8382(  2) - 12/18/98 16:54  - [  1]

    PROPOSAL FOR HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS   ST ScI Use Only
                                                       ID:      8382
                                                       Version: 2
                                                       Check-in Date: 18-Dec-1998
                                                                      16:53:16

1.Proposal Title:
HST Observations of MilliJansky Radio Sources from the FIRST Survey
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2. Proposal For  3. Cycle
AR               8
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4. Investigators
                                                                                     Contact?
    PI: Richard L. White                  Space Telescope Science Institute
   CoI: Prof. Robert H. Becker            University of California-Davis                N
   CoI: Prof. Richard McMahon             Cambridge University                          N

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5. Abstract

The VLA FIRST survey is planned to cover 10, 000 square degrees of the North and
South Galactic Caps at 1.4 GHz to a peak flux density limit of 1 mJy with an angular
resolution of 5"\ and source positions better than 1"\ down to the catalog detection
limit. Data taken through the summer of 1998 cover ~6000 square degrees of sky. The
source catalog from this area contains about 550, 000 objects. The median optical
brightness of mJy radio galaxies is V ~ 23.5. The number of magnitude 23.5 galaxies
per square degree is large (~ 2.5*10^4\ hboxdeg^-2), so that our positions of <1"
accuracy are required to identify the optical counterparts with confidence. The
FIRST survey is the first wide area radio survey with positions accurate enough to
identify and study the faint optical counterparts for the majority of the sources.
Of course, these galaxies are not only faint; they are also of small angular size
and usually have point-like, active nuclei. Only HST has the angular resolution
required to study the morphology and evolution of these objects. We propose to study
the optical, ultraviolet, and infrared characteristics of a large sample of faint
radio galaxies by analyzing all the publically available WFPC2, NICMOS, and STIS
images in the HST Data Archive that contain cataloged FIRST sources.
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  Data Distribution

  Paper Products:  NO
  Media:           ELECTRONIC
  Blocking Factor: 10
  Ship To:         PI_Address
  Ship Via:
  Email:
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                                                8382(  2) - 12/18/98 16:54  - [  2]

            Summary Form for Proposal  8382

  Item                         Used in this proposal
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  Proposal Category            AR
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