From: Saul Perlmutter (saul@lbl.gov)
Date: Wed May 15 2002 - 08:59:46 PDT
Gemini didn't open, so we didn't get any more info from there or from
VLT. However, we did learn more about the candidates that were on the
SDF field, since we got a message from Mamoru (appended below) with
photometric redshifts and galaxy-type info. Since we have to put at
least one of our two lower-redshift HST slots on an SDF field, we
decided to go ahead and start following S02-075 /SDF5. We will try
(again!) to get its spectrum here at Gemini tonight, and also look at
its HST image that we will observe on Monday (we have well over a week
to do this-- what luxury!), and then decide whether we want to continue
following it or else save the final 4 orbits (out of 6) for that
candidate. Mamoru said that the SDF team was also willing to try to
get a spectrum of it while they are doing other multi-slit work in the
middle of June (and we can also try again with the Gemini queue in the
beginning of June), so we will probably end up at least getting its
redshift, and maybe supernova light if it turns out to be on the way up
now.
The other two HST slots were assigned to: (1) T02-015 (SN at z=0.912),
and (2) getting final reference images of Boccerini for one orbit (and
then cancelling the rest of the orbits in that slot and saving them for
next fall).
You know, given this *incredibly* bad, non-stop unusable weather it is
pretty amazing that we are nonetheless successfully following a z=0.91
supernova -- and that we managed to salvage almost all of our committed
HST orbits so we can "live to observe another day." (We also came up
with some rather cute ideas for what we might like to try with the
orbits in upcoming runs -- which we'll have to discuss later.)
When we wake up later today, we'll try to make sure we know where we
stand with the other supernova follow-up decisions for the next few days
and weeks. (At VLT/FORS2, the first priority will presumably be
getting spectra of the SNe that CFHT will be doing rolling followup
for. If the z=1.1 SN from last month still needs more IR
signal-to-noise, this might be a good time for ISAAC to go for it.)
Good work everybody for this more frustrating stage of this multi-month
run! I think we'll still get some pretty nice data out of it yet, just
not everything we were targeting.
Goodnight/goodmorning
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