Daily #4093

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE - Continuing to collect World Class Science

DAILY REPORT #4093

PERIOD COVERED: UT April 14,15,16, 2006 (DOY 104,105,106)

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS/HRC/WFC 10782

Quit winking: Jupiter opens its other eye

This week {March 6} a new red spot on Jupiter was announced, dubbed
"Red Spot Jr.'' by the press. It appears to be White Oval BA, the
remanant of the three White Ovals that merged during 1998-2000. The
new spot is deep red like the Great Red Spot {GRS} rather than bright
white as were the ovals. We believe that the color change of the oval
from white to red is indicative of a temperature change, as predicted
by one of us in a Nature paper in 2004. The goal of our proposed
observations is to test our theory of jovian climate change through
observations of dynamical features of Red Spot Jr. and its
surroundings, which provide indirect measurements of changes in the
temperature and stratification of the jovian weather layer.

ACS/WFC 10775

An ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters

We propose to conduct an ACS/WFC imaging survey of Galactic globular
clusters. We will construct the most extensive and deepest set of
photometry and astrometry to-date for these systems reaching a main
sequence mass of ~0.2 solar mass with S/N = 10. We will combine these
data with archival WFPC2 and STIS images to determine proper motions
for the stars in our fields. The resultant cleaned cluster CMDs will
allow us to study a variety of scientific questions. These include
[but are not limited to] 1} the determination of cluster ages and
distances 2} the construction of main sequence mass functions and the
issue of mass segregation 3} the internal motions and dynamical
evolution of globular clusters, and 4} absolute cluster motions,
orbits, and the Milky Way gravitational potential. We anticipate that
the unique resource provided by the proposed treasury archive will
play a central role in the field of globular cluster studies for
decades, with a stature comparable to that of the Hubble Deep Field
for high redshift studies.

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/SBC 10736

ACS UV contamination monitor

The observations consist of imaging and spectroscopy with SBC and HRC
of the cluster NGC 6681 in order to monitor the temporal evolution of
the UV sensitivity of the SBC and the HRC. All UV modes except for SBC
PR130L will be used.

S/C/NIC1 10724

NICMOS Focus Monitoring

The purpose of this proposal is to determine the best focus for all
three NICMOS detectors. The program will be executed every ~6 weeks.
Each execution will concern a single detector, except two occasions
which will include NIC3. In total NIC1 and NIC2 will be monitored 4
times each during the current cycle, while NIC3 will only be monitored
twice. The program starts with a focus sweep using only the NIC1
camera {visit 11}. The following observation is with the NIC2 camera
{visit 12} after about 45 days. This pattern is repeated throughout
the period except for Jan 1-8 and Jul 1-8 where also the NIC3 camera
is used. In total this will result in 10 orbits. Notice that VISIT #1
#2 refers to visits for #1 sequential visit number for a given camera
#2 camera in question visit 32 is therefore the third visit for camera
2. Some tweaking of dates and sources are necessary to ensure
visibility under 2-gyro mode. These are the dates and targets for
Cycel14: Visit 11: Oct 01-08 NIC1 NGC1850 Visit 12: Nov 15-22 NIC2
NGC3603 Visit 21: Jan 01-15 NIC1 NGC3603 Visit 13: Jan 01-15 NIC3
NGC3603 Visit 22: Feb 15-22 NIC2 NGC3603 Visit 31: Apr 01-15 NIC1
NGC1850 Visit 32: May 22-31 NIC2 NGC3603 Visit 41: Jun 15-22 NIC1
NGC1850 Visit 23: Jun 15-22 NIC3 NGC1850 Visit 42: Aug 07-22 NIC2
NGC3603

ACS/WFC 10592

An ACS Survey of a Complete Sample of Luminous Infrared Galaxies in
the Local Universe

At luminosities above 10^11.4 L_sun, the space density of far-infrared
selected galaxies exceeds that of optically selected galaxies. These
`luminous infrared galaxies' {LIRGs} are primarily interacting or
merging disk galaxies undergoing enhanced star formation and Active
Galactic Nuclei {AGN} activity, possibly triggered as the objects
transform into massive S0 and elliptical merger remnants. We propose
ACS/WFC imaging of a complete sample of 88 L_IR 10^11.4 L_sun
luminous infrared galaxies in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample
{RBGS: i.e., 60 micron flux density 5.24 Jy}. This sample is ideal
not only in its completeness and sample size, but also in the
proximity and brightness of the galaxies. The superb sensitivity,
resolution, and field of view of ACS/WFC on HST enables a unique
opportunity to study the detailed structure of galaxies that sample
all stages of the merger process. Imaging will be done with the F439W
and F814W filters {B and I-band} to examine as a function of both
luminosity and merger state {i} the evidence at optical wavelengths of
star formation and AGN activity and the manner in which instabilities
{bars and bridges} in the galaxies may funnel material to these active
regions, {ii} the relationship between star formation and AGN
activity, and {iii} the structural properties {AGN, bulge, and disk
components} and fundamental parameters {effective radius and surface
brightness} of LIRGs and their similarity with putative evolutionary
byproducts {elliptical, S0 and classical AGN host galaxies}. This HST
survey will also bridge the wavelength gap between a Spitzer imaging
survey {covering seven bands in the 3.6-160 micron range} and a GALEX
UV imaging survey of these galaxies, but will resolve complexes of
star clusters and multiple nuclei at resolutions well beyond the
capabilities of either Spitzer or GALEX. The combined datasets will
result in the most comprehensive multiwavelength study of interacting
and merging galaxies to date.

ACS/WFC 10588

The Host Galaxies of Post-Starburst Quasars

We propose to use ACS to conduct a snapshot imaging survey of
post-starburst quasars now being discovered in signficant numbers by
the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Post-starburst quasars are broad-lined
AGN that also possess Balmer jumps and high-n Balmer absorption lines
indicative of luminous stellar populations on order of 100 Myr old.
These objects, representing a few percent of the z 0.5 quasar
population, may be an evolutionary stage in the transition of
ultraluminous infrared galaxies into normal quasars, or a type of
galaxy interaction that triggers both star formation and nuclear
activity. These sources may also illustrate how black hole mass/bulge
mass correlations arise. Ground-based imaging of individual
poststarburst quasars has revealed merger remnants, binary systems,
and single point sources. Our ACS snapshots will enable us to
determine morphologies and binary structure on sub-arcsecond scales
{surely present in the sample}, as well as basic host galaxy
properties. We will be looking for relationships among morphology,
particularly separation of double nuclei, the starburst age, the
quasar black hole mass and accretion rate, that will lead to an
understanding of the triggering activity and mutual evolution. This
project will bring quantitative data and statistics to the previously
fuzzy and anecdotal topic of the "AGN-starburst connection" and help
test the idea that post-starburst quasars are an early evolutionary
stage of normal quasars.

ACS/WFC 10587

Measuring the Mass Dependence of Early-Type Galaxy Structure

We propose two-color ACS-WFC Snapshot observations of a sample of 118
candidate early- type gravitational lens galaxies. Our lens-candidate
sample is selected to yield {in combination with earlier results} an
approximately uniform final distribution of 40 early-type strong
lenses across a wide range of masses, with velocity dispersions {a
dynamical proxy for mass} ranging from 125 to 300 km/s. The proposed
program will deliver the first significant sample of low-mass
gravitational lenses. All of our candidates have known lens and source
redshifts from Sloan Digital Sky Survey data, and all are bright
enough to permit detailed photometric and stellar- dynamical
observation. We will constrain the luminous and dark-matter mass
profiles of confirmed lenses using lensed-image geometry and
lens-galaxy structural/photometric measurements from HST imaging in
combination with dynamical measurements from spatially resolved
ground-based follow-up spectroscopy. Hence we will determine, in
unprecedented detail, the dependence of early-type galaxy mass
structure and mass-to-light ratio upon galaxy mass. These results will
allow us to directly test theoretical predictions for halo
concentration and star-formation efficiency as a function of mass and
for the existence of a cuspy inner dark- matter component, and will
illuminate the structural explanation behind the fundamental plane of
early-type galaxies. The lens-candidate selection and confirmation
strategy that we propose has been proven successful for high-mass
galaxies by our Cycle 13 Snapshot program {10174}. The program that we
propose here will produce a complementary and unprecedented lens
sample spanning a wide range of lens-galaxy masses.

ACS/HRC 10556

Neutral Gas at Redshift z=0.5

Damped Lyman-alpha systems {DLAs} are used to track the bulk of the
neutral hydrogen gas in the Universe. Prior to HST UV spectroscopy,
they could only be studied from the ground at redshifts z1.65.
However, HST has now permitted us to discover 41 DLAs at z1.65 in our
previous surveys. Followup studies of these systems are providing a
wealth of information about the evolution of the neutral gas phase
component of the Universe. But one problem is that these 41
low-redshift systems are spread over a wide range of redshifts
spanning nearly 70% of the age of the Universe. Consequently, past
surveys for low-redshift DLAs have not been able to offer very good
precision in any small redshift regime. Here we propose an ACS-HRC-
PR200L spectroscopic survey in the redshift interval z=[0.37, 0.7]
which we estimate will permit us to discover another 41 DLAs. This
will not only allow us to double the number of low-redshift DLAs, but
it will also provide a relatively high-precision regime in the
low-redshift Universe that can be used to anchor evolutionary studies.
Fortunately DLAs have high absorption equivalent width, so
ACS-HRC-PR200L has high-enough resoultion to perform this proposed
MgII-selected DLA survey.

ACS/WFC 10550

The Nature of LSB galaxies revealed by their Globular Clusters

Low Surface Brightness {LSB} galaxies encompass many of the extremes
in galaxy properties. Their understanding is essential to complete our
picture of galaxy formation and evolution. Due to their historical
under-representation on galaxy surveys, their importance to many areas
of astronomy has only recently began to be realized. Globular clusters
are superb tracers of the formation histories of galaxies and have
been extensively used as such in high surface brightness galaxies. We
propose to investigate the nature of massive LSB galaxies by studying
their globular cluster systems. No globular cluster study has been
reported for LSB galaxies to date. Yet, both the presence or absence
of globular clusters set very strong constraints on the conditions
prevailing during LSB galaxy formation and evolution. Both in dwarf
and giant high surface brightness {HSB} galaxies, globular clusters
are known to form as a constant fraction of baryonic mass. Their
presence/absence immediately indicates similarities or discrepancies
in the formation and evolution conditions of LSB and HSB galaxies. In
particular, the presence/absence of metal-poor halo globular clusters
infers similarities/differences in the halo formation and assembly
processes of LSB vs. HSB galaxies, while the presence/absence of
metal-rich globular clusters can be used to derive the occurrence and
frequency of violent events {such as mergers} in the LSB galaxy
assembly history. Two band imaging with ACS will allow us to identify
the globular clusters {just resolved at the selected distance} and to
determine their metallicity {potentially their rough age}. The
composition of the systems will be compared to the extensive census
built up on HSB galaxies. Our representative sample of six LSB
galaxies {cz 2700 km/s} are selected such, that a large system of
globular clusters is expected. Globular clusters will constrain phases
of LSB galaxy formation and evolution that can currently not be probed
by other means. HST/ACS imaging is the only facility capable of
studying the globular cluster systems of LSB galaxies given their
distance and relative scarcity.

ACS/HRC 10549

SAINTS - Supernova 1987A INTensive Survey

SAINTS is a program to observe SN 1987A, the brightest supernova in
384 years, as it morphs into the youngest supernova remnant at age 18.
HST is the unique and perfect tool for spatially- resolved
observations of the many physical components of SN 1987A. A violent
encounter is underway between the fastest-moving debris and the
circumstellar ring, exciting hotspots seen with HST that are suddenly
lighting up. The optical and X-ray flux from the ring are both rising
rapidly: HST and Chandra observations taken together are needed to
understand the physics of these shocked regions. In Cycle14, the
hotspots may fuse as the shock fully enters the ring. Photons from
these shocks may excite previously hidden gas outside the ring,
revealing the true extent of the mass loss that preceded the
explosion. The inner debris of the explosion itself, still excited by
radioactive isotopes produced in the explosion, is now well resolved
by ACS and seen to be aspherical, providing direct clues to the
mechanism of the explosion. Our search for a compact remnant is
beginning to eliminate some theoretical possibilities and we have the
opportunity in Cycle 14 to place much more stringent limits with
NICMOS. Many questions about SN 1987A remain unanswered. How did the
enigmatic three rings form in the late stages of Sanduleak -69 202?
Precisely what took place in the center during the core collapse and
bounce? Is a black hole or a neutron star left behind in the debris?
SAINTS has been a continuous program since HST was launched-- we
propose to extend this rich and deep data set for present use and
future reference to answer these central questions in the science of
supernovae.

ACS/HRC/WFC 10514

Kuiper Belt Binaries: Probes of Early Solar System Evolution

Binaries in the Kuiper Belt are a scientific windfall: in them we have
relatively fragile test particles which can be used as tracers of the
early dynamical evolution of the outer Solar System. We propose a
Snapshot program using the ACS/HRC that has a potential discovery
efficiency an order of magnitude higher than the HST observations that
have already discovered the majority of known transneptunian binaries.
By more than doubling the number of observed objects in dynamically
hot and cold subpopulations we will be able to answer, with
statistical significance, the question of whether these groups differ
in the abundance of binaries as a result of their particular dynamical
paths into the Kuiper Belt. Today's Kuiper Belt bears the imprints of
the final stages of giant-planet building and migration; binaries may
offer some of the best preserved evidence of that long-ago era.

ACS/SBC 10507

High resolution imaging of Jupiter's diffuse auroral emissions inside
and outside the main oval during solar

The analysis of HST-STIS FUV images has greatly and quickly advanced
our knowledge of the magnetospheric mechanisms producing the auroral
emissions on the giant planets. However, these studies were limited to
the brightest emissions and very little has been said about the
fainter emissions, mainly because of the lower S/N. We propose to
image the faint auroral emissions on Jupiter which could not be
observed with STIS. We will take full advantage of ACS/SBC's higher
sensitivity to observe the diffuse auroral FUV emissions appearing
poleward and directly equatorward of Jupiter's main auroral oval in
the northern hemisphere. This proposal has the potential to reveal new
magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling mechanisms especially those
involving solar wind interactions with a giant planet.

ACS/HRC 10488

The Most Massive Galaxies in the Universe: Color-Gradients and Texture

We are proposing an HST snapshot survey of 40 objects with velocity
dispersion larger than 350 km/s, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey and confirmed to be single massive galaxies by the ACS-HRC
i-band imaging obtained during Cycle 13. This sample of the most
massive galaxies in the Universe is interesting because these objects
potentially harbor the most massive black holes, and because their
existence places strong constraints on galaxy formation models. These
objects are unusual for another reason than their abnormally large
velocity dispersions: they appear to be bluer than expected from
extrapolation of the color-velocity dispersion relation of normal
early-types to these large velocity dispersions. The bluer than
expected colors indicate that the formation histories of these objects
are likely to be rather different than for normal early-types. This
difference is also expected to manifest as abnormal color-gradients.
ACS-HRC imaging in one other band {i.e. the g-band} will allow us not
simply to analyze color gradients in these objects but also to study
their color texture and topology. This study will provide important
information about the formation history of galaxies.

ACS/HRC/WFC 10487

A Search for Debris Disks in the Coeval Beta Pictoris Moving Group

Resolved observations of debris disks present us with the opportunity
of studying planetary evolution in other solar systems. We propose to
search for debris disks in the Beta Pictoris moving group {8-20 Myrs,
10-50 pc away} , which provides a coeval sample of multiple spectral
types, and it has already produced two magnificent resolved debris
disks: AU Mic and Beta Pic. Such coeval sample will provide us with a
snapshop of the crucial time in disk evolution in which the disk makes
the transition from optically thick to optically thin, and it will be
useful to study the stellar mass dependence of the disk evolution.

ACS/SBC 10125

Where is the Wind in 1H0707-495?

We propose three observations using the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy
1H 0707-495 to be coordinated with already-approved deep exposures
using FUSE. A previous HST observation of 1H 0707-495 revealed
strongly blueshifted high-ionization lines, suggesting an origin in an
outflowing wind. Detailed photoionization modeling reveals that the
wind line fluxes and ratios are consistent with two solutions: a
high-density, high-column solution, originating close to the central
engine, and a low-density, low-column solution, located much further
out. These two locations, interestingly, correspond to those predicted
by two different physical models for winds in AGNs. We can
differentiate between these models by observing emission line
variability on two time scales, and examining relative variability of
OVI obtained by FUSE and CIV and other lines obtained by HST. We will
also look for profile variability, constrain velocity ionization
stratification through a detailed study of the profiles, and
investigate metallicity, which has been suggested to be high in NLS1s.
This program, requiring only a modest amount of time, is expected to
make significant contributions to our understanding of outflows in
AGN, and the structure, origin and metallicity of the broad-line
region.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

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

HSTARS:

10221 - REacq(2,1,1) resulted in finelock backup (2,0,2) @ 104/1206z

The REacq(2,1,1) scheduled at 104/12:03:16 resulted in finelock backup
(2,0,2). Only mnemonics QF1STOPF and QSTOP flagged out of limits at
12:06:54. There were no indication of scan step limit exceeded.

10222 - GSAcq (2,3,3) failed due to Scan Step Limit Exceeded on FGS-2 @
105/2344z

At AOS (105/23:44:32) GSAcq (2,3,3) scheduled at 105/22:53:23-23:00:14
showed failed due to scan step limit exceeded on FGS-2. OBAD #1: V1
1390.42, V2 3621.44, V3 1285.93, RSS 4086.77 OBAD #2: V1 0.61, V2
-4.01, V3 -8.94, RSS 9.81

10223 - GSAcq (2,1,2) results in Fine Lock Back-up @ 106/0128z had
resulted in FIne Lock Back-up 2,0,2 on FGS-2. OBAD #1: V1 -280.61, V2
4962.27, V3 -432.94, RSS 4989.02 OBAD #2: V1 -11.97, V2 -17.76, V3
-1.12, RSS 21.45 OBAD MAP: V1 3.82, V2 -4.89, V3 -0.01, RSS 6.20

10224 - REAcq (2,1,1) results in Fine Lock Back-up @ 106/0204z

REAcq (2,1,1) scheduled at (106/02:00:26-02:07:26) resulted in Fine
Lock Back-up on FGS-2. There were no OBADs prior to acquisition.

10225 - HST Entered Inertial Hold @ 107/0309z

HST entered inertial hold on day 107:03:09:57 after failing a bright
earth/moon avoidance test. Neg. Acq. on TDE support at 107/0415z.
Acquired 4K ENG data at 107/0424 after GCMRs.

COMPLETED OPS REQUEST:
17708-0 - Null genslews for proposal 10992 - slots 1, 2, 6, 12, and 13 @
104/1506z
17709-0 - Lower VTFE Curves to K1L4 - 100mV (High Sun) @ 104/1615z
17695-2 - Monitor VehConLaw.Integral Path Data via TMDIAG Slot 0 (Generic
OR) @ 104/1622z
17712-0 - Disable 1-MHz output @ 107/0612z
17713-0 - Transition NICMOS to SAA Operate @ 107/0739z
17715-0 - GEA's Turn On @ 107/0835z


COMPLETED OPS NOTES: (None)

SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES
FGS GSacq 25 22 (HSTAR #
10222)
FGS REacq 15 15
OBAD with Maneuver 80 72

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

VTFE Curve Adjustment

The initial adjustment of lowering the VTFE curves by 50mV to mitigate
battery temperature increases during high sun-time did not result in
enough of a decrease in temperatures. Therefore, as per the high
sun-time contingency, EPS SEs lowered the VTFE curves on all the
batteries by 50mV to K1L4-100mV via Ops Request 17709 on DOY 2006/104
at 16:16 GMT.

HST SAFEMODE:

HST entered inertial hold on day 107:03:10:00.5 after failing a bright
earth/moon avoidance test. All SIs are up in operate mode with no
out-of-limit conditions.