About the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission
Jump to: Scientists:- Swift Science & Instruments
- Observing Strategy and Data Flow
- Key Info and Documents
- Swift Science Center (SSC) - services and responsibilities
- Swift User's Group (SUG)
- Determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts.
- Classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types.
- Determine how the blastwave evolves and interacts with the surroundings.
- Use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe.
- Perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky.
Swift is part of NASA's medium explorer (MIDEX) program and was launched into a low-Earth orbit on a Delta 7320 rocket on November 20, 2004. The hardware was developed by an internatinoal team from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy, with additional scientific involvement in France, Japan, Germany, Denmark, Spain, and South Africa.
Swift Science and Instruments
Baseline Capabilites:- > 200 GRBs studied over a two year period
- 0.3 - 5 arcsec positions for each GRB
- Multiwavelength observatory (gamma, X-ray, UV and optical)
- 20 - 75 sec reaction time
- Approximately three times more sensitive than BATSE
- Spectroscopy from 1800 - 6000 Angstroms and 0.2 - 150 keV
- Six colors covering 1800 - 6000 Angstroms
- Capability to directly measure redshift
- Results publicly distributed within seconds
- Burst Alert Telescope (BAT): 15 - 150 keV
With its large field-of-view (2 steradians) and high sensitivity, the BAT detect about 100 GRBs per year, and computes burst positions onboard the satellite with arc-minute positional accuracy. The BAT was been produced by the Astrophysics Science Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) with science flight software developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- X-ray Telescope (XRT): 0.3 - 10 keV
The XRT was built with existing hardware from JET-X. The XRT takes images and is able to obtain spectra of GRB afterglows during pointed follow-up observations. The images are used for higher accuracy position localizations, while the spectra are used to determine redshifts from X-ray absorption lines. The XRT is a joint product of Pennsylvania State University, the Brera Astronomical Observatory (OAB), and the University of Leicester.
- UV/Optical Telescope (UVOT): 170 - 650 nm
The UVOT is essentially a copy of the XMM Optical Monitor (OM). The UVOT takes images and obtains spectra (via a grism filter) of GRB afterglows during pointed follow-up observations. The images are used for 0.3 - 2.5 arc-second position localizations, while the spectra are used to determine redshifts and Lyman-alpha cut-offs. The UVOT is a joint product of Pennsylvania State University, and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL).
Key Info and Documents
- Swift Team Key Projects
- PSU MOC's Target of Opportunity
- Scientific Operations During Year 1 -- Download: Word or PDF
- Burst Advocate Guidebook (ver 0.8) -- Download: Word or PDF
- Data Release Plan -- Download: Word or PDF
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