Daily # 4250

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT # 4250

PERIOD COVERED: UT November 30, 2006 (DOY 334)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/WFC 10521

ACS Imaging of a Unique Spitzer Field: Morphology of mid-IR Variable
Sources

We propose to observe the IRAC Dark Field, an extragalactic field 15
arcminutes in diameter near the north ecliptic pole, using 50 orbits
of ACS imaging at I-band. This field is extraordinarily deep and is
uniquely suited to detecting variable objects in the mid-infrared. The
high spatial resolution ACS imaging will be used to derive
morphological information about the galaxies in the field, which will
then be correlated with mid-infrared variable objects {specifically
AGN and supernovae} we have discovered. This field is the dark current
calibration target for the Spitzer Space Telescope, the infrared
counterpart to HST. Because the field is observed frequently as part
of routine operations, it is now similar in size and depth to the
infrared component of the GOODS program, and is confusion-limited in
the mid-infrared. More importantly, due to the periodicity of the
observations, the Spitzer observations are sensitive to variability on
week timescales, ultimately spanning a baseline of five years, and are
the only mid-infrared dataset that will ever have this capability at
this depth. By complementing our wide range of lower resolution
imaging at optical and infrared wavelengths, we hope to exploit one of
HST's most unique capabilities - unparalleled spatial resolution in
the optical. While our specific interest lies in analysis of variable
sources, we will request no proprietary period on the ACS data so that
it may be used by the community to complement the publicly available
Spitzer data.

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, ACS/WFC 10802

SHOES-Supernovae, HO, for the Equation of State of Dark energy

The present uncertainty in the value of the Hubble constant {resulting
in an uncertainty in Omega_M} and the paucity of Type Ia supernovae at
redshifts exceeding 1 are now the leading obstacles to determining the
nature of dark energy. We propose a single, integrated set of
observations for Cycle 15 that will provide a 40% improvement in
constraints on dark energy. This program will observe known Cepheids
in six reliable hosts of Type Ia supernovae with NICMOS, reducing the
uncertainty in H_0 by a factor of two because of the smaller
dispersion along the instability strip, the diminished extinction, and
the weaker metallicity dependence in the infrared. In parallel with
ACS, at the same time the NICMOS observations are underway, we will
discover and follow a sample of Type Ia supernovae at z 1. Together,
these measurements, along with prior constraints from WMAP, will
provide a great improvement in HST's ability to distinguish between a
static, cosmological constant and dynamical dark energy. The Hubble
Space Telescope is the only instrument in the world that can make
these IR measurements of Cepheids beyond the Local Group, and it is
the only telescope in the world that can be used to find and follow
supernovae at z 1. Our program exploits both of these unique
capabilities of HST to learn more about one of the greatest mysteries
in science.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

10533 - GSacq(1,3,1) results in fine lock backup

During LOS Gsacq(1,3,1) scheduled at 335/06:59:11 resulted in fine
lock backup (1,0,1) due to receiving a stop flag QF3STOPF on FGS 3.
The Map at 07:06:49 showed errors of V1=0.52, V2=-5.88, V3=-0.51, and
RSS=5.93.

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST: (None)

COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL
FGS GSacq 08 08
FGS REacq 07 07
OBAD with Maneuver 30 30

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: (None)