Re: Swift grb satelitte

From: Craig Markwardt (craigmnet_at_REMOVEcow.physics.wisc.edu)
Date: 02/16/05 

Date: 16 Feb 2005 03:41:02 -0600

"George Dishman" <george@briar.demon.co.uk> writes:
>
> OK, I apologise to you and Swift, and I certainly didn't
> intend to suggest the quality was below par. However I
> think that Sean is expecting too much. The way he has
> been talking suggests he expects to get X-ray spectra
> from which individual lines can easily be identified
> a matter of minutes after the GRB is detected and that,
> if the team didn't _design_ the instruments to do that,
> they were negligent.

Actually, Swift *was* designed to do this kind of work. But one must
be aware of the limitations of the space environment; and that some
bursts will not have detectable afterglows; and that Swift is still in
the calibration phase of the mission.

> Indeed, and I am aware that that means they must be as
> good as the ones that flew previously so it makes sense
> to use them. My impression was that Sean had the idea that
> instruments were custom designed for every mission.

In many respects, the instrument *do* have a lot of customizations.
What "Sean" is expecting is that Swift will observe everything
perfectly. That is unlikely, given all the intrinsic and extrinsic
variables.

...
> That's why I suggested to Sean that he have a little
> patience. With a little luck, random chance will at
> some point give a burst in the middle of the FoV when
> the constraints don't come into play and we should get
> some good results, it's just a matter of time.

As I said to Sean, even if the burst is in the center of the field of
view, that doesn't necessarily get you away from the SAA problem. You
are right, though, that such a burst is less likely to be constrained.

Craig 

-- 
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Craig B. Markwardt, Ph.D.      EMAIL: craigmnet@REMOVEcow.physics.wisc.edu
Astrophysics, IDL, Finance, Derivatives | Remove "net" for better response
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