Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, shown in this illustration, launched into Earth orbit in November 2004. The satellite investigates gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic explosions in the universe. Swift observes the sky in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray light. Its name reflects its ability to rapidly follow up on interesting objects in the sky. Swift also studies supernova explosions, star-shredding black holes in other galaxies, comets, stellar remnants called neutron stars, and other cosmic phenomena. In 2018, NASA renamed Swift in honor of the late Neil Gehrels, who helped develop the mission and served as its principal investigator for 13 years.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (KBRwyle) ||

Animation of the Swift spacecraft. || Beauty pass animation showing the spacecraft moving into sunlight and past the Earth to end facing out into space. ||

Swift searches for Gamma Ray Bursts and stellar explosions || Swift leaves the darkness, camera zooms in to catch the spacecraft crossing Earth. || Swift departs Earth orbit || Transferring data to earth via TDRS spacecraft || Data transfer around the Earth || Approaching Swift in orbit - pause - camera moves behind Swift to catch a burst in progress. || Swift observing a gamma ray burst as it moves out into space. || A single burst at great distance || Swift turning quickly to observe a gamma ray burst in progress. ||

From the animation series - a few high resolution JPEG images || print1 || print2 || print3 || print4 || print5 || print6 ||

Click download button to select from a range of sizes.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center || This image and those that follow are drawings of the Swift spacecraft provided by the Orbital Space Sciences Corporation. Units are in inches.Credit: Orbital Space Science Corp. || Same as above.Credit: Orbital Space Sciences Corp. || Same as above.Credit: Orbital Space Sciences Corp. || Same as above.Credit: Orbital Space Sciences Corp. || Same as above.Credit: Orbital Space Sciences Corp. ||

No description available.

On Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013, NASA held a media teleconference to discuss new findings related to a brilliant gamma-ray burst detected on April 27. Audio of the teleconference is available for download here.Related feature story: www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-sees-watershed-cosmic-blast-in-unique-detail/.Audio of Sylvia Zhu interview for a Science Podcast. Briefing Speakers Introduction: Paul Hertz, NASA Astrophysics Division Director, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.Charles Dermer, astrophysicist, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.Thomas Vestrand, astrophysicist, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, N.M.Chryssa Kouveliotou, astrophysicist, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Presenter 1: Charles Dermer ||

A Chandra X-ray telescope image of Sagittarius-A || The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, seen in this image from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, may be producing mysterious particles called neutrinos, as described in our latest press release. Neutrinos are tiny particles that have virtually no mass and carry no electric charge. Unlike light or charged particles, neutrinos can emerge from deep within their sources and travel across the Universe without being absorbed by intervening matter or, in the case of charged particles, deflected by magnetic fields.Using three NASA X-ray telescopes, Chandra, Swift, and NuSTAR, scientists have found evidence for one such cosmic source for high-energy neutrinos: the 4-million-solar-mass black hole at the center of our Galaxy called Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*, for short). After comparing the arrival of high-energy neutrinos at the underground facility in Antarctica, called IceCube, with outbursts from Sgr A*, a team of researchers found a correlation. This Chandra image shows the region around Sgr A* in low, medium, and high-energy X-rays that have been colored red, green, and blue respectively. Sgr A* is located within the white area in the center of the image. The blue and orange plumes around that area may be the remains of outbursts from Sgr A* that occurred millions of years ago. The flares that are possibly associated with the IceCube neutrinos involve just the Sgr A* X-ray source. ||

Watch what scientists think happens when a black hole tears apart a hot, dense white dwarf star. A team working with observations from NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory suggest this process explains a mysterious outburst known as AT2018cow. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: "Curious Events" from Killer TracksWatch this video on the JPL YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || A brief and unusual flash spotted in the night sky on June 16, 2018, puzzled astronomers and astrophysicists across the globe. The event, called AT2018cow and nicknamed “the Cow” after the coincidental last letters of its official designation, is unlike any celestial outburst ever seen before, prompting multiple theories about its source. Over three days, the Cow produced a sudden explosion of light at least 10 times brighter than a typical supernova, and then it faded over the next few months. This unusual event occurred near a star-forming galaxy known as CGCG 137-068, located about 200 million light-years away in the constellation Hercules. Using data from multiple NASA missions, including the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and ESA’s (the European Space Agency's) XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL missions, two groups have provided possible explanations for the Cow’s origins. One group argues that the Cow is a monster black hole shredding a passing star. The second group hypothesizes that it is a supernova — a stellar explosion — that gave birth to a black hole or a neutron star. Whatever its source, the Cow represents a stellar death scenario not previously seen. ||

Live shot b-rollFor more information see: NASA Missions Catch First Light From A Gravitational-Wave-Event || An exciting discovery out of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center! The bling in your ring is a product of the most violent kind of explosion in the universe. Suggested Anchor Intro:Yesterday scientists announced another giant discovery in the physics world. This time, it involves the most powerful explosion in the universe, head-banging stars and a cosmic gold rush. We have NASA scientist *NAME* here to give us a bite-sized astrophysics lesson. While observing a galaxy 130 million light-years away, NASA scientists became the first to see a gamma-ray burst caused by two neutron stars smashing into each other. Join some of these brilliant minds from 6:00-11:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 17, for a bite-sized astrophysics lesson about an exciting discovery: many precious metals on Earth are remnants of these stellar collisions. This particular explosion produced 500 times the mass of Earth in platinum and 200 times the mass of Earth in gold. Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful explosions in the cosmos. Most occur when a massive star collapses under its own weight as it nears the end of its life. For decades scientists have suspected these bursts might also come from something else: collisions between neutron stars, the smallest and densest stars known to exist — they were right. Black holes merge darkly, but neutron stars do so with a splash. Matter is packed so tightly in neutron stars that a sugar cube-sized amount of material would weigh as much as Mount Everest. So, as it turns out, a neutron star merger can fuel the creation of precious metals and scatter them across the universe — precisely how gold, platinum and dozens of other elements arrived at Earth. We now know that a neutron star merger is powerful enough to cause ripples in space-time, just as a rock thrown into a pond creates ripples in the water. The discovery of these gravitational waves earned three physicists a 2017 Nobel Prize. This neutron star collision marks the first time scientists have been able to pinpoint exactly where gravitational waves originated. This discovery brings remarkable new insights into the physics behind the most powerful explosions in the universe — and a reminder that we're surrounded by the stuff of stars. Suggested Questions:1. Walk us through this incredible discovery. What did you see?2. So, the gold in my ring is stardust? How did these heavy metals get to Earth?3. This isn't the first time you've seen an explosion like this. Why is this one so special?4. The science community is pretty excited about gravitational waves. What are they?5. Where can we learn more?Location: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Greenbelt, Maryland Scientists:Dr. Brad Cenko / NASA Astrophysicist, Goddard Space Flight CenterDr. Paul Hertz / Director, Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Headquarters Dr. Julie McEnery / NASA Astrophysicist, Goddard Space Flight Center To book a window contact: 
Micheala Sosby / micheala.m.sosby@nasa.gov / 301-286-8199 ||

NASM 2015 Presentation - Our Violent Universe || On September 23, 2015, NASA held a special event at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. “Our Violent Universe” put a spotlight on the latest high energy astrophysics research coming out of NASA, highlighting key missions such as Swift, Fermi, Chandra, NuSTAR, and Hubble. NASA scientists who are leaders in this field gave presentations on some of the most exciting events in our universe, including black holes, supernovae, and gamma ray bursts. NASA does an annual presentation at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum to share the latest science from the agency. ||