Neil Gehrels Swift

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The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, also known as Explorer 84 or simply Swift, is a NASA space observatory launched in 2004 for studying gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and monitoring their afterglow in X-ray, and UV/Visible light. While originally designed for the study of gamma-ray bursts, Swift now functions as a general-purpose multi-wavelength observatory, particularly for the rapid followup and characterization of astrophysical transients of all types. As of 2020, Swift received 5.5 Target of Opportunity observing proposals per day, and observes ~70 targets per day, on average

The Swift Observatory being constructed at a clean room in JPL, 2003

Launch on a Delta II rocket, 2004-Nov-20

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