Initial submission 1446151624 Assigned ID: 1522 ----- Attempting Submission 1 (Fri Mar 01 16:07:00 GMT 2013) ----- 0 ----- Attempting Submission 1 (Wed Jun 26 10:10:00 GMT 2013) ----- A pilot study to characterize the Lyman alpha emission of active exoplanet host stars We propose to measure the strength of the stellar hydrogen Lyman alpha emission in a sample of seven planet host-stars with transiting hot Jupiters using HST-STIS snapshots. Strong UV irradiation is thought to heat the outer planetary atmosphere leading to atmospheric expansion that may result in substantial mass-loss. Expanded hydrogen atmospheres have been detected around the two hot Jupiters HD 209458 b and HD 189733 b by means of Ly alpha transit spectroscopy, which is only possible with the HST. Further observational studies of planetary atmospheres are crucial to constrain model calculations and improve our understanding of planetary mass-loss. We compiled a sample of planet host-stars with the strongest anticipated Ly alpha fluxes. The accuracy of these estimates is fundamentally limited by uncertainties in the intrinsic stellar emission and the interstellar absorption column density. The proposed program is needed to establish the true Ly alpha fluxes and identify suitable targets for follow-up transit campaigns aimed at detecting the planetary atmosphere. The main observational task is to measure the strength of the Ly alpha emission. The layout of the observations follows the successful HST STIS observations of HD209458 and HD189733. We will use STIS, because airglow cannot be removed from COS data with the required accuracy. To identify suitable targets for follow-up studies, we have to identify the portion of the Ly alpha line-profile unaffected by airglow since the wavelength regions affected by airglow have a significantly higher error in the reduced spectrum. Therefore, we will use the G140M grating (the G140L does not provide sufficient spectral resolution). Based on the observations of HD209458, we conclude that an exposure time of 20 min is sufficient to identify targets amenable to follow-up studies. Since we are currently only interested in the strength of the Ly alpha emission, but not in the exact line profile, we will maximize the available exposure time by skipping the WAVECAL exposure. An approximate wavelength zero-point will be determined from the Ly alpha airglow line. If a strong Ly alpha emission feature is visible, we expect to detect also metal features of Si III and N V, which will allow a (relative) wavelength calibration. If no or weak Ly alpha emission is detected, the wavelength calibration is dispensable. With this procedure, we will be able to carry out a sufficiently accurate characterization of the Ly alpha emission to select the best targets for follow-up. We do not attempt to measure the actual transit so that no time for telescope settling is required. DETECTOR SAFETY ---------------------------- All sources in the sample are of spectral type F8 or later; they are more than six magnitudes fainter than the brightness-limits for the proposed setup. We checked the SIMBAD database for sources violating the brightness limit within a radius of 2 arcmin but found none. Additionally, we inspected SDSS and USNO images of the surroundings of our target stars. The brightest sources within 30 arcsec of the targets have V ~> 15 mag, so that the long-slit observations do not pose any safety concern when using the 52 arcsec long slit. The bright object tool (BOT) of the APT has been used to further check for any limiting sources. The GALEX screening does not show any Health/Safety objects. We used the Simbad tool to overplot the GALEX images and the apperture and checked that there is full GALEX coverage of all sources but WASP-80. The GSC II screening reveals one Health Safety object, which is our target HAT-P-2. The BOT assumes a 05V star, however the star is of spectral type F8V. The target has been cleared with the ETC (Kurucz model - F8V + Lyman alpha estimate from the phase I proposal) and is more than four orders of magnitude below the safety limits. The GSC II screening also reveals one unknown object. It is on the axis between the target HAT-P-20 and the known faint red companion of the star. Since full GALEX coverage is available for the region, the unknown object may be ignored. Both object have been cleared with the CS. Therefore, it is safe to observe our target sample with STIS MAMA using the 52x0.2 arcsec slit with an arbitrary orientation angle. EXTRA-SOLAR PLANETS 3 false false false false false AVAILABLE STAR EXTRA-SOLAR PLANET F3-F9 This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. WASP-38 J2000 J2000 STAR EXTRA-SOLAR PLANET F3-F9 This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. HAT-P-2 J2000 J2000 STAR EXTRA-SOLAR PLANET K V-IV This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. HAT-P-20 J2000 STAR EXTRA-SOLAR PLANET K V-IV This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. WASP-43 J2000 J2000 STAR EXTRA-SOLAR PLANET G V-IV This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. WASP-77A J2000 J2000 STAR EXTRA-SOLAR PLANET K V-IV This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. WASP-10 J2000 J2000 STAR EXTRA-SOLAR PLANET G V-IV This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. WASP-8 J2000 STAR EXTRA-SOLAR PLANET K V-IV This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. WASP-80 J2000 STIS/FUV-MAMA Spectroscopic No No G140M 1222 /tmp/OPVisit9143845465132091279.xml The scheduling data was generated by CASM 21.2. CASM was run in Phase II mode. (Tic-Visit :proposal-id 13487 :visit-id "01" :proposal-version -1 :trans-version "20130502" :date "26-Jun-2013 11:40:52.0" :trans-errors '(:WARNINGS 0 :ERRORS 0 :HEALTH-AND-SAFETY 0 :FATAL-ERRORS 0 :CONTINUABLE-FATALS 0) :number-of-orbits 1 :saa-model "24" :si-bright-earth-limb-angle 20.0 :data-volume 70000 :tdrss-contact-duration 0 :coron NIL ) (Tic-Obset :proposal-id 13487 :visit-id "01" :obset-id "01" :pcs-mode "FGS" ) (Tic-Orbit :proposal-id 13487 :visit-id "01" :orbit-number 1 :pcs-time 333 :si-vis-utilization 1688 :al-overhead-at-end 0 :internal-dur-at-end 375 :dark-offset NIL :dark-utilization 0 :max-dark-utilization 1920 :low-sky "N" :pcs-visibility 3239 :pcs-gap 0 ) true 1 0 /tmp/OPVisit4607870132824317580.xml The scheduling data was generated by CASM 21.2. CASM was run in Phase II mode. 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