HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

       DAILY REPORT #3011

PERIOD COVERED:  0000Z (UTC) 12/04/01 - 0000Z (UTC) 12/05/01

Daily Status Report as of 339/0000Z

1.0 OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED AND ACCOMPLISHED:

    1.1 Completed Two 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.

    1.2 Completed Two Sets of WF/PC-2 8940 (Cycle 10 Earth Flats)

        The WF/PC-2 was used to monitor flatfield stability by obtaining 
sequences of Earth streak flats to construct high quality flat fields for 
the WF/PC-2 filter set.  These flat fields will allow mapping of the OTA 
illumination pattern and will be used in conjunction with previous internal 
and external flats to generate new pipeline superflats.  The proposal 
completed without incident.

    1.3 Completed Four Sets of WF/PC-2 8937 (Cycle 9 Supplemental Darks pt2/3)

        The WF/PC-2 was used obtain three dark frames every day to provide 
data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot pixels.  No 
problems were encountered.

    1.4 Completed 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.

    1.5 Completed Five 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.

    1.6 Completed WF/PC-2 8568 (A Seminal Spectroscopic and Imagery 
Investigation of the Brightest Wolf-Rayet Shell Nebula: NGC 6888)

        The WF/PC-2 was used to observe Nebula {WRSN}, NGC 6888.  The 
physical conditions in the wind-driven and/or stellar ejected plasma 
{temperature, density, ionization, and composition} of WRSN, which are 
dominated by strong stellar winds from hot massive stars in an advanced 
state of evolution, often involve emission from both shock-ionized and 
photoionized gas in close proximity.  These new observations will comprise 
the first combined spectroscopy and imagery of a WRSN at a resolution 
sufficient to separate and individually analyze these two emission 
regions.  The proposal completed nominally with no reported problems.

    1.7 Completed Six Sets of WF/PC-2 8935 (Cycle 10 Standard Darks)

        The WF/PC-2 was used to obtain dark frames every week in order to 
provide data for the ongoing calibration of the CCD dark current rate, and 
to monitor and characterize the evolution of hot pixels.  Over an extended 
period these data will also provide a monitor of radiation damage to the 
CCDs.  The proposal completed with no reported problems.

    1.8 Completed Three Sets of STIS/MA1/MA2 8920 (Cycle 10 MAMA Dark 
Measurements)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (MA1 and MA2) was used to 
perform the routine monitoring of the MAMA detector dark noise, and is the 
primary means of checking on health of the MAMA detectors systems through 
frequent monitoring of the background count rate.  The proposal completed 
with no reported anomalous activity.

    1.9 Completed Three Sets of WF/PC-2 8942 (Cycle 10 Intflat Sweeps and 
Linearity Test)

        The WF/PC-2 was used to monitor the pixel-to-pixel flatfield 
response and provide a linearity check.  These intflat sequences are done 
once during the year and the images will provide a backup database in the 
event of complete failure of the visflat lamp as well as allow monitoring 
of the gain ratios.  There were no reported problems.

    1.10 Completed STIS/CCD 8611 (Observations of Nearby Type Ia Supernovae)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to obtain 
UV spectra of five nearby {0.02 < z < 0.08} SNe Ia in the Hubble Flow.  The 
spectra will be taken at weekly intervals over a range in time starting 
slightly before maximum light and extending to +30 days.  These 
observations will accomplish the following three goals: {1} calibration of 
the rest frame UV light curves of SNe Ia and an assessment of their 
potential use as distance indicators through UV light curve shape analyses. 
{2} improvement in our understanding of the physics of SNe Ia, 
metallicity/evolutionary effects and correlations between peak brightness 
and UV spectral features. {3} calibration of the SNe Ia previously observed 
by HST at high-redshift.  This data is crucial for proper cross-filter 
k-corrections and calibration of the supernova photometry.  The 
observations completed with no reported anomalous activity.

    1.11 Completed Two 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.

    1.12 Completed WF/PC-2 9118 (Tracing the Cosmic Expansion to z>1 with 
Type Ia Supernovae)

        The WF/PC-2 was used to observe type Ia supernovae in order to 
provide evidence for an accelerating universe.  The case for cosmic 
acceleration rests almost entirely on the observation that the observed SN 
Ia at z~0.5 are 0.25 magnitudes fainter than expected for a 
non-accelerating Universe.  It is proposed to follow five SN Ia in the 
range 0.95<z<1.2 using the 850LP filter.  When combined with a ground-based 
J-band follow-up campaign, the proposers can expect to measure the mean 
luminosity distance of the sample at z~ 1.05 to better than 5.  At these 
redshifts, the effect of Omega_Lambda has all but vanished and the Universe 
was decelerating due to its known matter content.  Because any simple 
systematic error will deviate substantially from the non-monotonic effect 
of a Omega_Lambda > 0 cosmology, this experiment is a powerful and 
straightforward way to assess the reliability of the SN Ia 
measurements.  In addition, if SN Ia are reliable standard candles, the 
proposed observations will significantly increase the precision with which 
Omega_Lambda and Omega_M are measured.  There was no reported anomalous 
activity.

    1.13 Completed Two Sets of STIS/CCD 8900 (Performance Monitor)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to measure 
the baseline performance and commandability of the CCD subsystem.  All 
exposures are internals.  The observations completed normally.

    1.14 Completed STIS/CCD 9143 (Spectrophotometry of Nearby Seyfert 2 
Nuclei: Can We Eliminate the Seyfert 2 Class?)

        The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (CCD) was used to 
investigate Seyfert 2s that are distinguished by the absence of the broad 
emission lines characteristic of Seyfert 1s and more luminous QSOs.  Are 
Seyfert 2s fundamentally different from Seyfert 1s and their brighter 
cousins?  Or is the broad emission line region in Seyfert 2s simply 
suppressed by obscuring material as postulated by the unification 
model?  If the latter model is correct, the weak broad emission lines in 
the Seyfert 2s may simply be overwhelmed by starlight from the 
circumnuclear region, particularly in the case of recent star 
formation.  It is proposed to determine if all Seyfert 2s have {weak} broad 
emission line regions by obtaining long-slit STIS spectroscopy for a 
well-defined sample of 20 Seyfert 2s {3 archival, 17 new}.  The 
observations completed with no anomalous activity.

    1.15 Completed WF/PC-2 9180 (Gamma-ray Burst Progenitors: Probing Their 
Environment)

        The Wf/PC-2 was used to perform a target of opportunity observation 
of gamma ray burster (GRB), GRB-011121.   GRB astronomy is a field maturing 
at a phenomenal rate.  Three important new observational and theoretical 
discoveries, formulated over the last twelve months, allow the proposer to 
address new, and in many cases, more sophisticated questions than could 
have been posed previously.  These developments: the discovery of X-ray 
lines in GRB 991216; the observation that N_H as deduced from X-ray 
afterglow are one to two orders of magnitude larger than the dust 
extinction inferred from optical afterglow; and the growing realization 
that the afterglow emission may exhibit features of dust echoes, appear to 
offer unexpected and new diagnostics that will directly inform us about the 
progenitor, the circum-progenitor material and the immediate interstellar 
environs.  There were no reported problems.

2.0 FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

    2.1 Guide Star Acquisitions:
       Scheduled Acquisitions:  4
Successful:  4

  Scheduled Re-acquisitions: 11
Successful: 11

    2.2 FHST Updates:
Scheduled:  9
Successful:  9

    2.3 Operations Notes:

        The SSR-3 EDAC error counter was cleared at 338/2052Z per ROP SR-9A.

        Using ROP SR-1A, the SSR-1 EDAC error counter was cleared at 
338/2053Z and at 339/0223Z.

        CCS string "B" was configured for Prime Operations at 339/0622Z.

3.0 SIGNIFICANT FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

        Continuation of normal science observations and calibrations.

/CAW