Multi-wavelength observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their associated afterglows.
Neil Gehrels Swift is a space based observatory made by an international team of scientists from United States, Italy and United Kingdom and designed for prompt multi-wavelength observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their associated afterglows.
It was launched on 2004 and has three instruments on-board, covering the gamma-ray (BAT), X-ray (XRT) and UV/optical bands (UVOT). Using them, Swift measures GRBs positions with arcsecond accuracy, within a few minutes since their discovery, and sends the information to ground based observatories for the follow up.
The Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) detects the bright initial gamma-ray emission of GRBs. Its large field of view allows it to detect gamma-rays from a large portion of the sky and locate the source. After the detection, Swift slews rapidly, bringing the detected burst into the field of view of the sensitive narrow field instruments (XRT and UVOT) that start observing the afterglow. The refined positions determined as a result are transmitted to the ground for optical, infrared and radio follow up.
The combined Swift and ground based telescopes observations are enabling the most comprehensive study of GRBs and their host galaxies up to date. IASF-Palermo is involved in software development, real time data analysis, scientific analysis and catalogue.
Read more about The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory on our site.
Read more on the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory official site.
The Palermo BAT Survey
Contact person
Giancarlo Cusumano
Team
Milvia Capalbi
Giancarlo Cusumano
Antonino D’Aì
Valentina La Parola
Alberto Segreto
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