0 Assigned ID: 1114 ----- Attempting Submission 1 (Mon Apr 11 18:46:41 GMT 2016) ----- The number of orbits used exceeds the number allocated The target shifts have been revised based on the current orient range. Added a second visit as an alternate observing strategy. 79985616 ----- Attempting Submission 1 (Thu Apr 28 17:15:59 GMT 2016) ----- ----- Attempting Submission 2 (Fri Apr 29 02:26:03 GMT 2016) ----- HST Phase II Proposal 14501 (14501_shifted_flash.apt) successfully submitted. Receipt: # 14501-2 ----- Attempting Submission 3 (Fri Apr 29 19:13:52 GMT 2016) ----- ----- Attempting Submission 4 (Wed May 04 15:37:37 GMT 2016) ----- I leave target 1 just for reference. This is the coordinates of our target IRC+10216, which is offseted in the real setups. Confirming the wide binary companion of IRC+10216 The latest HST optical images of the nearest carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star IRC+10216 revealed two point-like sources at the center of its circumstellar envelope (CSE). A plausible interpretation is that the dense inner envelope is clearing, and hence revealing the central binary stars and the associated structures. Since IRC+10216 has changed so dramatically in 10 years, more frequent monitoring is necessary. A similar dramatic change is also found in the near-infrared (NIR). The clumps detected over two decades have disappeared in a ground-based observation in Feb. 2016, leaving a single peak in H and K and two peaks in J. The second peak in J has a different color from that of the primary peak and its CSE, implying a different origin and thus supporting the identification as a companion star. In particular, its spectral peak is likely at a wavelength slightly shorter than J band, consistent with an M-type main-sequence star. However, its correspondance with the optical source is not conclusive because of the small field of view of the ground-based NIR observations, traded with the high resolution using the adaptive optics. In order to confirm/refute the identication of the AGB star IRC+10216 and its companion and to monitor the evolution of its CSE, we propose for WFC3 snapshots in two UVIS bands and one IR band to simultaneously achieve (1) high resolution and (2) large field of view for astrometry. This would be the first confirmation of a "main-sequence companion" consisting a "wide binary" with an AGB star, which is the major category of missing companions of evolved stars. This observation is optimized near the light curve minimum, which is now. The proposed observations are to take WFC3 images of IRC+10216 in two UVIS bands (F606W and F814W) and one IR band (F098M). The F606W and F814W observations are the repeats of the previous PID 12205 observations (June 4, 2011) but for shorter integration times. It will also be observed with the F098M filter, which will bridge the F606W and F814W images to our newly observed GEMINI/NIFS data in J band. The 2011 HST F606W and F814W images consist of one bright point-like source (tentatively identified as a carbon star; IRC+10216 A) connected by bright North-South blobs with a ~0.4 arcsec extension and one weaker point-like source (tentatively identified as a companion, M-type main-sequence star; IRC+10216 B) at ~0.5 arcsec east of the bright source. There were several diffuse clumps surrounding these point-like sources. See Figure 1(c) in the proposal pdf file. As the nature of a carbon star, it has an extended component with FWHM > 1 arcsec over ~100 arcsec (Figure 1(e)). The carbon star (and thus the extended halo component) light is currently in the increasing phase (see Figure 2, dark gray), and the F098M observation would enter nonlinear (or saturation) regime after May 5-10. EARLIER EXECUTION IS DESIRED, and a careful treatment is required after this date. IRC+10216 is not visible in the HST orbit after June 24. With the on-source time ~700 sec, ~60 sec, and ~15 sec for F606W, F814W, and F098M, the companion (0.3-0.5 arcsec east of the peak) would have S/N>100. We do not expect any saturation issue for the two UVIS bands. The IR band (F098M) could have saturation issue, therefore we will set the individual exposure time to be the minimum (~2.9 sec). We expect the peak pixel of F098M image to remain in a linear regime before ~May 5 (no later than May 10) and to enter non-linear regime but not to be saturated before ~June 24. The observations with all 3 filters will be completed in one orbit. To bridge the gap between the UVIS chips for F606W and F814W, we will use a 2-point dither following the WFC3-UVIS-GAP-LINE pattern. For the NIR imaging, we will use a 2-point dither applying the WFC3-IR-DITHER-BLOB pattern to mitigate the effects of blobs and other artifacts. Stellar Physics 0 SUPPORTED EXT-STAR AGB STAR CARBON STAR CIRCUMSTELLAR MATTER M V-IV SPIRAL ARM This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. J2000 J2000 EXT-STAR AGB STAR CARBON STAR CIRCUMSTELLAR MATTER M V-IV SPIRAL ARM J2000 J2000 EXT-STAR AGB STAR CARBON STAR CIRCUMSTELLAR MATTER M V-IV SPIRAL ARM J2000 J2000 WFC3/UVIS Imaging No No F606W WFC3/UVIS Imaging No No F814W WFC3/IR Imaging No No F098M POS-TARG MOSAIC DITHER 4 2.414 WFC3-UVIS-DITHER-BOX false 81.785 true 0.112 0.173 2 85.759 POS-TARG WFC3-UVIS-GAP-LINE 23.884 1 false POS-TARG DITHER DITHER 4 5.183 WFC3-IR-DITHER-BOX-MIN false 74.653 true 0.365 0.572 2 41.859 POS-TARG WFC3-IR-DITHER-BLOB 18.528 2 false The scheduling data was generated by CASM 24.0. CASM was run in Phase II mode. (Tic-Visit :proposal-id 14501 :visit-id "02" :proposal-version -1 :trans-version "20160129" :date "30-Apr-2016 02:48:47.0" :trans-errors '(:WARNINGS 0 :ERRORS 0 :HEALTH-AND-SAFETY 0 :FATAL-ERRORS 0 :CONTINUABLE-FATALS 0) :number-of-orbits 1 :saa-model "29" :si-bright-earth-limb-angle 20.0 :data-volume 1572800 :tdrss-contact-duration 0 :coron NIL ) (Tic-Obset :proposal-id 14501 :visit-id "02" :obset-id "02" :pcs-mode "FGS" ) (Tic-Orbit :proposal-id 14501 :visit-id "02" :orbit-number 1 :pcs-time 333 :si-vis-utilization 2780 :al-overhead-at-end 120 :internal-dur-at-end 668 :dark-offset NIL :dark-utilization 0 :max-dark-utilization 1920 :low-sky "N" :pcs-visibility 3218 :pcs-gap 0 ) false 1 0 The scheduling data was generated by CASM 24.0. CASM was run in Phase II mode. /private/var/folders/h2/_3b1kkv56nn2rfp1zrxtm0sc0006z1/T/OPVisit7372407417763943993.xml (Tic-Visit :proposal-id 14501 :visit-id "03" :proposal-version -1 :trans-version "20160129" :date "03-May-2016 15:21:05.0" :trans-errors '(:WARNINGS 0 :ERRORS 0 :HEALTH-AND-SAFETY 0 :FATAL-ERRORS 0 :CONTINUABLE-FATALS 0) :number-of-orbits 1 :saa-model "29" :si-bright-earth-limb-angle 20.0 :data-volume 1572800 :tdrss-contact-duration 0 :coron NIL ) (Tic-Obset :proposal-id 14501 :visit-id "03" :obset-id "03" :pcs-mode "FGS" ) (Tic-Orbit :proposal-id 14501 :visit-id "03" :orbit-number 1 :pcs-time 333 :si-vis-utilization 2780 :al-overhead-at-end 120 :internal-dur-at-end 668 :dark-offset NIL :dark-utilization 0 :max-dark-utilization 1920 :low-sky "N" :pcs-visibility 3218 :pcs-gap 0 ) true 1 0