Swift images its first GRB
The upstart satellite imaged a gamma-ray burst even before it was fully operational.
By
Matthew Quandt —
Published:
January 25, 2005January 25, 2005
For the first time, a gamma ray burst (GRB) was imaged during its explosive act. An orbiting satellite named Swift accomplished this feat. A product of a NASA-led international collaboration launched November 20, 2004, Swift is designed to study the mysterious, powerful GRBs — the most explosive events in the universe since the Big Bang. On January 17, days before even being fully operational, two of Swift's three instruments successfully detected and imaged GRB050117. |
 NASA's Swift satellite made its first landmark observation at two-thirds full strength. Project scientists are optimistic about the young satellite's potential to solve the mystery of gamma ray bursts.
Photo by NASA /Sonoma State University / Aurore Simonnet
According to Neil Gehrels, Swift's principal investigator at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the image is the first "prompt X-ray emission from a gamma ray (burst), and Swift's first autonomous slew caught in the act."
Within an hour after the BAT detected the burst, its location was transmitted to ground-based stations for further analysis. Four hours later, four observatories were searching for GRB050117's optical and infrared emissions. For future detections, telescopes in orbit will join ground-based observatories and turn to the burst location to observe the afterglow and its surrounding region — dramatically increasing the amount of data captured.
Penn State University's David Burrows, the XRT team leader, said processing data from GRB050117 will take about 2 weeks — so neither an image of the burst nor conclusive results is available at this time. Project scientists think it likely the burst resulted in a new black hole.
Swift response
Swift locates and images the source of GRBs faster than any previous instrument. Most bursts last less than 10 seconds and few last 1 minute — so immediate response is critical for learning more about these mysterious phenomena.
Burrows emphasized the significance of quick detection and analysis: "Getting to the bursts before they fade gives us a chance to gather more clues to the burst's origin. The longer look gives us more light to look at and a bigger spectrum" to analyze.
In fact, project scientists wear beepers to alert them any time of day — when a GRB is detected.
According to Burrows, Swift data provides a time capsule from the first generation of star formation. Swift can peer deeper into the universe — farther back in time — than any previous instrument.
No optical image available
Swift's third instrument, the UltraViolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) was not yet operational to capture its own image of GRB050117.
Burrows says all the instruments will be operational days ahead of the scheduled February 1 goal.
On January 24, all three instruments completed gathering data from another burst, GRB050124. Not automated at the time, Swift focused its instruments on the burst 3 hours after its explosion. Each instrument executed its responsibilities successfully. |
