13109( 2) - 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 - [ 1] HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVING PROGRAM 13109 Version: 2 Check-in Time: 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 STScI Edit Number: 0 Title Joint Chandra and HST Monitoring and Studies of the Crab Nebula ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Type Cycle GO 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investigators Contact? PI: Dr. Martin C. Weisskopf NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Y CoI: Dr. Allyn Tennant NASA Marshall Space Flight Center N CoI: Prof. Jonathan Arons University of California - Berkeley N CoI: Prof. Roger D. Blandford Stanford University N CoI: Dr. Rolf Buehler Stanford University N CoI: Dr. Patrizia A. Caraveo INAF, Instituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e N Fisica CoI: Dr. E. Costa CNR, Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale N CoI: Dr. Andrea De Luca INAF, Instituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e N Fisica CoI: Dr. Carlo Ferrigno Integral Science Data Center N CoI: Dr. Stefan Funk Stanford University N CoI: Prof. Dieter Horns Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron N CoI: Dr. Andrei Lobanov Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie N CoI: Dr. Claire Ellen Max Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory N CoI: Dr. Roberto Mignani Mullard Space Science Laboratory N CoI: Dr. Marco Tavani INAF, Instituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e N Fisica CoI: Dr. Yasunobu Uchiyama Stanford University N CoI: Colleen Wilson-Hodge NASA Marshall Space Flight Center N ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Abstract In 2010 Sep the Crab surprised the astrophysical community with a powerful gamma-ray flare, detected by the Agile and Fermi satellites. In 2011 it also became apparant that the nebula has been exhibiting up to 7% variability in hard X-rays for over a decade. The scientific purpose of this proposal is to: 1) To (continue to) identify, quantify, and correlate the spatial and spectral variations in X-rays and the optical over time 2) Establish both an X-ray and optical baseline of the system prior to any future gamma-ray flare as an aid for establishing the location of the flare. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Observations Description ------------------------ The program is part of a multiwavelength (X-ray and optical) monitoring campaign of the Crab pulsar and inner Nebula. It consists in a series of 5 ACS imaging observations in the F550M filter, to be performed quasi-simultaneously (within 10 days maximum) with Chandra/ACIS imaging observations. We ask to observe the target in January, February, April, August, October 2013. For each epoch, we have selected a time window (spanning 10 days) in which the target is visible. The HST visits (as well as the Chandra ones) should be scheduled within such windows. The same instrumental setup will be adopted for each 13109( 2) - 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 - [ 2] visit. To fully cover the FOV of our Chandra observations (150"x150"), we will use the ACS/WFC with the WFC aperture. A box dithering pattern will be implemented to fill the inter-chip gap as well as to reject cosmic ray hits. Setting an exposure of 500 s for each position of the dithering pattern results in 2000 s exposure time per visit, which is well suited to achieve our goals and allows for an optimal use of the orbital visibility window. Real Time Justification ----------------------- Calibration Justification ------------------------- Additional Comments ------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 13109( 2) - 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 - [ 3] TARGET LIST Fixed Targets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tar| Target | Target | Target |Coord | Radial | Flux data No | Name | Description | Position |Eqnx | Vel. | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 CRAB-NEBULA STAR, NEUTRON STAR, RA=05H34M31.9400S +/- 0.1", J2000 V = 16.5 PULSAR DEC=+22D00'52.18" +/- 0.1" Reference Frame: Other: SIMBAD Comments: This object was generated by the targetselector and retrieved from the SIMBAD database. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 13109( 2) - 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 - [ 4] Patterns ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pattern_Number: 1 Primary_Pattern Secondary_Pattern Pattern_Type ACS-WFC-DITHER-BOX Pattern_Purpose DITHER Number_Of_Points 4 Point_Spacing 3.5 Line_Spacing 0.5 Coordinate_Frame POS-TARG Pattern_Orient 85.28 Angle_Between_Sides 85.28 Center_Pattern NO Pattern_Comments: Dithering is aimed at filling the inter-chip gap as well as at rejecting CR hits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 13109( 2) - 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 - [ 5] Visit: 01 Visit Requirements: SCHED 80%; BETWEEN 07-JAN-2013:00:00:00 AND 17-JAN-2013:00:00:00 On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 CRAB-NEBULA ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 1 500 S PATTERN 1 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sub Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target | Exp |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Cent.|Primary |Secondary |Iteration |CR-SPLIT |Orbit |Duration Name | Num |Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Wave.|Pattern Pos |Pattern Pos |Num |Num |Number | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 1 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 2 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 3 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 4 none none none 1 N/A 13109( 2) - 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 - [ 6] Visit: 02 Visit Requirements: SCHED 80%; BETWEEN 23-FEB-2013:00:00:00 AND 05-MAR-2013:00:00:00 On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 CRAB-NEBULA ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 1 500 S PATTERN 1 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sub Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target | Exp |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Cent.|Primary |Secondary |Iteration |CR-SPLIT |Orbit |Duration Name | Num |Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Wave.|Pattern Pos |Pattern Pos |Num |Num |Number | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 1 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 2 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 3 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 4 none none none 1 N/A 13109( 2) - 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 - [ 7] Visit: 03 Visit Requirements: SCHED 80%; BETWEEN 13-APR-2013:00:00:00 AND 23-APR-2013:00:00:00 On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 CRAB-NEBULA ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 1 500 S PATTERN 1 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sub Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target | Exp |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Cent.|Primary |Secondary |Iteration |CR-SPLIT |Orbit |Duration Name | Num |Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Wave.|Pattern Pos |Pattern Pos |Num |Num |Number | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 1 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 2 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 3 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 4 none none none 1 N/A 13109( 2) - 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 - [ 8] Visit: 04 Visit Requirements: SCHED 80%; BETWEEN 12-AUG-2013:00:00:00 AND 22-AUG-2013:00:00:00 On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 CRAB-NEBULA ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 1 500 S PATTERN 1 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sub Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target | Exp |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Cent.|Primary |Secondary |Iteration |CR-SPLIT |Orbit |Duration Name | Num |Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Wave.|Pattern Pos |Pattern Pos |Num |Num |Number | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 1 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 2 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 3 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 4 none none none 1 N/A 13109( 2) - 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 - [ 9] Visit: 05 Visit Requirements: SCHED 80%; BETWEEN 01-OCT-2013:00:00:00 AND 11-OCT-2013:00:00:00 On Hold Comments: Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 CRAB-NEBULA ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 1 500 S PATTERN 1 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sub Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target | Exp |Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Cent.|Primary |Secondary |Iteration |CR-SPLIT |Orbit |Duration Name | Num |Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Wave.|Pattern Pos |Pattern Pos |Num |Num |Number | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 1 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 2 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 3 none none none 1 N/A CRAB-NEBULA 1 ACS/WFC ACCUM WFC F550M 4 none none none 1 N/A 13109( 2) - 16-Oct-2012 15:47:27 - [ 10] Summary Form for Proposal 13109 Item Used in this proposal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Apertures WFC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Configurations ACS/WFC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Opmodes ACCUM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Optional Parameters ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Requirements BETWEEN 01-OCT-2013:00:00:00 AND 11-OCT-2013:00:00:00, BETWEEN 07-JAN-2013:00:00:00 AND 17-JAN-2013:00:00:00, BETWEEN 12-AUG-2013:00:00:00 AND 22-AUG-2013:00:00:00, BETWEEN 13-APR-2013:00:00:00 AND 23-APR-2013:00:00:00, BETWEEN 23-FEB-2013:00:00:00 AND 05-MAR-2013:00:00:00, PATTERN 1 1, SCHED 80% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spectral Elements F550M ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target Names CRAB-NEBULA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------