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K. Hurley (UC Berkeley), Swift GRB Team
In order to maximize the scientific return from the Swift mission, a team of over 25 follow-up astronomers has been formed. This team has access to a wide variety of telescopes, ranging from small, rapidly-slewing ones to the very largest in the world. The geographic and spectral coverage of these instruments is equally wide, and goes beyond the traditional electromagnetic spectrum to include gravitational radiation. The follow-up team members will spend a substantial fraction of their time observing Swift bursts and their afterglows. Nevertheless, with an expected minimum rate of 100 GRBs/year, the Swift mission will also rely heavily on the participation of astronomers outside the follow-up team - indeed, the charter of Swift is to provide all the data to everybody, as soon as they become available. In this talk I will briefly outline the capabilities of the follow-up team, and emphasize the need for the active participation of the wide astronomical community in the mission.
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,
35#2
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.