Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory

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) || swift_spacecraft_update_still.jpg (1920x1080) [769.2 KB] || swift_spacecraft_update_still_print.jpg (1024x576) [328.5 KB] || swift_spacecraft_update_still_searchweb.png (320x180) [94.8 KB] || swift_spacecraft_update_still_web.png (320x180) [94.8 KB] || swift_spacecraft_update_still_thm.png (80x40) [6.5 KB] || swift_spacecraft_update_HQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [47.7 MB] || swift_spacecraft_update_LQ.mp4 (1920x1080) [24.7 MB] || swift_spacecraft_update_prores.mov (1920x1080) [255.2 MB] || swift_spacecraft_update_HQ.webm (1920x1080) [2.2 MB] ||

Animation of the Swift spacecraft. ||

Swift searches for Gamma Ray Bursts and stellar explosions ||

From the animation series - a few high resolution JPEG images || print1 || SwiftPrint1.jpg (1440x972) [1.6 MB] || SwiftPrint1_web.png (320x216) [381.5 KB] || SwiftPrint1_thm.png (80x40) [32.8 KB] || SwiftPrint1_searchweb.png (320x180) [128.5 KB] || print2 || SwiftPrint2.jpg (1440x972) [1.3 MB] || SwiftPrint2_web.png (320x216) [327.0 KB] || print3 || SwiftPrint3.jpg (1440x972) [1.8 MB] || SwiftPrint3_web.png (320x216) [381.8 KB] ||

This infographic summarizes key aspects of NASA's Swift mission, from its instruments to scientific results gleaned from 20 years of operations. Swift is still going strong, and the observatory remains a key part of NASA’s strategy to monitor the changing sky with multiple telescopes using different approaches for studying the cosmos.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterClick the download button to select from a range of sizes. || Swift_20_Infographic_Quarter.jpg (1550x1991) [1.2 MB] || Swfit_20_Poster_CMYK.jpg (6200x7965) [19.2 MB] || Swift_20_Infographic_Full.jpg (6200x7965) [7.4 MB] || Swift_20_Infographic_Full.png (6200x7965) [34.2 MB] || Swift_20_Infographic_Half.jpg (3100x3983) [3.2 MB] || Swift_20_Infographic_Half.png (3100x3983) [10.5 MB] || Swift_20_Infographic_Full.jpg.dzi [178 bytes] || Swift_20_Infographic_Full.jpg_files [4.0 KB] ||

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 || chandra_sagittarius_a_20150105_print.jpg (1024x576) [116.5 KB] || chandra_sagittarius_a_20150105_searchweb.png (320x180) [74.8 KB] || chandra_sagittarius_a_20150105_web.png (320x180) [74.8 KB] || chandra_sagittarius_a_20150105_thm.png (80x40) [5.7 KB] || chandra_sagittarius_a_20150105_1080p.mp4 (1920x1080) [636.7 KB] || chandra_sagittarius_a_20150105_720p.webm (1280x720) [290.3 KB] || chandra_sagittarius_a_20150105_720p.mp4 (1280x720) [319.4 KB] || chandra_sagittarius_a_20150105_2160p.mp4 (3840x2160) [1.8 MB] || chandra_sagittarius_a_20150105_360p.mp4 (640x360) [94.2 KB] || chandra_sagittarius_a_20150105.tif (3840x2160) [7.3 MB] ||

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. || AT2018COW_Labeled_Still_3_print.jpg (1024x576) [66.0 KB] || AT2018COW_Labeled_Still_3.jpg (3840x2160) [494.0 KB] || AT2018COW_Labeled_Still_3_searchweb.png (320x180) [56.8 KB] || AT2018COW_Labeled_Still_3_thm.png (80x40) [5.5 KB] || AT2018COW_Labeled_Music_Intro_3_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [116.5 MB] || AT2018COW_Labeled_Music_Intro_3_1080p.mov (1920x1080) [161.2 MB] || AT2018COW_Labeled_Music_Intro_3_1080.webm (1920x1080) [13.2 MB] || AT2018COW_Labeled_Music_Intro_3_ProRes_3840x2160.mov (3840x2160) [4.7 GB] || AT2018COW_Labeled_Music_Intro_3_4k.mp4 (3840x2160) [436.5 MB] || AT2018COW_Labeled_Music_Intro_3_4K.mov (3840x2160) [241.6 MB] || AT2018COW_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [1.2 KB] || AT2018COW_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [1.3 KB] ||

Live shot b-rollFor more information see: NASA Missions Catch First Light From A Gravitational-Wave-Event || 014_Broll.00001_print.jpg (1024x576) [111.1 KB] || 014_Broll.00001_searchweb.png (320x180) [78.4 KB] || 014_Broll.00001_thm.png (80x40) [6.8 KB] || 014_Broll.webm (1280x720) [30.2 MB] || 014_Broll.mp4 (1280x720) [469.2 MB] || 014_Broll.mov (1280x720) [4.2 GB] || 014_Broll_2.mov (1280x720) [4.2 GB] ||

NASM 2015 Presentation - Our Violent Universe || poster-VX-73356-00-00-25,41.jpg (1280x720) [159.6 KB] || poster-VX-73356-00-00-25,41_searchweb.png (320x180) [94.7 KB] || poster-VX-73356-00-00-25,41_thm.png (80x40) [6.8 KB] || APPLE_TV_G2015-086_NASM_2015_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [1.6 GB] || NASA_TV_G2015-086_NASM_2015.mpeg (1280x720) [10.9 GB] || WMV_G2015-086_NASM_2015_HD.wmv (1280x720) [630.3 MB] || YOUTUBE_HQ_G2015-086_NASM_2015_youtube_hq.mov (1280x720) [8.3 GB] || G2015-086_NASM_2015_edited.mov (1280x720) [29.2 GB] || WEBM_G2015-086_NASM_2015.webm (960x540) [1.3 GB] || APPLE_TV_G2015-086_NASM_2015_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [1.6 GB] || G2015-086_NASM2015.en_US.srt [77.0 KB] || G2015-086_NASM2015.en_US.vtt [72.4 KB] || NASA_PODCAST_G2015-086_NASM_2015_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [589.1 MB] ||