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Daily 3648
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science
DAILY REPORT # 3648 PERIOD COVERED: DOY 188 (partial- due to safemode entry @188:16:28:48z) OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED ACS/HRC 10050 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 10272 A Snapshot Survey of the Sites of Recent, Nearby Supernovae During the past few years, robotic {or nearly robotic} searches for supernovae {SNe}, most notably our Lick Observatory Supernova Search {LOSS}, have found hundreds of SNe, many of them in quite nearby galaxies {cz 4000 km/s}. Most of the objects were discovered before maximum brightness, and have follow-up photometry and spectroscopy; they include some of the best-studied SNe to date. We propose to conduct a snapshot imaging survey of the sites of some of these nearby objects, to obtain late-time photometry that {through the shape of the light and color curves} will help reveal the origin of their lingering energy. The images will also provide high-resolution information on the local environment of SNe that are far superior to what we can procure from the ground. For example, we will obtain color-color and color-magnitude diagrams of stars in these SN sites, to determine their progenitor masses and constraints on the reddening. Recovery of the SNe in the new HST images will also allow us to actually pinpoint their progenitor stars in cases where pre-explosion images exist in the HST archive. Use of ACS rather than WFPC2 will make our snapshot survey even more valuable than our Cycle 9 survey. This Proposal is complementary to our Cycle 13 archival proposal, in which we outline a plan for using existing HST images to glean information about SN environments. ACS/HRC/WFC 10061 CCD Daily Monitor This program consists of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the development of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD detectors. This programme will be executed once a day for the entire lifetime of ACS. ACS/WFC 10229 Space Motions for the Draco and Sextans Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies We will use the powerful astrometric capabilities of HST to measure proper motions for the Draco and Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxies that will yield tangential velocities accurate to about 30 km/s. These two galaxies are the last inside a galactocentric radius of 200~kpc without measured proper motions. Knowing their orbits is critical for our understanding of the low-luminosity satellites of the Milky Way. In particular they are critical for understanding why Ursa Minor has survived tidal disruption on its plunging orbit and how Carina formed a large intermediate-age stellar population despite its small mass. ACS/WFC 9777 The environment of QSOs at the reionization epoch Our goal is to elucidate the role of QSOs and galaxies at the tail end of reionization by identifying z~6 galaxies near SDSS z6 QSOs through their red i-z colors. A similar technique was used by the SDSS to identify the QSOs themselves. Based on our understanding of the growth of structure in the Universe and on observations at z ~= 4, we expect z~6 QSOs to be associated to the high peaks in the matter density distribution. Therefore, they should be surrounded by an excess of objects - as compared to random fields - unless the ionizing radiation from the QSOs themselves is inhibiting star formation. We will concentrate on 5 QSOs discovered by the SDSS at z~6 and spend 7 orbits with ACS on each of the QSO fields {2.5 in F775W - i - and 4.5 in F850LP - z}, for a total of 35 orbits. The exposures are optimized for the detection of objects with i-z 2. The reference properties of the field population will be provided by GOODS which is reaching the same depth. The proposed observations will be capable of revealing the dominant effect between galaxy suppression by the QSO ionizing flux and number density excess due to clustering. We will test whether the balance between suppression and enhancement evolves with redshift. We will also be able to estimate for these fields the ionizing continuum contribution by galaxies and compare it with that of the QSOs. If galaxies are found to be comparably important to QSOs in these selected fields, the idea that hydrogen reionization is primarily due to stellar radiation would be significantly strengthened. NIC/NIC3 10266 Origins of the Highly Ionized Gas toward the X-ray Bright BL Lac Object Mrk 421 The X-ray bright BL Lac object Mrk 421 is one of the small number of extragalactic objects for which it is possible to study the highly ionized gas in the ISM and Local Group using the full diagnostic power of UV, far-UV and X-ray observatories. High quality far-UV observations of OVI and other ions have been obtained by FUSE, whereas Chandra and XMM-Newton have provided X-ray measurements of extremely strong OVII and OVIII absorption at redshift zero. It has been proposed that the OVI, OVII, and OVIII originate together in the warm-hot intergalactic medium, of the kind predicted by numerical simulations to contain a substantial fraction of the baryons at z=0. However, the properties of the high-ion absorption are also consistent with an origin in an extended Galactic Corona. Data for other species such as SiIII, SiIV, and CIV will be essential to determine whether or not a Local Group WHIM filament has been detected. These species are not expected to be seen in a hot {T 10^6 K} medium and their detection at the same velocity as OVI would suggest that the OVI samples a different phase of the gas than the OVII and OVIII. We propose to obtain a high quality 7 km/s resolution STIS UV spectrum of Mrk 421 from 1150 to 1700 A. The STIS measurements of CII, CIV, SiIII, SiIV, and other species will allow us to evaluate the ionization conditions in the absorbing gas in the Galactic thick disk and in an anomalous high positive velocity absorption wing currently only traced by OVI and CIII. The ionic ratios among these species will provide critical tests of the ionization mechanisms affecting the OVI absorption. 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. STIS/CCD 10018 CCD Dark Monitor-Part 2 Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD. STIS/CCD 10020 CCD Bias Monitor - Part 2 Monitor the bias in the 1x1, 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2 bin settings at gain=1, and 1x1 at gain = 4, to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the evolution of hot columns. WFPC2 10071 WFPC2 CYCLE 12 Supplemental Darks Part 3/3 This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels. FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be investigated.) HSTAR 9470: After completing Ops Request 17208 RGA Scale Factor/Alignment and Bias Offset, spacecraft entered ZGSP safemode @ 188/16:28:48Z. Under investigation. COMPLETED OPS REQs: 17208-0 RGA Scale Factor/Alignment & Bias Offset Calibration @188/1629z (STILL OPEN) 17210-0 Dump ESBs @ 188/2016z 17214-0 Full Memory Dump @ 188/2122z 17211-0 GEA's Turn On After Safemode @ 188/2127z 17209-1 Transition NICMOS to SAAOPER @ 188/2130z OPS NOTES EXECUTED: None SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES FGS GSacq 01 01 FGS REacq 03 03 FHST Update 02 02 LOSS of LOCK SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: Rerun of TGS Target Reacquisition test was executed from SMS 187/03:38Z - 05:27Z. OTA SEs monitored the test and confirmed there were no error flags seen during either of the acquisitions for the test. OTA SEs will be analyzing the quaternion data and will present the results at a later time. Uplinked RGA Scale Factor/Alignment and Bias Offset @ 188/16:29Z (OR 17208 with attached script, ROP DF-15A, COP 3.52, and ROP DF-01A). Following a memory dump of the RGA Scale Factor/Alignment Table, 107 miscompares were noted in the compare best estimate verification process. Sixty five seconds after initiating a T2 slew @ 188/16:27:42Z, vehicle entered Zero Gyro Sun Point (ZGSP) Safemode. HST entered ZGSP Safemode @ 188/16:28:47Z after accumulating 40 Gyro Disparity counts, causing the Two Gyro configuration safemode test to fail. See HSTAR 9470. HST entered Zero Gyro Sun Point (ZGSP) Safemode @ 188/16:28:47Z after accumulating 40 Gyro Disparity counts, causing the Two Gyro configuration safemode test to fail. See HSTAR 9470. At the time of issuance of this report, the safemode recovery procedures have begun, with the Health & Safety (H&S) load anticipated to begin at 190:04:00z. The 18-hour H&S load will permit generation and review of the science intercept Science Mission Specification (SMS). |
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