SKYSURF. VIII. Modeling SKYSURF Completeness Data for Comparison to the Hubble Space Telescope Exposure Time Calculator

Abstract Accurately assessing image source completeness is critical for interpreting measurements on telescope data. Using the Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys data from the Hubble Space Telescope archival project “SKYSURF,” we model galaxy completeness as a function of the exposure time and background of an image. This is accomplished by adding simulated objects with varying magnitudes and sizes into these images, and determining the detection rate for each set of parameters. The fifty percent completeness results are then compared to the Exposure Time Calculator (ETC), in order to assess the differences between the STSCI ETC and our analysis of the archival data. Ultimately, we find that, for extended galaxies, the ETC predicts a 1–2 mag fainter completeness limit than our data. We believe the difference is due to the ETC’s flat surface brightness profiles being less accurate at predicting for extended sources compared to our more realistic profiles.