Swift is a first‐of‐its‐kind multiwavelength transient observatory for gamma‐ray burst astronomy. It has the optimum capabilities for the next breakthroughs in determining the origin of gamma‐ray bursts and their afterglows, as well as using bursts to probe the early Universe. Swift will also perform the first sensitive hard X‐ray survey of the sky. The mission is being developed by an international collaboration and consists of three instruments, the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), the X‐ray Telescope (XRT), and the Ultraviolet and Optical Telescope (UVOT). The BAT, a wide‐field gamma‐ray detector, will detect 3–7 gamma‐ray bursts per week with a sensitivity 5 times that of BATSE. The sensitive narrow‐field XRT and UVOT will be autonomously slewed to the burst location in 20 to 70 seconds to determine 0.3–5.0 arcsec positions and perform optical, UV, and X‐ray spectrophotometry. Strong education/public outreach and follow‐up programs will help to engage the public and astronomical community. The Swift launch is planned for September 2003.
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14 April 2003
GAMMA-RAY BURST AND AFTERGLOW ASTRONOMY 2001: A Workshop Celebrating the First Year of the HETE Mission
5-9 November 2001
Woods Hole, Massachusetts (USA)
Research Article|
April 14 2003
The Swift GRB MIDEX Mission Available to Purchase
N. Gehrels;
N. Gehrels
Mail Code 661, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 Swift team
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N. Gehrels
Swift team
Mail Code 661, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 Swift team
AIP Conf. Proc. 662, 465–468 (2003)
Citation
N. Gehrels, Swift team; The Swift GRB MIDEX Mission. AIP Conf. Proc. 14 April 2003; 662 (1): 465–468. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1579403
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