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Daily Report #4159



 
 
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Old July 20th 06, 05:37 PM posted to sci.astro.hubble
Lynn Bassford
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Default Daily Report #4159

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 4159

PERIOD COVERED: UT July 19, 2006 (DOY 200)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/HRC 10512

Search for Binaries Among Faint Jupiter Trojan Asteroids

We propose an ambitious SNAPSHOT program to survey faint Jupiter
Trojan asteroids for binary companions. We target 150 objects, with
the expectation of acquiring data on about 50%. These objects span
Vmag = 17.5-19.5, a range inaccessible with ground-based adaptive
optics. We now have a significant sample from our survey of brighter
Trojans to suggest that the binary fraction is similar to that which
we find among brighter main-belt asteroids, roughly 2%. However, our
observations suggest a higher binary fraction for smaller main-belt
asteroids, probably the result of a different formation mechanism
{evident also from the physical characteristics of the binaries}.
Because the collision environment among the Trojans is similar to that
of the Main Belt, while the composition is likely to be very
different, sampling the binary fraction among the fainter Trojans
should help us understand the collisional and binary formation
mechanisms at work in various populations, including the Kuiper Belt,
and help us evaluate theories for the origin of the Trojans.
Calibration of and constraints on models of binary production and
collisional evolution can only be done using these large-scale,
real-life physical systems that we are beginning now to find and
utilize.

ACS/HRC 10598

ACS Imaging of Fomalhaut: A Rosetta Stone for Debris Disks Sculpted by
Planets

The Sun and roughly 15% of stars are surrounded by dust disks
collisionally replenished by asteroids and comets. Disk structure can
be directly tied to the dynamical influence of more massive bodies
such as planets. For example, planetary perturbations offset the
center of our zodiacal dust disk ~0.01 AU away from the Sun and also
maintain a ~40 AU radius inner edge to our Kuiper Belt. Here we
propose follow-up observation to the first optical detection of
reflected light from dust grains surrounding the nearby star Fomalhaut
using HST/ACS. We find a belt of material between 133 and 158 AU
radius that has a center position offset ~15 AU from the stellar
position, and with a sharp inner edge. A tenuous dust component
interior to the belt is also detected in the southeast. Given
Fomalhaut's proximity to the Sun {7.7 pc}, these images represent the
closest and highest angular resolution view of an extrasolar analog to
our Kuiper Belt. The center of symmetry offset and the sharp inner
edge of Fomalhaut's belt are evidence for planet-mass objects orbiting
the star as predicted by dynamical theory and simulations. We propose
comprehensive follow-up ACS imaging to fully exploit this discovery
and map the disk around its entire circumference with higher
signal-to-noise and at multiple wavelengths. HST/ACS is certainly the
only facility capable of performing this relatively wide field optical
study at high contrast ratios and diffraction-limited resolution. The
Cycle 14 data will provide key measurements of belt width as a
function of azimuth, the scattered light color of the belt versus the
inner dust component, and the azimuthal structure of the belt. These
data will be used to constrain dynamical models of resonances and
shepherding that ultimately elucidate the dynamical properties of
planet-mass objects in the system.

ACS/HRC 10627

A Snapshot Survey of Post-AGB Objects and Proto-Planetary Nebulae

We propose an ACS/HRC snapshot survey of 50 post-AGB sources, objects
which have evolved from the AGB but may or may not become planetary
nebulae {PNe}. This survey will complement existing HST images of
proto-planetary nebulae {PPNe} and PNe in addressing circumstellar
envelope morphology as a function of: 1} the progenitor star mass; 2}
the chemical composition; and 3} evolutionary stage. We will connect
the observed diversity of nebualar shapes with the main physical and
chemical conditions characterizing post-AGB objects, to identify the
mechanism that breaks the symmetry of AGB mass loss. To our knowledge,
no previous HST projects have been specifically designed to address
this issue. From our database of 360 post-AGB candidates, we have
selected approximately 50 targets, none of which have been or are
being observed with HST, to sample different central star masses,
chemical compositions, and evolutionary stages, uniformly across the
sky. These new data will also provide important constraints to a
quantitative analysis of Spitzer Space Telescope {SST} observations
planned for a similar sample of objects. We will model the HST images
and SST spectra using our axisymmetric dust code 2-Dust, to derive
dust density distributions, pole to equator density ratios, dust shell
masses, inclination angles as well as dust composition.

ACS/HRC/WFC 10758

ACS CCDs daily monitor

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. Changes from cycle 13:- The default
gain for WFC is 2 e- /DN. As before bias frames will be collected for
both gain 1 and gain 2. Dark frames are acquired using the default
gain {2}. This program cover the period May, 31 2006- Oct, 1- 2006.
The first half of the program has a different proposal number: 10729.

ACS/WFC 10626

A Snapshot Survey of Brightest Cluster Galaxies and Strong Lensing to
z = 0.9

We propose an ACS/WFC snapshot survey of the cores of 150 rich galaxy
clusters at 0.3 z 0.9 from the Red Sequence Cluster Survey {RCS}.
An examination of the galaxian light in the brightest cluster
galaxies, coupled with a statistical analysis of the strong- lensing
properties of the sample, will allow us to contrain the evolution of
both the baryonic and dark mass in cluster cores, over an
unprecedented redshift range and sample size. In detail, we will use
the high-resolution ACS images to measure the metric {10 kpc/h}
luminosity and morphological disturbances around the brightest
clusters galaxies, in order to calibrate their accretion history in
comparison to recent detailed simulations of structure formation in
cluster cores. These images will also yield a well-defined sample of
arcs formed by strong lensing by these clusters; the frequency and
detailed distribution {size, multiplicity, redshifts} of these strong
lens systems sets strong constraints on the total mass content {and
its structure} in the centers of the clusters. These data will also be
invaluable in the study of the morphological evolution and properties
of cluster galaxies over a significant redshift range. These analyses
will be supported by extensive ongoing optical and near-infrared
imaging, and optical spectroscopy at Magellan, VLT and Gemini
telescopes, as well as host of smaller facilities.

CAL/ACS 10735

SBC MAMA Recovery

This proposal is designed for the initial turn-on of the ACS MAMA
detector and to permit recovery after an anomalous shutdown. Anomalous
shutdowns can occur as a result of bright object violations which
trigger the Bright Scene Detection or Software Global Monitors.
Anomalous shutdowns can also occur as a result of MAMA hardware
problems. The Initial MAMA turn-on/recovery from anomalous shutdown
consists of three tests: a signal processing electronics check, high
voltage ramp-up to an intermediate voltage, and high voltage ramp-up
to the full operating voltage. During each of the two high voltage
ramp-ups, diagnostics are performed during a dark ACCUM. The turn-on
is followed by a MAMA Fold Analysis .

NIC1/NIC2/NIC3 8794

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 5

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.

NIC2 10906

The Fundamental Plane of Massive Gas-Rich Mergers: II. The QUEST QSOs

We propose deep NICMOS H-band imaging of a carefully selected sample
of 23 local QSOs. This program is the last critical element of a
comprehensive investigation of the most luminous mergers in the nearby
universe, the ultraluminous infrared galaxies {ULIRGs} and the
quasars. This effort is called QUEST: Quasar / ULIRG Evolutionary
STudy. The high-resolution HST images of the QUEST QSOs will
complement an identical set of images on the ULIRG sample obtained
during Cycle 12, an extensive set of ground-based data that include
long-slit NIR spectra from a Large VLT Program, and a large set of
mid-infrared spectra from a Cycle 1 medium-size program with Spitzer.
This unique dataset will allow us to derive with unprecedented
precision structual, kinematic, and activity parameters for a large
unbiased sample of objects spanning the entire ULIRG/QSO luminosity
function. These data will refine the fundamental plane of massive
gas-rich mergers and enable us to answer the following quesitons: {1}
Do ultraluminous mergers form elliptical galaxies, and in particular,
giant ellipticals? {2} Do ULIRGs evolve into optical bright QSOs? The
results from this detailed study of massive mergers in the local
universe will be relevant to understanding the basic physical
processes involved in creating massive early-type host on the one
hand, and growing/feeding embedded massive black holes on the other,
in major galaxy mergers. This is an important question since 50% of
cosmic star formation at high-z and most of the big BHs appear to be
formed in this process.

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:
#17859-0 GenSlew for Proposal 10487 slot#3 @200/18:51z
#17860-0 GenSlew for Proposal 10487 slot#4 @200/18:53z

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS
GSacq 13 13
FGS REacq 00 00
OBAD with Maneuver 26 26

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)


 




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