A NASA space telescope launched in 2004 and designed to rapidly slew toward gamma-ray bursts within seconds of detecting them, then observe the fading afterglow across X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavelengths. Renamed in 2018 for its long-time principal investigator Neil Gehrels, it remains a leading instrument for time-critical, rapid-response astronomy.
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Operated By
Penn State is the science-operations partner, not a matching agency entity in this atlas.
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Wikipedia)Lead section
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1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation- Observing Band: Gamma-ray
2. Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph
is a NASA three-instrument space observatory
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, Wikipedia - lead section, observing band (gammaray)
The burst detection rate is 100 per year, with a sensitivity ~3 times greater than the BATSE detector aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
Article text: start of operations
It was launched on 20 November 2004, aboard a Delta II launch vehicle.
Operated By: NASA, Lead section
Swift is a NASA MIDEX (medium-class Explorer) mission, operated by Pennsylvania State University.
In Group: X-ray and Gamma-Ray Space Observatories, Lead sentence
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, previously called the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer, is a NASA three-instrument space observatory for studying gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and monitoring the afterglow in X-ray and UV/visible light at the location of a burst.
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