Daily 3446

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

DAILY REPORT       # 3446

PERIOD COVERED: DOY 254

OBSERVATIONS SCHEDULED

ACS 9658

ACS Earth Flats

This program will obtain sequences of flat field images by observing
the bright Earth. Several UV filters from the interim calibration
program {9564} require additional exposures to obtain the required
illumination. A few UV filters from this program will be repeated to
monitor for changes in the flat fields and to verify the interim
results. Since no streaks are observed in the UV, the wavelength
coverage is extended to longer wavelengths in order to explore the
severity of streaks in the flats from clouds in the FOV. We have added
exposures for the HRC in the visible filters to verify the results
derived from the L-flat campaign and to explore the severity of
streaks. We have also added exposures on WFC using the minimum
exposure time and using filters which will not saturate the brightest
WFC pixel by more than 10 times the full well.

ACS 9675

CCD Daily Monitor

This program consists of basic tests to monitor, the read noise, the
development of hot pixels and test for any source of noise in ACS CCD
detectors. This programme will be executed once a day for the entire
lifetime of ACS.

ACS/HRC 9853

A Search for Young Binary Brown Dwarfs: Constraining Formation
Scenarios and Masses Through Multiplicity

We propose to use the Advanced Camera for Surveys / High Resolution
Camera to conduct a direct imaging multiplicity survey of 34 young
brown dwarfs in the nearest regions of recent star formation, the T
association Taurus-Auriga and the OB association Upper Scorpius. The
determined multiplicity fraction, the separation distribution, and the
mass ratio distribution will offer stringent observational constraints
on proposed brown dwarf formation scenarios. Moreover, the small
semi-major axes of known field and open cluster brown dwarf binaries
suggest the exciting possibility of our identifying several very close
binaries {< 15 AU}. Continued monitoring of these systems would yield,
on a decade timescale, the first dynamical mass estimates of T Tauri
brown dwarfs. With masses intermediate between those of stars and
planets, brown dwarfs offer our best hope of relating the reasonably
well understood processes of star formation to the less well
understood processes of planet formation.

ACS/WFC 9722

Life in the fast lane: The dark-matter distribution in the most
massive galaxy clusters in the Universe at z>0.5

We propose two-filter ACS observations of a complete sample of 12 very
X-ray luminous galaxy clusters at 0.5<z<0.7 as a cornerstone of a
comprehensive multi-wavelength study of the properties of the most
massive clusters in the universe. Our sample includes the famous
systems Cl0016+16 and MS0451-03; all other clusters are new
discoveries from the MACS survey. Being the counterparts of the
best-studied systems at lower and higher redshift and comprising ALL
massive clusters at 0.5<z<0.7 observable from Mauna Kea this sample
will become the ultimate reference for cluster studies at z>0.5. HST's
unique capabilities will allow us to: 1} measure accurately the
clusters' dark matter distribution on scales from tens to more than
500/h_50 kpc from observations of strong and weak gravitational
lensing, 2} use galaxy-galaxy lensing to measure the shape, extent,
and mass content of the dark-matter halos of both cluster and field
galaxies, and 3} study the color morphology of mergers and the star
formation history of galaxies in a high-density environment. The
proposed observations are complemented by Chandra observations of all
our targets {all 12 awarded, 11 executed to date} which provide
independent constraints on the dark matter and gas distribution in the
cluster cores, as well a by extensive groundbased observations of weak
lensing on yet larger scales, galaxy dynamics, and the SZ effect.

NIC3/ACS/HRC/WFC 9803

Deep NICMOS Images of the UDF

The ACS Ultra Deep Field {UDF} images will greatly enhance the rich
suite of deep multi-wavelength images in the Chandra Deep Field South
{CDF--S}. We propose to complete the image set with deep near-IR
NICMOS images at 1.1 and 1.6 microns over a significant fraction of
the UDF, providing a critical link between the HST ACS and SIRTF
observations. The timely addition of the near-IR images ensures that
investigators will have images that span the spectrum from X-ray to
far IR. In recognition of the value of the near IR images this
proposal is submitted as a Treasury proposal with no proprietary
period. The proposal team will deliver science quality images,
mosaiced images covering 4.9 sq arc min, and a photometric catalog
complete to an AB mag of 28.2 in both the F110W and F160W filters. The
program also delivers a parallel extremely deep ACS field, 8' away,
that reaches to within 0.6 mag of the UDF in the same filters as the
UDF. The scientific program of the proposal team focuses on the star
formation history of the universe, evolved galaxies at high redshift,
galaxies at the epoch of reionization, and the redshift evolution of
AGNs and ULIRGs. The HDF-N is currently the only field with
spatially-coincident deep HST imaging in both the optical and near-IR.
The small size of the HDF-N means that large scale structure is the
dominant error in the results from the HDF-N. Providing observations
in a field that is spatially uncorrelated is critically important. The
UDF/CDF-S fulfills that goal. The depth of the UDF ACS imaging, and
the wealth of Great Observatory and ground based observations in the
CDF-S, make these NICMOS observations uniquely valuable. An
extraordinarily rich array of science opportunities await the
community from the NICMOS UDF data.

NICMOS 8791

NICMOS Post-SAA calibration - CR Persistence Part 2

A new procedure proposed to alleviate the CR-persistence problem of
NICMOS. Dark frames will be obtained immediately upon exiting the SAA
contour 23, and every time a NICMOS exposure is scheduled within 50
minutes of coming out of the SAA. The darks will be obtained in
parallel in all three NICMOS Cameras. The POST-SAA darks will be
non-standard reference files available to users with a USEAFTER
date/time mark. The keyword 'USEAFTER=date/time' will also be added to
the header of each POST-SAA DARK frame. The keyword must be populated
with the time, in addition to the date, because HST crosses the SAA ~8
times per day so each POST-SAA DARK will need to have the appropriate
time specified, for users to identify the ones they need. Both the raw
and processed images will be archived as POST-SAA DARKSs. Generally we
expect that all NICMOS science/calibration observations started within
50 minutes of leaving an SAA will need such maps to remove the CR
persistence from the science images. Each observation will need its
own CRMAP, as different SAA passages leave different imprints on the
NICMOS detectors.

STIS 9606

CCD Dark Monitor-Part 2

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD.

STIS 9608

CCD Bias Monitor - Part 2

Monitor the bias in the 1x1, 1x2, 2x1, and 2x2 bin settings at gain=1,
and 1x1 at gain = 4, to build up high-S/N superbiases and track the
evolution of hot columns.

STIS/CCD 10000

STIS Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 12

This is the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during cycle
12.

WFPC2 9595

WFPC2 CYCLE 11 SUPPLEMENTAL DARKS pt3/3

This dark calibration program obtains 3 dark frames every day to
provide data for monitoring and characterizing the evolution of hot
pixels.

WFPC2 9709

POMS Test Proposal: WFII parallel archive proposal

This is the generic target version of the WFPC2 Archival Pure Parallel
program. The program will be used to take parallel images of random
areas of the sky, following the recommendations of the 2002 Parallels
Working Group.

WFPC2 9712

Pure Parallel Near-UV Observations with WFPC2 within High-Latitude ACS
Survey Fields

In anticipation of the allocation of ACS high-latitude imaging
survey{s}, we request a modification of the default pure parallel
program for those WFPC2 parallels that fall within the ACS survey
field. Rather than duplicate the red bands which will be done much
better with ACS, we propose to observe in the near-ultraviolet F300W
filter. These data will enable study of the rest-frame ultraviolet
morphology of galaxies at 0<z<1. We will determine the morphological
k-correction, and the location of star formation within galaxies,
using a sample that is likely to be nearly complete with
multi-wavelength photometry and spectroscopic redshifts. The results
can be used to interpret observations of higher redshift galaxies by
ACS.

FLIGHT OPERATIONS SUMMARY:

Significant Spacecraft Anomalies: (The following are preliminary
reports of potential non-nominal performance that will be
investigated.) None

                        SCHEDULED     SUCCESSFUL    FAILURE TIMES
FGS GSacq            5                          5
FGS REacq            9                          9
FHST Update          14                        14
LOSS of LOCK


SIGNIFICANT EVENTS:

Modified NICMOS Target Acquisition Pixel Gain Table @ 255/01:30Z (OR
17037 with attached script).
OBC SLOAD NV6PCTP01
NCSMEM4 = 5652hex       #pcta_PixelGains[127,19],[127,18]
NCSMEM5 = 0000hex       #pcta_PixelGains[60,17],[60,16]
NCSMEM6 = 0000hex       #pcta_PixelGains[7,9],[7,8]

On SMS 237 (8/26/03), acquisition of a 15th magnitude target (Proposal
9384), Visits 18 and 19 was not successful.  The problem was diagnosed
by the NICMOS Science Team to be the result of incorrect values
provided for the last pcta_PixelGains update, which occurred in July
2003 (SCR 39).  The corrected values are shifted by + 1 pixel in the
Column (X) and - 1 pixel in the Row (Y) direction.  This modification
was needed prior to Sunday, September 14 execution of Proposal 9834. 
NICMOS EEPROM memory dumped and compared with no miscompares, other
than expected (motor commutations).

Completed Command Timing Comparison Test (SUN/SGI) using CCS "D" and
"C" Strings 253/11:30Z - 20:35Z. All test objectives were completed. 
The execution was clean with on slight issue on the first run in JSC
ON2 Mode on the "C" String which required a re-cycle of the command
parser. Results are being analyzed and more details will be sent
later.  JSC ON1 and JSC ON2 parameters were set to:  PROP = 2.5,
UPLKVER = 1.1, and UPLKNVER = 1.6.  After post-test analyses,
determined "D" String seems to run slightly faster than "C" String for
real-time commanding in both "countcheck" and "Noverify" modes but the
command loads seem to be comparable.  Will continue to test and track
this trend and recommend adjustments.