{"id":4717,"date":"2024-06-18T10:24:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T08:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brera.inaf.it\/?post_type=progetti_ricerca&p=4717"},"modified":"2025-03-17T12:12:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T11:12:16","slug":"swift","status":"publish","type":"progetti_ricerca","link":"https:\/\/brera.inaf.it\/en\/progetti_ricerca\/swift\/","title":{"rendered":"SWIFT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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SWIFT<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SHORT DESCRIPTION<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Swift<\/em><\/strong> is a NASA medium explorer-class satellite built in collaboration with Italy and the United Kingdom. The name is not an acronym but refers to the English name for the swift<\/a>, one of the birds with the most agile and fastest flight, and was chosen to recall the satellite’s rapid aiming, guaranteed by a gyroscopic system controlled by electric motors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The satellite is dedicated to the study and interpretation of gamma-ray bursts<\/a> (GRBs). Launched in 2004, Swift<\/em><\/strong> has been observing the high-energy universe for almost 20 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swift<\/em><\/strong> has three instruments (BAT, UVOT, XRT). The Burst Alter Telescope (BAT) is a wide-field instrument that works in hard X-rays. BAT is responsible for detecting GRBs. Once a new GRB is discovered, Swift<\/em><\/strong> autonomously re-points the small-field instruments, the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) and the UtraViolet Optical Telescope (UVOT), in 60-120 seconds to observe the GRB in X-rays and optical-UV. Swift observes about 70-100 GRBs per year and, thanks to its unique fast re-pointing capability – to date, no satellite rotates, moves and re-points faster than Swift<\/em><\/strong> – it is able to observe the entire temporal evolution of GRBs, from the burst to their slow fading, weeks or months later.

The initial mission objectives for Swift were<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n