Hubble Deep Field South

Hubble Deep Field South
Name	Hubble Deep Field South
Epoch	J2000
Type	Deep field survey
Telescope	Hubble Space Telescope
Instruments	Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
First observed	1998
Wavelengths	Optical, ultraviolet, near-infrared

Hubble Deep Field South

The Hubble Deep Field South was a deep-sky imaging campaign conducted with the Hubble Space Telescope to probe the faintest galaxies and the high-redshift universe, complementing the earlier northern program led by Robert Williams and the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) team. The project aimed to inform studies associated with Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, Cosmic Microwave Background foregrounds, and follow-up programs by facilities such as the Very Large Telescope, Keck Observatory, and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. The dataset has been integrated into analyses by researchers affiliated with institutions including the Space Telescope Science Institute, European Southern Observatory, and Max Planck Society.

Background and objectives

The initiative arose after the success of the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) and the demand from proponents like Sandra Faber, Jerry Nelson, and members of the Hubble Deep Field South Team to acquire a comparable southern target for multiwavelength follow-up by southern facilities such as the Anglo-Australian Telescope and Gemini South. Objectives included constraining galaxy formation models developed by groups at the Institute for Advanced Study, comparing number counts used in Lambda-CDM cosmology tests championed by Pieter van Dokkum and Simon White, and supplying targets for spectroscopic campaigns at European Southern Observatory instruments like FORS and ISAAC. The program also served to calibrate photometric redshift techniques developed by teams led by Garth Illingworth and Mark Dickinson.

Field selection and observations

Field selection prioritized a low-foreground line of sight away from bright stars and Magellanic Clouds emission, enabling synergy with observatories such as Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory and Siding Spring Observatory. The chosen field near the southern celestial pole permitted follow-up with Very Large Telescope units operated by European Southern Observatory and with the Anglo-Australian Telescope, matching the strategy used by Hubble Deep Field (HDF). Observations employed the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph across filters corresponding to Johnson–Cousins photometric system bands, coordinated with parallel programs by teams including Richard Ellis (astronomer) and Lynne Hillenbrand. The scheduling was optimized around guiding constraints maintained by the Fine Guidance Sensors of the Hubble Space Telescope and in consultation with the Space Telescope Science Institute operations group.

Data processing and image products

Raw exposures were processed using pipelines developed at the Space Telescope Science Institute and software tools originating from projects led by Alessandro Ferrara and Daniel Schaerer, including cosmic-ray rejection and charge-transfer efficiency correction relevant to the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Image stacking used drizzling techniques formulated by Fruchter and Hook and photometric calibration tied to standards of the Hubble Space Telescope Photometric Calibration program. Final image products were released to archives accessed by researchers from the Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Berkeley, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and served as targets for spectroscopic follow-up with Keck Observatory and European Southern Observatory spectrographs.

Scientific results

Analyses of the dataset produced constraints on the luminosity function extensions originally modeled by Sandra Faber and Rychard Bouwens, provided evidence for strong evolution in the star-formation rate density discussed by Piero Madau and Lynne Hillenbrand, and informed studies of galaxy morphology building upon the frameworks of Abraham Sandage and John Kormendy. Photometric redshift catalogs validated methods advanced by Ofer Lahav and Roberto Abraham, while spectroscopic confirmations by teams associated with Tommaso Treu and Karl Glazebrook refined estimates of high-redshift galaxy properties. The field enabled investigations into galaxy clustering consistent with predictions from simulations by groups at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and the Santa Cruz Galaxy Formation Group, and facilitated cross-correlation studies with Chandra X-ray Observatory deep fields led by W. N. Brandt and Andrew Fabian.

Legacy and subsequent surveys

The program influenced the design and scientific goals of surveys such as the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, and programs executed with the James Webb Space Telescope teams including John Mather and Pierre Bergeron (astronomer). Catalogs from the field remain used in joint analyses with data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and ground-based campaigns at Subaru Telescope and Magellan Telescopes. Techniques and pipelines refined for the campaign were adopted by projects run by the Space Telescope Science Institute, European Southern Observatory archives, and survey consortia like those behind COSMOS (survey).

Instrumentation and technical details

Observations used the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 for high-resolution optical imaging and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph for ultraviolet coverage, relying on the Hubble Space Telescope pointing stability maintained by Fine Guidance Sensors. Detector effects such as charge-transfer inefficiency were mitigated using corrections developed by teams at the Space Telescope Science Institute and validated against calibration data from STScI Calibration Workshop participants. Data reduction employed the drizzle algorithm by Fruchter and Hook and photometric systems cross-referenced to standards advocated by Arlo Landolt. The campaign's technical planning interfaced with operations elements overseen by NASA and international partners including the European Space Agency.

Category:Observational astronomy Category:Deep fields Category:Hubble Space Telescope observations