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Daily 3816
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT # 3816 PERIOD COVERED: DOY 73 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED ACS/HRC 10377 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 coronagraphic monitoring is required to assess the changing position of the spots. ACS/HRC/WFC 10367 ACS CCDs daily monitor- cycle 13 - part 1 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. ACS/WFC 10429 Streaming Towards Shapley: The Mass of the Richest Galaxy Concentration in the Local Universe The 600 km/s motion of the Local Group {LG} with respect to the cosmic microwave background {CMB} is now known to high accuracy. However, its precise origin remains poorly understood. The contribution to the motion from the pull of the rich Shapley supercluster at z = 0.048 is particularly controversial. This extreme mass concentration contains more than 20 Abell clusters within 35 Mpc of its very rich central cluster A3558, and is recognized as both the optically richest and the most X-ray luminous structure in the local {z 0.1} universe. Yet, published values for the mass of Shapley continue to differ by an order of magnitude, and recent estimates of its pull on the LG range from negligible {20 km/s} to highly significant {300 km/s or more}. Here we propose to resolve this key issue by using ACS to measure high-precision surface brightness fluctuation {SBF} distances in order to make a direct measurement of the infall towards Shapley. We will target three Shapley foreground clusters where the infall is expected to be high {possibly 1000 km/s or more}, as well as the Shapley core, in order to test the assumption that it is at rest in the CMB. Prior to ACS, the Shapley region was unreachable for SBF, but ACS doubles the distance range of the SBF method with HST, enabling the distances to be measured to the required accuracy. The proposed measurements will place a firm limit on the largest mass fluctuation in the nearby universe and finally determine its contribution to the observed CMB dipole. ACS/WFC/NIC2 10189 PANS-Probing Acceleration Now with Supernovae Type Ia supernovae {SNe Ia} provide the most direct evidence for an accelerating Universe, a result widely attributed to dark energy. Using HST in Cycle 11 we extended the Hubble diagram with 6 of the 7 highest-redshift SNe Ia known, all at z1.25, providing conclusive evidence of an earlier epoch of cosmic deceleration. The full sample of 16 new SNe Ia match the cosmic concordance model and are inconsistent with a simple model of evolution or dust as alternatives to dark energy. Understanding dark energy may be the biggest current challenge to cosmology and particle physics. To understand the nature of dark energy, we seek to measure its two most fundamental properties: its evolution {i.e., dw/dz}, and its recent equation of state {i.e., w{z=0}}. SNe Ia at z1, beyond the reach of the ground but squarely within the reach of HST with ACS, are crucial to break the degeneracy in the measurements of these two basic aspects of dark energy. The SNe Ia we have discovered and measured with HST in Cycle 11, now double the precision of our knowledge of both properties. Here we propose to quadruple the sample of SNe Ia at z1 in the next two cycles, complementing on-going surveys from the ground at z1, and again doubling the precision of dark energy constraints. Should the current best fit model prove to be the correct one, the precision expected from the current proposal will suffice to rule out a cosmological constant at the 99% confidence level. Whatever the result, these objects will provide the basis with which to extend our empirical knowledge of this newly discovered and dominant component of the Universe, and will remain one of the most significant legacies of HST. In addition, our survey and follow-up data will greatly enhance the value of the archival data within the target Treasury fields for galaxy studies. ACS/WFC/NIC2/WFPC2 10413 Resolving the Red Giant Population in Early Type Galaxies This project addresses the fundamental issue of the age and abundance of the stellar populations in early type galaxies. We propose deep imaging observations with ACS/WFC in F606W, F814W, and NICMOS/NIC2 in F110W, F160W to create optical/IR color-magnitude diagrams of the upper red giant branch in the nearest example of a bona fide elliptical galaxy, NGC3379, and simultaneously in the disk and halo of its companion, the S0 galaxy NGC3384. These observations will build upon the results from our NICMOS study of NGC3379, which produced the first deep IR color-magnitude data for a normal, luminous elliptical galaxy. This is the most direct way to establish the metallicity, metallicity spread, and presence of intermediate age populations in these representative Hubble types, exploring their star formation histories and evolution. The data will enable comparison with M32, the M31 halo, NGC5128, and other nearby galaxies similarly observed with HST. ACS/WFC/WFPC2 10092 The COSMOS 2-Degree ACS Survey We will undertake a 2 square degree imaging survey {Cosmic Evolution Survey -- COSMOS} with ACS in the I {F814W} band of the VIMOS equatorial field. This wide field survey is essential to understand the interplay between Large Scale Structure {LSS} evolution and the formation of galaxies, dark matter and AGNs and is the one region of parameter space completely unexplored at present by HST. The equatorial field was selected for its accessibility to all ground-based telescopes and low IR background and because it will eventually contain ~100, 000 galaxy spectra from the VLT-VIMOS instrument. The imaging will detect over 2 million objects with I 27 mag {AB, 10 sigma}, over 35, 000 Lyman Break Galaxies {LBGs} and extremely red galaxies out to z ~ 5. COSMOS is the only HST project specifically designed to probe the formation and evolution of structures ranging from galaxies up to Coma-size clusters in the epoch of peak galaxy, AGN, star and cluster formation {z ~0.5 to 3}. The size of the largest structures necessitate the 2 degree field. Our team is committed to the assembly of several public ancillary datasets including the optical spectra, deep XMM and VLA imaging, ground-based optical/IR imaging, UV imaging from GALEX and IR data from SIRTF. Combining the full-spectrum multiwavelength imaging and spectroscopic coverage with ACS sub-kpc resolution, COSMOS will be Hubble's ultimate legacy for understanding the evolution of both the visible and dark universe. NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8792 NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 3 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. NIC3 10337 The COSMOS 2-Degree ACS Survey NICMOS Parallels The COSMOS 2-Degree ACS Survey NICMOS Parallels. This program is a companion to program 10092. WFPC2 10356 WFPC2 Cycle 13 Decontaminations and Associated Observations This proposal is for the monthly WFPC2 decons. Also included are instrument monitors tied to decons: photometric stability check, focus monitor, pre- and post-decon internals {bias, intflats, kspots, & darks}, UV throughput check, VISFLAT sweep, and internal UV flat check. FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) HSTAR 9744:The ACS Solar Blind Camera (SBC) MAMA high voltage was on prior to the failed GS acquisition @ 071/05:03:01 and was subsequently turned off at 05:11:16. Observations affected: ACS 217. Under investigation. COMPLETED OPS REQs: None OPS NOTES EXECUTED: 1274-5 DMS Limits Cleanup @ 073/2207z 1316-0 Restore Safing Limits @ 073/2256z 1317-0 Safing Limit Adjustment @ 073/2258z SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES FGS Gsacq 09 09 FGS Reacq 08 08 FHST Update 17 17 LOSS of LOCK SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: None |
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