HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE DAILY REPORT #2967 PERIOD COVERED: 0000Z (UTC) 09/28/01 - 0000Z (UTC) 10/01/01 Daily Status Report as of 274/0000Z 1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED: 1.1 Completed STIS/CCD 8928 (PSFs at Pseudo-Apertures {Cycle 10}) The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to perform spectroscopic PSF measurements, performed for the new pseudo-apertures located near CCD row 900, which are made available to ameliorate CCD CTE losses. The proposal completed nominally. 1.2 Completed Six Sets of WF/PC-2 8936 (Cycle 10 Supplemental Darks Pt1/3) The WF/PC-2 was used to perform a dark calibration program that obtains three dark frames every day to provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels. The proposal completed with no reported problems. 1.3 Completed Eleven 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. As described in 2.1 and HSTAR 8355, the acquisition for the eighth iteration of this proposal defaulted to fine lock backup one FGS only, possibly affecting all observations in that iteration. Otherwise, the observations completed with no other anomalous activity. 1.4 Completed Six Sets of STIS/CCD 8901 (Dark Monitor-Part 1) The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to monitor the darks. There was no anomalous activity. 1.5 Completed WF/PC-2 9256 (Methane Quad Filter Check) The WF/PC-2 was used to verify the FQCH4N-D methane filter characteristics. The proposal completed nominally. 1.6 Completed Three Sets of STIS/CCD 8903 (Bias Monitor - Part 1) 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. There were no problems. 1.7 Completed Nine Sets of 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. As described in 2.1 and HSTAR 8355, the acquisition for the seventh iteration of this proposal defaulted to fine lock backup one FGS only, possibly affecting all observations in that iteration. Otherwise, the proposal completed uneventfully. 1.8 Completed Six Sets of FGS/1 9167 (Astrometry of the Extrasolar Planet of Epsilon Eridani) Fine Guidance Sensor #1 was used in position mode to determine the astrometric elements {perturbation orbit semimajor axis and inclination} of the candidate extra-solar planet around the K2 V star Epsilon Eridani that has been detected by Dopler spectroscopy. These observations will also permit determination of the actual mass of the planet by providing the sin{i} factor which can not be determined with the radial velocity method. There was no anomalous activity. 1.9 Completed FGS/1 9034 (The Masses and Luminosities of Population II Stars) Fine Guidance Sensor #1 was used to observe the mass-luminosity relation {MLR} of Population II stars of which very little is currently known. With the advent of the Hipparcos Catalogue, improved distances to many spectroscopic binaries known to be Pop II systems are now available. After surveying the literature and making reasonable estimates of the secondary masses, we find 13 systems whose minimum separation should be larger than the resolution limit of FGS #1. As described in 2.1 and HSTAR 8355, the acquisition for this proposal defaulted to fine lock backup one FGS only, possibly affecting all observations. Otherwise, the observations completed nominally. 1.10 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2/STIS/CCD 8573 (Newborn Planets and Brown Dwarf Companions in IC 348) The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) were used to search for young giant planets and brown dwarfs around ~100 low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in the nearby cluster IC 348. The observations completed with no reported problems. 1.11 Completed STIS/CCD 9088 (Next Generation Spectral Library of Stars) The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to produce a "Next Generation'' Spectral Library of 600 stars for use in modeling the integrated light of galaxies and clusters by using the low dispersion UV and optical gratings of STIS. The library will be roughly equally divided among four metallicities, very low {Fe/H < -1.5}, low {-1.5 < Fe/H < -0.5}, near-solar {-0.5 < Fe/H < 0.1}, and super-solar {Fe/H > 0.1}, well-sampling the entire HR-diagram in each bin. Such a library will surpass all extant compilations and have lasting archival value, well into the Next Generation Space Telescope era. No problems occurred. 1.12 Completed Seven Sets of STIS/CCD 9285 (POMS Test Proposal: STIS Non-scripted Parallel Proposal Continuation III) The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to make low galactic latitude, non-scripted parallel observations as part of a POMS test proposal. The observations were completed as planned, and no anomalies were reported. 1.13 Completed WF/PC-2 9082 (Expansion Distances To The Symbiotic Miras He 2-104 And He 2-147) The WF/PC-2 was used to measure the expansion parallax of the nebulae around the binary symbiotic Miras He 2-104 {the Southern Crab} and He 2-147 by means of high resolution WFPC2/F658N images to be taken at two different epochs. Given the large outward velocities of these nebulae inferred from ground-based spectroscopy, their apparent expansion can be measured by HST imaging over timescales of only 2-3 years. All observations completed nominally. 1.14 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2/STIS/CCD/MA2 9127 (The UV interstellar Extinction in Nearby Galaxies: M33) The WF/PC-2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA2) were used to investigate further the dust properties that vary in different environments and from galaxy to galaxy. The proposers had previously used HST to determine the UV extinction curve in M31. That result, together with other studies of the Magellanic Clouds and Milky Way, suggested that the dust particles vary and the proposers plan to enlarge the sample by studying the UV extinction properties of dust in M33, sampling different galactocentric distances and levels of star formation activity. There were no reported problems. 1.15 Completed WF/PC-2 9155 (The Cepheid Distance to NGC 1637: A Direct Comparison with the EPM Distance to SN 1999em) The WF/PC-2 was used to directly compare distances estimated by two primary extragalactic distance indicators. T he appearance of supernova 1999em, a bright, extremely well- observed type II plateau event in the nearby SBc galaxy NGC 1637 offers the best chance to test the consistency of the Expanding Photosphere Method {EPM} of supernova distance determination with that derived from Cepheid variable stars. Although EPM distances have been measured to 18 type II supernovae out to 180 Mpc and used to determine Hubble's constant independent of the Cepheid distance, there have never been any measurements of Cepheids in a galaxy that has hosted a normal type II-P supernova, the classic variety of core-collapse event to which EPM-derived distances are most robust. The proposal completed nominally. 1.16 Completed WF/PC-2 9042 (An Archive To Detect The Progenitors Of Massive, Core-Collapse Supernovae) The WF/PC-2 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. 1.17 Completed 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. 1.18 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD 8617 (Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Hot Horizontal-Branch Stars in the Globular Cluster M13) The Space telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to observe blue horizontal-branch {BHB} stars in the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 6205 that has recently been found to exhibit remarkable metallicity enhancements and helium depletions relative to the canonical cluster composition. These abundance anomalies are most likely due to diffusion processes -- radiative levitation of the metals, and gravitational settling of helium --- in the stable radiative atmospheres of these hot stars. With available ground-based facilities, we have observed stars in M13 as hot as 19000 K, but beyond this point we are constrained by low V- and B-band flux and an insufficient number of visible-wavelength spectral lines. There were no reported problems. 1.19 Completed STIS/CCD/MA1 8615 (Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of R Coronae Borealis Stars -- Broad Lines from an Accretion Disc?) The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD and MA1) was used to obtain spectra of three R Coronae Borealis {RCB} stars that will provide novel data on hot gas near these stars. RCBs are hydrogen-deficient and fade at unpredictable times as a carbon soot cloud obscures the star. Optical spectra taken when a star has faded reveal an emission line spectrum containing sharp and broad lines. The latter are of much higher excitation than the former. For RCB, it has been suggested that the broad lines arise from an accretion disk around a compact secondary. These optical lines are visible only during the infrequent extreme fadings of a RCB. The observations completed as planned. 1.20 Completed STIS/CCD 8846 (Imaging Flats C9) The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to investigate flat-field stability over a monthly period. The proposal completed nominally. 1.21 Completed WF/PC-2 8191 (The Faintest Radio Galaxies: Interacting Starbursts at z<1) Deep WF/PC-2 imaging of the ultra-deep VLA fields of LYNX-16V2 was performed. There were no reported problems. 2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY: 2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions: Scheduled Acquisitions: 24 Successful: 24 Per HSTAR 8355, the acquisition at 272/191026Z defaulted to fine lock backup on FGS-3 only when errors arose for FGS-2. The proposals described in 1.3, 1.7 and 1.9 may have been affected. Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 22 Successful: 22 2.2 FHST Updates: Scheduled: 46 Successful: 45 As documented in HSTAR 8356, the roll delay update at 272/013035Z failed due to tracker #3. 2.3 Operations Notes: Using ROP SR-1A, the SSR EDAC error counter was cleared seven times. The engineering status buffer limits were adjusted three times per ROP DF-18A. A TTR was written when STGT began its support at 272/1455Z in the shadow mode. This resulted in a one-minute, 55-second loss of recoverable engineering data. Autonomous SSR engineering record was commanded at 273/1423Z and at 273/1544Z as directed by ROP SR-8A. 3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS: Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations. /CAW