HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE DAILY REPORT # 3125 PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 05/27/02 - 0000Z (UTC) 05/28/02 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED: STIS/CCD 8572 Identifying Normal Galaxies at 1.3 < z < 2.5. The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to perform studies of faint, distant galaxies. It is now possible to observe hundreds of galaxies out to z=1 and in the range 3 < z < 4.5, yet the redshift range 1 < z <3 remains largely unexplored. NICMOS 8790 NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 1. 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. STIS/CCD 8902 Dark Monitor-Part 2. STIS/CCD 8904 Bias Monitor-Part 2. 2x2 bin settings at gain=1, and 1x1 at gain = 4 in order to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the evolution of hot columns. WFPC2 8938 WFPC2 CYCLE 9 SUPPLEMENTAL DARKS pt3/3. This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels. WF/PC-2 8941 Cycle 10 UV Earthflats. The WF/PC-2 was used to monitor flat field stability by obtaining sequences of earth streak flats to improve the quality of pipeline flat fields for the WFPC2 UV filter set. ACS/WFC/HRC 8947 Weekly Test. The Advanced Camera for Surveys (WFC and HRC) was used to perform basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the development of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD detectors. This program will be executed at least once a day for the entire lifetime of ACS. STIS/CCD/MA1 9182 The Thermal Glow of Gamma Ray Pulsar. The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA1) was used to perform time- and energy- resolved UV observations of two young Gamma-ray pulsars. The targets, the Vela and Geminga pulsars, are the brightest neutron stars spanning the critical 10^4-10^6y age range, where the thermal surface emission is detectable. The UV light curves obtained will provide phase-resolved colors that will isolate this thermal emission and test the equation of state and fundamental interactions of matter at supernuclear densities. In addition, combining the UV results with IR/optical and X-ray data, the proposers will map spectral variations in the non-thermal pulsations and probe the acceleration physics of these GeV gamma-ray machines. WF/PC-2 9258 Observatory Focus Monitor. The WF/PC-2 was used to more accurately define the HST focus. The HST focus drifts slowly and shows evidence of undergoing slips of a few microns at random times. The rate of the WF/PC-2 monitoring program is insufficient to track and/or understand OTA behavior in order to request timely and appropriate Secondary Mirror corrections. NICMOS 9269 NICMOS Parallel Thermal Background NICMOS Camera 3 pure parallel exposures in the F222M filter will be obtained for the entire duration of SMOV to establish the stability of the HST+NCS+Instrument thermal emission. STIS/CCD 9317 Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 10. The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to perform the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during cycle 10. WF/PC-2 9318 POMS Test Proposal: WFII Parallel Archive Proposal Continuation. The WF/PC-2 was used to perform the generic target version of the WFPC2 Archival Pure Parallel program. The program was used to take parallel images of random areas of the sky, following the recommendations of the Parallels Working Group. 9353 Direct imaging of the progenitors of massive, core-collapse supernovae Modern supernovae searches in the nearby Universe are discovering vast numbers of SNe which have massive star progenitors {Types II, Ib and Ic}. The extensive HST {and ground-based} image archives of galaxies within ~20 Mpc enables their individual bright stellar content to be resolved. As massive, evolved stars are the most luminous single objects in a galaxy, the progenitors of core-collapse SNe should be directly detectable on pre-explosion images. Within the last year we have set direct mass limits on the progenitors of two SNe Type II-P by analyzing pre-explosion archive images and follow up HST exposures. We have now identified six other recent, nearby SNe which have WFPC2 archive exposures of the site taken before explosion. Additionally, our Cycle 10 SNAP program will double the WFPC2 image archive of nearby galaxies which significantly increases the chances of having multi-colour photometry of pre-explosion sites for future SNe. In this Cycle, we request time on two fronts. Firstly we require imaging of the six SNe with existing pre-explosion data in order to perform exact astrometry of the SNe positions to around 0.05''. Secondly, as a follow on from our two successful Cycle 10 programs, we request ToO status for any nearby core-collapse SN which explodes during Cycle 11 and which has pre-explosion HST images. The goal of this proposal is to directly identify the progenitor stars of core-collapse SNe. ACS 9476 Galaxy Evolution in the Richest Clusters at z=0.8: the EDisCS Cluster Sample The study of distant cluster galaxies requires two key ingredients: {1} deep high-resolution imaging, to constrain galaxy structure; and {2} 8m-class spectroscopy, to measure stellar content, star-formation rates, dynamics, and cluster membership. We will reach both conditions with the addition of HST/ACS imaging to our suite of VLT {36 nights} and NTT {20 nights} observations of 10 confirmed clusters at z~0.8, drawn from the ESO Distant Cluster Survey {EDisCS}. The proposed HST/ACS data will complement our existing optical/IR imaging and spectroscopy with quantitative measures of cluster galaxy morphologies {i.e. sizes and shapes, bulge-disk decompositions, asymmetry parameters}, and with measurements of cluster masses via weak lensing. Major advantages unique to the EDisCS project include: {i} uniform selection of clusters; {ii} large enough sample sizes to characterize the substantial cluster-to-cluster variation in galaxy populations; {iii} large quantities of high quality data from 8m telescopes; {iv} uniform measurements of morphologies, spectroscopic and photometric redshifts, SEDs, star-formation/AGN activities, and internal kinematics; {v} optical selection of clusters to complement the X-ray selection of almost all high-z clusters in the ACS GTO programs; {vi} forefront numerical simulations designed specifically to allow physical interpretation of observed differences between the high-z and local clusters. ACS/WFC 9575 Default {Archival} Pure Parallel Program. The Advanced Camera for Surveys (WFC) was used to test ACS pure parallels in POMS. ACS 9586 ACS Polarization Calibration This proposal aims to calibrate the polarization modes most heavily used in Cycle 11. We need L-flat observations, observations of a polarized star and an unpolarized star, and an observation of an extended polarized source. WFPC2 9634 POMS Test Proposal: WFII targeted parallel archive proposal The parallel opportunities available with WFPC2 in the neighborhood of bright galaxies are treated in a slightly different way from the normal pure parallels. Local Group galaxies offer the opportunity for a closer look at young stellar populations. Narrow-band images in F656N can be used both to identify young stars via their emission lines, and to map the gas distribution in star-forming regions. Thus, the filter F656N is added to the four standard filters. Near more distant galaxies, up to about 10 Mpc, we can map the population of globular clusters; for this purpose, F300W is less useful, and only F450W, F606W, and F814W will be used. FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: HSTARs: 8664 - C-String CoredataServer ISP @147/0241z 8665 - ispnul problem @148/0150z COMPLETED OPS REQs: None OPS NOTES EXECUTED: None SCHEDULED SUCCESSFUL FAILURE TIMES FGS GSacq 6 6 FGS REacq 10 10 FHST Update 18 18 LOSS of LOCK None Operations Notes: None SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: Continuation of Servicing Mission Orbital Verification and the gradual resumption of normal science observations and calibrations.