Related papers: The Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope

The X-ray afterglows observed by Swift exhibit rich light-curves, with four phases of different decay rate. The temporal and spectral properties for a set of 47 bursts are used to identify the mechanisms which can explain these four phases.…

We describe telescopes and instruments that were developed and used for astronomical research in the ultraviolet (UV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelength ranges covered by these bands are…

UNIT (The Ukrainian synchronous Network of small Internet Telescopes) is a system of automated telescopes that search for simultaneous optical activity of transient objects associated with variable stars, small bodies of the Solar system,…

We present the earliest ultraviolet (UV) observations of the bright Type Ia supernova SN 2011fe/PTF11kly in the nearby galaxy M101 at a distance of only 6.4 Mpc. It was discovered shortly after explosion by the Palomar Transient Factory and…

The unique capabilities of Swift that make it ideal for discovery and follow-up of Gamma-Ray bursts also makes it the idea mission for discovery and monitoring of X-ray Transients in the Milky Way and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.…

Balloon-borne astronomy is unique in that it allows for a level of image stability, resolution, and optical backgrounds that are comparable to space-borne systems due to greatly reduced atmospheric interference, but at a fraction of the…

We present motivations for and study feasibility of a small, rapid optical to IR response gamma ray burst (GRB) space observatory. By analyzing existing GRB data, we give realistic detection rates for X-ray and optical/IR instruments of…

This paper reports on the current status of the World Space Observatory WSO-UV, a space mission for UV astronomy, planned for launch at the beginning of next decade. It is based on a 1.7 m telescope, with focal plane instruments including…

GRB 090926A was detected by both the GBM and LAT instruments on-board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. Swift follow-up observations began ~13 hours after the initial trigger. The optical afterglow was detected for nearly 23 days post…

At present, the precision of deep ultraviolet photometry is somewhat limited by the dearth of faint ultraviolet standard stars. In an effort to improve this situation, we present a uniform catalog of eleven new faint (u sim17) ultraviolet…

As part of a study funded by NASA Headquarters, we are developing a Probe-class mission concept called the Cosmic Evolution Through UV Spectroscopy (CETUS). CETUS includes a 1.5-m aperture diameter telescope with a large field-of-view…

We present multi-color optical observations of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) made over a three year period with the robotic Palomar 60 inch telescope (P60). Our sample consists of all 29 events discovered by Swift for which P60…

UV-SCOPE is a mission concept to determine the causes of atmospheric mass loss in exoplanets, investigate the mechanisms driving aerosol formation in hot Jupiters, and study the influence of the stellar environment on atmospheric evolution…

We present the first optical observations of a Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) afterglow using the 2-m robotic Liverpool Telescope (LT), which is owned and operated by Liverpool John Moores University and situated on La Palma. We briefly discuss the…

Three fields in the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud were observed by the Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) on board AstroSat, during 31 December 2017 and 01 January 2018. The observations were carried out on a total of seven…

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been detected up to GeV energies and are predicted by many models to emit in the very high energy (VHE, > 100 GeV) regime too. Detection of such emission would allow us to constrain GRB models. Since its launch,…

Since their discovery by the Beppo-SAX satellite in 1997, gamma-ray burst afterglows have attracted an ever-growing interest. They have allowed redshift measurements that have confirmed that gamma-ray bursts are located at cosmological…

The TAROT telescopes (Telescopes a Action Rapide pour les Objets Transitoires) are two robotic observatories designed to observe the prompt optical emission counterpart and the early afterglow of gamma ray bursts (GRBs). We present data…

Swift discovered XRF 050416A with the BAT and began observing it with its narrow field instruments only 64.5 s after the burst onset. Its very soft spectrum classifies this event as an X-ray flash. The afterglow X-ray emission was monitored…

The VT--VHF data comprise three types of onboard-processed data results generated from four sequential observational sequences and transmitted to the ground via a Very High Frequency (VHF) downlink. On the ground, these data are processed…