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 z>1.25, 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 z>1, 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 z>1 in the next two
cycles, complementing on-going surveys from the ground at z<1, 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
