Swift Image Swift is a first-of-its-kind multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments work together to observe GRBs and their afterglows at gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet (UV), and optical wavelengths. It is part of NASA's medium explorer (MIDEX) program and has been developed by an international collaboration of Italy, the United Kingdom, and the USA. On May 11, 2005 a press release by Goddard Space Flight Center reported the first-time view of a short-term gamma burst that marked the birth of a black hole which is suspected to have been created when two older black holes or two neutron stars collided.

Find Out More

• Official Swift Site at PSU

• Goddard Space Flight Center Swift Site
• Penn State Swift Photos

Recent Developments

• 15 May 2006 - A press release entitled "X-rays Fly as Cracking Comet Streaks Across the Sky" writes that scientists using NASA's Swift satellite have detected X-rays from a comet that is now passing the Earth and rapidly disintegrating on what could be its final orbit around the sun. View Article
• 7 March 2006 - In this week's issue of Nature, scientists at Penn State University and their U.S. and European colleagues discuss how this explosion, detected on 4 September 2005, was the result of a massive star collapsing into a black hole. View Article
• 24 February 2006 - A press release on the Swift satellite reported that the Swift has detected a cosmic explosion that has sent scientists around the world scrambling to telescopes to document this startling event. Gamma-ray radiation from the source, detected on 18 February and lasting about half an hour, appears to be a precursor to a supernova, which is the death throes of a star much more massive than the Sun. View Article