Picture courtesy of Spectrum Astro
|
|
The NASA Swift gamma-ray mission makes
prompt multi-wavelength observations of gamma-ray bursts and their associated
afterglows. There are three instruments on-board, covering the gamma-ray,
X-ray and UV/optical bands. Using these instruments, Swift measures GRB
positions with arc-second accuracy, within a few minutes of their
discovery, and is the first satellite to observe GRBs during the
crucial first few hours.
During the first four years of the mission, Swift
triggered on more than 370 bursts with the BAT (93 bursts were triggered on during the
first year), representing the most comprehensive study so
far of GRBs and their afterglows.
The main mission objectives of Swift are to:
- determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts
- classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types
- determine how the blast-wave 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.
|
