Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Apr 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002aps..aprn17048c&link_type=abstract
American Physical Society, April Meeting, Jointly Sponsored with the High Energy Astrophysics Division (HEAD) of the American As
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Swift is a multi-wavelength observatory designed for autonomous detection and immediate follow-up of gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows. Its Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) will detect 100s of GRBs per year, and the observatory will autonomously train sensitive UV/optical and X-ray telescopes on the burst within 10 to 75 seconds. GRB and X-ray positions and a UV/optical finding chart will be rapidly distributed through the GCN to promote ground-based observations. Afterglows will be monitored by Swift for days to weeks. Mission science planning will be performed at the Swift MOC (Mission Operations Center) at Penn State. All data will be rapidly made available to the community from data centers at NASA/GSFC and in Italy and the UK. Swift has two additional capabilities. A hard X-ray survey will be performed with the BAT, with daily pointings covering 80transients. Swift will also function as a Target of Opportunity observatory for sources requiring fast response and repeated short-term (days) or longer-term (months) monitoring. We believe that use of Swift as a rapid-response spacecraft will open a new window of discovery on the Universe. We encourage astronomers to consider how use of this capability may lead to significant discoveries. Swift's capabilities will be made available to the entire community through acceptance of ToO proposals and public distribution of the ensuing data. Swift work at Penn State is supported by NASA contract NAS5-00136.
Chester Margaret
Gehrels Neil
Marshall Frank
Nousek John
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