain 7 and gain
15}, a test for quantum efficiency in the CCDs, and a monitor for
possible buildup of contaminants on the CCD windows.

WFPC2 10745

WFPC2 CYCLE 14 INTERNAL MONITOR

This calibration proposal is the Cycle 14 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.

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)

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)


 




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