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3\07-09 HST Daily Rpt No 3315
Part 3 of 5

NICMOS 9484

The NICMOS Parallel Observing Program

We propose to manage the default set of pure parallels with NICMOS. 
Our experience with both our GO NICMOS parallel program and the public 
parallel NICMOS programs in cycle 7 prepared us to make optimal use of 
the parallel opportunities. The NICMOS G141 grism remains the most 
powerful survey tool for HAlpha emission-line galaxies at 
cosmologically interesting redshifts. It is particularly well suited 
to addressing two key uncertainties regarding the global history of 
star formation: the peak rate of star formation in the relatively 
unexplored but critical 1<= z <= 2 epoch, and the amount of star 
formation missing from UV continuum-based estimates due to high 
extinction. Our proposed deep G141 exposures will increase the sample 
of known HAlpha emission- line objects at z ~ 1.3 by roughly an order 
of magnitude. We will also obtain a mix of F110W and F160W images 
along random sight-lines to examine the space density and morphologies 
of the reddest galaxies. The nature of the extremely red galaxies 
remains unclear and our program of imaging and grism spectroscopy 
provides unique information regarding both the incidence of obscured 
star bursts and the build up of stellar mass at intermediate 
redshifts. In addition to carrying out the parallel program we will 
populate a public database with calibrated spectra and images, and 
provide limited ground- based optical and near-IR data for the deepest 
parallel fields.

STIS 9607

CCD Bias Monitor - Part 1

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 9605

CCD Dark Monitor-Part 1

Monitor the darks for the STIS CCD

STIS 9380

Determination of Extragalactic Extinction Laws at UV wavelengths with
gravitationally-lensed QSOs

The study of extragalactic extinction laws is of paramount importance 
as it plays a key role in galaxy evolution, as well as for the 
determination of the cosmological parameters, for example using SNe. 
We propose to utilize a new technique based on flux measurements of 
gravitationally lensed, multiply-imaged QSOs to estimate the 
extinction law of the lensing galaxy. Here we propose a pilot project 
of STIS observations of the doubly-imaged QSO SBS 0909+532 with a 
separation between images of 1.1 arcsec. Our goal would be to 
determine the extinction law at UV wavelengths in the lens galaxy 
{z=0.83}. In a study that is the first of this type, we have obtained 
ground-based Integral Field Spectroscopy {IFS} data in the region of 
the 2175Angstrom PAH bump for SBS 0909+532. Our proposed observations 
will allow us to complete and extend the extinction law farther in the 
UV. Such observations would be impossible from the ground because they 
extend too far into the UV, and HST is the only instrument available 
with the necessary spatial resolution and sensitivity.

STIS 9631

Faint Standard Extension {FASTEX}

Fainter standard stars are needed for the flux calibration of COS, for 
the prism modes on ACS, and for astronomical community, in general. 
The bright object safety limit for COS is 1.25 ct/s per pixel, while 
the total countrate limit per FUV detector segment is 20000/s. In 
addition, the GALEX project {see Appendix} requires more secondary 
standards in the flux range of the two fainter original FASTEX stars. 
Customarily, one NASA project provides observing time in support of 
other NASA projects. The existing observations of the two fainter 
FASTEX standards, WD0947+857 and WD1657+343, have the most CTE losses 
in the G430L data and are still a bit marginal on S/N. Since the 
stellar models are normalized to V, good spectrophotometry to 5500A is 
important. All five targets will be observed at the new G430L aperture 
to minimize CTE loss and at the original aperture to constrain CTE 
models. Combined with additional planned cal data for stars of 
intermediate flux, the CTE model for spectra can be tuned to cover the 
full range of signal levels.

STIS 9625

STIS NUV-MAMA Cycle 11 Flats

This program will obtain NUV-MAMA observations of the STIS internal 
Deuterium lamp to construct an NUV flat applicable to all NUV modes

STIS 9362

STIS Observations of the Intrinsic UV Absorption in the Dwarf Seyfert 
Nucleus of NGC 4395

The Sd IV dwarf galaxy NGC 4395 is one of the nearest {d ~ 4.2 Mpc} 
and least luminous {L_bol ~ 10^41 ergs s^-1} examples of Seyfert 1 
galaxies. Furthermore, it is the only known example of an active 
nucleus within a bulgeless, extreme late-type galaxy. This unique 
object possesses all of the classic Seyfert 1 properties in miniature, 
including broad and narrow emission lines and highly variable X-ray 
emission, presumably powered by a small {few x 10^4 M_odot} black
hole. Furthermore, we have discovered evidence for blueshifted, 
intrinsic absorption lines in the UV {C IV LambdaLambda1548.2, 
1550.8}, while X-ray spectra show the presence of bound-free edges 
from O VII and O VIII. We propose HST/STIS echelle observations to 
determine the properties {ionization states, column densities, 
velocity coverages, covering factors} of the intrinsic UV absorbers in 
NGC 4395. Due to the high covering factor of its narrow-line emission, 
NGC 4395 offers the best case for testing the connection between the 
absorbers and the narrow-line region {NLR}. Furthermore, an empirical 
comparison of its absorption properties with those in higher 
luminosity active galactic nuclei {AGN} will provide valuable 
constraints on dynamical models of the absorbers, which make 
predictions that are strongly dependent on luminosity and/or central 
black hole mass.

STIS 9633

STIS parallel archive proposal - Nearby Galaxies - Imaging and 
Spectroscopy

Using parallel opportunities with STIS which were not allocated by the 
TAC, we propose to obtain deep STIS imagery with both the Clear 
{50CCD} and Long-Pass {F28X50LP} filters in order to make 
color-magnitude diagrams and luminosity functions for nearby galaxies. 
For local group galaxies, we also include G750L slitless spectroscopy 
to search for e.g., Carbon stars, late M giants and S-type stars. This 
survey will be useful to study the star formation histories, chemical 
evolution, and distances to these galaxies. These data will be placed
immediately into the Hubble Data Archive.

STIS 9706

STIS Pure Parallel Imaging Program: Cycle 10

This is the default archival pure parallel program for STIS during 
cycle 10.

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