13712( 25) - 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 - [ 1] HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVING PROGRAM 13712 Version: 25 Check-in Time: 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 STScI Edit Number: 22 Title Target of Opportunity Observation of an Episodic Storm on Uranus ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Type Cycle GO 22 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Investigators Contact? PI: Dr. Kunio M. Sayanagi Hampton University Y CoI: Dr. Lawrence Sromovsky University of Wisconsin - Madison N CoI: Dr. Heidi B. Hammel Space Science Institute N CoI: Prof. Imke de Pater University of California - Berkeley N CoI: Mr. Patrick M. Fry University of Wisconsin - Madison N CoI: Dr. Kathy Rages SETI Institute N ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Abstract We propose a TOO observation of Uranus to capture the formation process of a dark anticyclonic vortex during an episodic convective storm. The planet Uranus continues to exhibit increased atmospheric activity after the 2007 equinox, likely in response to extreme insolation change (Hammel et al. 2005, Icarus 175, 284, Sromovsky et al. 2009, Icarus 203, 265, Sromovsky et al. 2007, Icarus 192, 558, Sromovsky et al. 2012, Icarus 220, 6). We hypothesize that Uranian dark spots emerge from an episodic outburst, and predict that such a spot will form in the near future. The historical record makes references to such discrete structures (both bright and dark) on Uranus during previous equinoctial apparitions (Alexander 1965; the last equinox occurred in 1965). Furthermore, northern high-latitudes are now coming into view after 40+ years of winter darkness, exhibiting unusual activities (Sromovsky et al. 2012, Icarus 220, 694). Our TOO will be triggered by amateur observations; the best amateur facilities are now able to resolve the disk of Uranus and detect such activity if it is very large or has very high contrast. Amateurs also have access to a great many nights of telescope time. If a discrete cloud feature on Uranus is reported through these networked professional and amateur ground-based observations, we propose to obtain follow-up images with Hubble's WFC3. The proposed TOO images will permit determination of detailed structure of the feature at visible wavelengths, and provide vertical and horizontal constraints on the feature's scattering properties. Hubble is the only facility that can provide such information at visible wavelengths. All WFC3 exposures have CR-SPLIT=NO to reduce overhead. POS-TARG offsets for quad filter WFC3 exposures have been specified to place target approximately 20 arcseconds closer to center of array relative to "optimal" aperture locations. This places the planet approximately 10 arcseconds towards the center of the array relative to the "QUAD-FIX" fiducial points. This has been done to reduce telescope move magnitudes (between different quads), while still leaving a 512 x 512 pixel area around the target outside of the quad filter vignetted regions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Observations Description ------------------------ We request three orbits of WFC3 imaging to obtain disk-resolved images of an 13712( 25) - 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 - [ 2] anomalous feature on Uranus. The three orbits will be timed such that all 360-degree of longitudes are captured in the shortest time possible allowed within applicable scheduling constraints. We use an identical set of filters for all three orbits to obtain a consistent coverage across longitudes. We use the following filters; the strong methane absorption band near 889 nm as well its neighboring continuum at 937 nm; the intermediate methane absorption band at 727 nm and the corresponding continuum at 750 nm; weak methane absorption band at 619nm; filters corresponding to Stromgren b (467 nm) and y (547 nm) filters used for long-term brightness monitoring; and the F658N filter similar to one that showed maximum contrast for the Uranus dark spot in C15. In general, we will not dither due to short exposure times (dithering imposes a 2.5-min penalty for splitting the exposure, and dithering several exposures could require a 5.6-min buffer readout). If there is time remaining in an orbit in Phase II planning, we will dither additional F845M and F924N exposures to increase S/N and better sample the point spread function in this filter as done in our 2011 TOO observations. We will use sub-arrays to avoid the need for buffer readouts during our planned visits. Comparisons with images at nearby wavelengths will permit identification of artifacts and cosmic rays. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 13712( 25) - 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 - [ 3] TARGET LIST Solar System Targets ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TARGET NUMBER: 1 TARGET NAME: URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TARGET DESCRIPTION: PLANET URANUS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TARGET POSITION LEVEL 1 TARGET POSITION LEVEL 2 STD=URANUS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TARGET POSITION LEVEL 3 WINDOWS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DATA COMMENTS V = 5.7 +/- 0.1 Ephemeris Center: EARTH ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 13712( 25) - 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 - [ 4] Visit: 01 Visit Requirements: BETWEEN 13-OCT-2014:00:00:00 AND 19-OCT-2014:00:00:00; ON HOLD ; TOO RESPONSE TIME 21.0D; VISIBILITY INTERVAL 50.0 M On Hold Comments: For Target of Opportunity (Non-Disruptive) Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| (Total) | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F467M CR-SPLIT=NO 1 16 S (16 GS ACQ SCENARIO BASE1B3; REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB S) SEQ 1-9 NON-INT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F547M CR-SPLIT=NO 1 6 S (6 S) REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F658N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 270 S (270 REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F845M CR-SPLIT=NO 1 35 S (35 REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ619N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 100 S (100 POS TARG +15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ889N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 446 S (446 POS TARG +15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ750N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 60 S (60 POS TARG -15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ937N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 140 S (140 POS TARG -15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ727N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 180 S (180 POS TARG -15, +15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 1 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F467M none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 2 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F547M none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 3 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F658N none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 4 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F845M none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB 13712( 25) - 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 - [ 5] 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 5 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ619N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 6 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ889N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 7 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ750N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 8 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ937N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 9 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ727N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB 13712( 25) - 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 - [ 6] Visit: 02 Visit Requirements: AFTER 01 BY 4.75 H TO 6.75 H; ON HOLD ; TOO RESPONSE TIME 21.0D; VISIBILITY INTERVAL 50.0 M On Hold Comments: For Target of Opportunity (Non-Disruptive) Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| (Total) | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F467M CR-SPLIT=NO 1 16 S (16 GS ACQ SCENARIO BASE1B3; REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB S) SEQ 1-9 NON-INT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F547M CR-SPLIT=NO 1 6 S (6 S) REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F658N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 270 S (270 REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F845M CR-SPLIT=NO 1 35 S (35 REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ619N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 100 S (100 POS TARG +15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ889N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 446 S (446 POS TARG +15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ750N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 60 S (60 POS TARG -15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ937N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 140 S (140 POS TARG -15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ727N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 180 S (180 POS TARG -15, +15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 1 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F467M none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 2 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F547M none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 3 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F658N none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 4 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F845M none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB 13712( 25) - 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 - [ 7] 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 5 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ619N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 6 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ889N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 7 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ750N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 8 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ937N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 9 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ727N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB 13712( 25) - 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 - [ 8] Visit: 03 Visit Requirements: AFTER 01 BY 10.5 H TO 12.5 H; ON HOLD ; TOO RESPONSE TIME 21.0D; VISIBILITY INTERVAL 50.0 M On Hold Comments: For Target of Opportunity (Non-Disruptive) -- Visit 3 is to happen 4 Uranus rotations (between 68 and 71 hours) after Visit 1 Additional Comments: Exposures ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Exp | Target | Instr | Oper. | Aper |Spectral|Central| Optional |Num| Time | Special Num | Name | Config | Mode | or FOV |Element |Waveln.| Parameters |Exp| (Total) | Requirements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F467M CR-SPLIT=NO 1 16 S (16 GS ACQ SCENARIO BASE1B3; REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB S) SEQ 1-9 NON-INT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F547M CR-SPLIT=NO 1 6 S (6 S) REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F658N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 270 S (270 REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M51 F845M CR-SPLIT=NO 1 35 S (35 REAK-TOO S 2C-SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ619N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 100 S (100 POS TARG +15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ889N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 446 S (446 POS TARG +15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ750N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 60 S (60 POS TARG -15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ937N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 140 S (140 POS TARG -15, -15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 URANUS-OUTB WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUAD FQ727N CR-SPLIT=NO 1 180 S (180 POS TARG -15, +15 REAK-TOO S -SUB S) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 1 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F467M none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 2 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F547M none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 3 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F658N none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 4 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS2-M5 F845M none none none none 1 N/A S 12C-SUB 13712( 25) - 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 - [ 9] 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 5 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ619N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 6 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ889N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 7 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ750N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 8 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ937N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO 9 WFC3/UVI ACCUM UVIS-QUA FQ727N none none none none 1 N/A S D-SUB 13712( 25) - 06-Oct-2014 18:08:03 - [ 10] Summary Form for Proposal 13712 Item Used in this proposal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Apertures UVIS-QUAD-SUB, UVIS2-M512C-SUB ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Configurations WFC3/UVIS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Opmodes ACCUM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Optional Parameters CR-SPLIT=NO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special Requirements AFTER 01 BY 10.5 H TO 12.5 H, AFTER 01 BY 4.75 H TO 6.75 H, BETWEEN 13-OCT-2014:00:00:00 AND 19-OCT-2014:00:00:00, GS ACQ SCENARIO BASE1B3, ON HOLD , POS TARG +15, -15, POS TARG -15, +15, POS TARG -15, -15, SEQ 1-9 NON-INT, TOO RESPONSE TIME 21.0D, VISIBILITY INTERVAL 50.0 M ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spectral Elements F467M, F547M, F658N, F845M, FQ619N, FQ727N, FQ750N, FQ889N, FQ937N ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Target Names URANUS-OUTBREAK-TOO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------