HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

   DAILY REPORT #2931

PERIOD COVERED:  0000Z (UTC) 08/07/01 - 0000Z (UTC) 08/08/01

Daily Status Report as of 220/0000Z

1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:

    1.1 Completed Eight Sets of STIS/CCD 8808 (POMS Test Proposal: STIS 
Non-Scripted Parallel Proposal Continuation III)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to make 
non-scripted, parallel observations as part of a POMS test proposal.  The 
observations completed with no anomalous activity.

    1.2 Completed Four Sets of WF/PC-2 9042 (An Archive To Detect The 
Progenitors Of Massive, Core-Collapse Supernovae)

         The WF/PC-s was used to search for supernovae which have massive 
star progenitors.  The already extensive HST archive and high-resolution 
ground-based images of galaxies within ~20 Mpc enables us to resolve and 
quantify their individual bright stellar content.  As massive, evolved 
stars are the most luminous single objects in a galaxy, the progenitors of 
core-collapse supernovae should be directly detectable on pre-explosion 
images.  One Type II progenitor has been observed this year, and the 
investigators have proposed a short, companion WFPC2 proposal to confirm 
this candidate and identify a second.  The observations completed nominally.

    1.3 Completed STIS/CCD 8845 (Spectroscopic Flats C9)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to obtain 
CCD flats in the spectroscopic mode.  The observations completed with no 
reported problems.

    1.4 Completed Three Sets of WF/PC-2 8828 (Cycle 9 Supplemental Darks pt3/3)

        The WF/PC-2 was used to obtain three dark frames every day to 
provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot 
pixels.  The proposal completed with no reported problems.

    1.5 Completed Four Sets of STIS/CCD 8907 (Spectroscopic Flats C10)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to obtain 
CCD flats in the spectroscopic mode.  There were no reported problems.

    1.6 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD 7912 (STIS Parallel Archive Proposal 
- Nearby Galaxies - Imaging and Spectroscopy)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to make 
parallel observations of nearby galaxies.  This survey will be useful to 
study the star formation histories, chemical evolution, and distances to 
these galaxies.  These data will be placed immediately into the Hubble Data 
Archive.  The observations were completed as scheduled, and no problems 
were reported.

    1.7 Completed WF/PC-2 9043 (Cepheid Distances to Early-type Galaxies)

        The WF/PC-2 was used to continue observations in the HST Key 
Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale and the HST project on the 
"Calibration of Nearby Type Ia Supernovae'' that have greatly improved our 
knowledge of the Hubble Constant by providing a solid zero point for the 
Tully- Fisher {TF} relation and Type Ia Supernovae {SNIa}.  However, severe 
inconsistencies remain for distance estimators to early-type galaxies such 
as surface brightness fluctuations {SBF}, the planetary nebula luminosity 
function {PNLF}, the fundamental plane {FP}, and the globular cluster 
luminosity function {GCLF}.  As a result, the distance to the Virgo cluster 
core remains uncertain by as much as 20 determination is directly affected 
by a lingering 0.1 mag {5 uncertainty in the photometric calibration of the 
WFPC2.  Resolving these issues is essential not only to firm up the 
extragalactic distance scale, but also to understand the mass and velocity 
structure of the local universe. SBF in particular is emerging as the 
method of choice for mapping local velocity fields to 10, 000 kms because 
it offers an order of magnitude less Malmquist bias than TF, and SNIa are 
too rare to study large scale flows effectively.  This project will tighten 
the photometric calibration of the WFPC2, and provide a solid Cepheid 
calibration for SBF and PNLF.  The observations completed nominally.

    1.8 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 9124 (Mid-UV SNAPSHOT Survey of 
Nearby Irregulars: Galaxy Structure and Evolution Benchmark)

        The WF/PC-2 was used to investigate the relation between star 
formation and the global physical characteristics of galaxies to interpret 
the morphologies of distant galaxies in terms of their evolutionary 
status.  Distant galaxies are primarily observed in their rest frame 
mid-ultraviolet.  They resemble nearby late-type galaxies, but are they 
really physically similar classes of objects?  It is proposed to address 
this question through a SNAPSHOT survey in the 2 mid-UV filter F300W of 98 
nearby late-type, irregular and peculiar galaxies.  No problems were reported.

    1.9 Completed WFPC-2/STIS/CCD/MA2 9114 (SINS: The Supernova Intensive 
Study-- Cycle 10)

        The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and 
MA2) were used to perform closer observations of supernovae that will 
create the chemical history of the Universe, energize the interstellar gas, 
stiffen the spine of the extragalactic distance scale and provide the only 
evidence for an accelerating universe.  A
violent encounter is underway between the fast-moving debris and the 
stationary inner ring.  Monitoring this interaction will help solve the 
riddles of stellar evolution posed by the enigmatic three-ring system of SN 
1987A.  Our UV observations of Ly- Alpha emission reveal the present 
location and velocity of a remarkable reverse shock that provides a unique 
laboratory for studying fast shocks and a powerful tool for dissecting the 
structure of the vanished star.  No problems were encountered.

    1.10 Completed STIS/CCD 8864 (CCD Dark Monitor-Part 2)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to monitor 
the darks for the CCD.  The proposal completed nominally.

    1.11 Completed FGS/1 8777 (Calibrating Stellar Models with the 
Pleiades: Resolving the Distance Discrepancy-Cycle 9)

        FGS-1 was used to measure an accurate distance to the Pleiades and 
to resolve the problem raised by the Hipparcos results for this 
cluster.  The Hipparcos distance, taken at face value, indicates that 
solar-composition ZAMS stars are 30% fainter than previously believed.  The 
resolution to the Hipparcos distance problem is vital for understanding all 
the parallaxes that have come from that mission and hence this issue is 
fundamental to the cosmic distance scale. In this first phase we observed 
several spectroscopic binary systems with 2 to 3 year orbital periods to 
assertain the prospects for deriving visual orbits and hence orbital 
parallaxes for these cluster members.  The proposal completed with no 
reported problems.

    1.12 Completed STIS/CCD 9066 (Closing in on the Hydrogen Reionization 
Edge of the Universe)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used in parallel 
constrain the Hydrogen reionization edge in emission that marks the 
transition from a neutral to a fully ionized IGM at a predicted 
redshifts.  The proposal completed uneventfully.

    1.13 Completed Three Sets of WF/PC-2 9244 (POMS Test Proposal: WFII 
Parallel Archive Proposal Continuation)

        The WF/PC-2 was used to perform a generic target version of the 
Archival Pure Parallel program.  The program will be used to take parallel 
images of random areas of the sky, following the recommendations of the 
Parallels Working Group.  The observations completed with no anomalous 
activity.

    1.14 Completed STIS/CCD 9110 (A Search for Kuiper Belt Object Satellites)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to 
investigate whether the large number of collisions thought to have taken 
place in the primordial Kuiper belt suggest that many Kuiper belt objects 
{KBOs} could have suffered binary-forming collisions similar to that which 
formed the Pluto -- Charon binary.  Detection of such KBO satellites would 
allow measurement of  KBO masses, would help to understand the past 
collisional environment of the Kuiper belt, and would give a context to the 
otherwise unique-seeming formation of the Pluto -- Charon binary.  The 
proposal completed with no reported problems.

    1.15 Completed STIS/CCD 8865 (Bias Monitor-Part 2)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to 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.  The proposal completed with no anomalous activity.

    1.16 Completed STIS/CCD 8909 (CCD Dispersion Solutions)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to perform 
wavelength dispersion solutions that are determined on a yearly basis as 
part of a long-term monitoring program and to obtain deep engineering 
wavecals for all CCD gratings at several wavelength centers.  The proposal 
completed with no reported problems.

    1.17 Completed WF/PC-2 9107 (The Fundamental Plane for Nuclear Black Holes)

        The WF/PC-2 was used to conduct more in-depth searches for 
supermassive black holes in galaxy centers.  Previous work has led to the 
discoveries that {1} most or all hot galaxies contain massive dark objects 
at their centers, presumably black holes; {2} there is a remarkably tight 
correlation between the black-hole mass and the luminosity-weighted 
velocity dispersion of the hot component of the galaxy. This mbh-Sigma 
relation has a scatter which is <0.3 dex in mbh and consistent with 
zero.  This relationship suggests a strong link between black-hole 
formation, AGN activity, and galaxy formation, and once it is understood 
this link should advance our understanding of all three processes.  The 
goal of this proposal is to investigate the scatter in the mbh-Sigma 
relation and the role of possible second parameters, by examining a sample 
of galaxies at fixed velocity dispersion Sigma=200+/- 20 kms.  This 
approach decouples the effects of a second parameter from uncertainties in 
the shape of the mbh-Sigma relation, and minimizes spurious correlations 
because all of the galaxies will be studied using the same well-tested 
observational and modeling techniques.  No anomalous activity occurred.

2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

    2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:
       Scheduled Acquisitions:  7
Successful:  7

  Scheduled Re-acquisitions:  8
Successful:  8

    2.2 FHST Updates:
Scheduled: 14
Successful: 14

    2.3 Operations Notes:

        Using ROP SR-1A, the SSR EDAC error counter was cleared five times.

3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

        Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.

/CAW