Swift Gamma-Ray Bursts, 2015
Illustration shows the positions of 1,000 Swift GRBs on an all-sky map oriented so that the plane of our galaxy, the Milky Way, runs across the center. Bursts are color coded by year, and the location of GRB 151027B is shown at lower right. An annual tally of the number of bursts Swift has detected appears below the label for each year. Background: An infrared view from the Two Micron All-Sky Survey. Swift is a multi-wavelength space observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Its three instruments work together to observe GRBs and their afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical wavebands. Based on continuous scans of the area of the sky with one of the instrument's monitors, Swift uses momentum wheels to autonomously slew into the direction of possible GRBs. The name "Swift" is not a mission-related acronym, but rather a reference to the instrument's rapid slew capability, and the nimble bird of the same name. All of Swift's discoveries are transmitted to the ground and those data are available to other observatories which join Swift in observing the GRBs.
Size: 4800px × 2807px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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