Swift

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Swift is a first-of-its-kind multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to:

1. Determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts
2. Classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types
3. Determine how the blastwave evolves and interacts with the surroundings
4. Use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe
5. Perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky.

The optical counterparts of many active galactic nuclei (circled) detected by the Swift BAT Hard X-ray Survey clearly show galaxies in the process of merging. These images, taken with the 2.1-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, show galaxy shapes that are either physically intertwined or distorted by the gravity of nearby neighbors. These AGN were known prior to the Swift survey, but Swift has found dozens of new ones in more distant galaxies.
Credit: NASA/Swift/NOAO/Michael Koss and Richard Mushotzky (Univ. of Maryland)

Launched in 2004, Swift was expected to observe more than 200 bursts during its nominal 2-year mission. In nearly six years of operation, it has detected more than 600 bursts with 90% of them triggered on board. Swift's Burst Alert Telescope detects and acquires high-precision locations for gamma ray bursts and then relay a 1-4 arc-minute position estimate to the ground within 15 seconds. After the initial burst detection, the spacecraft "swiftly" (approximately 20 to 75 seconds) and autonomously re-points itself to bring the burst location within the field of view of the sensitive narrow-field X-ray and UV/optical telescopes to observe afterglow. Swift can provide redshifts for the bursts and multi-wavelength light-curves for the duration of the afterglow. Swift measurements are of great interest to the astronomical community and all data products are available to the public via the internet as soon as they are processed. The Swift mission represents the most comprehensive study of GRB afterglow to date.

Swift is part of NASA's medium explorer (MIDEX) program and was launched into a low-Earth orbit on a Delta 7320 rocket. Swift is three times more sensitive than the BATSE detector aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, which was the second Great Observatory acquiring data between 1991-2000. The hardware was developed by an international team from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy, with additional scientific involvement in France, Japan, Germany, Denmark, Spain, and South Africa.

Last updated: June 29, 2012.