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S.D. Barthelmy (NASA-GSFC), Swift Team
The Swift mission contains three instruments to make the initial GRB detection and afterglow follow-up observation all in one spacecraft. This plus full on-board autonomous operations allows for a rapid and complete series of follow-up observations. The Burst Alert Telescope makes the initial detection of the GRB (in the 15-150 keV band). The spacecraft slews to the burst position to allow the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) and UV and Optical Telescope (UVOT) to begin a series of follow-up observations in the 0.2 - 10 keV and 170 to 650 nm bandpasses, respectively. While the spacecraft is slewing, the BAT instrument is still recording the gamma-ray emission and will be able to follow the near-term emission. Once the spacecraft is on target (20-70 sec after the burst), XRT and UVOT begin a series of exposures with several data collection modes to study the afterglow. These modes provide an accurate burst position and a wide range of spectral and timing resolution; and will be discussed in detail.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: scott@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35 #3
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.