Swift: the science across the rainbow. Mission Overview and Highlights of Results

Abstract

I present an overview of the Swift mission, which was launched on November 20, 2004 to discover and observe the most energetic of astrophysical phenomena, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). After almost 6 years in space the Observatory is in excellent shape, with all systems and instruments performing nominally and in burst chasing mode for an average of 97% of the time. Swift is also a multi-purpose multi-frequency mission with the observing time evolving from mostly GRB targets, to mainly secondary science ones such as supernovae, cataclysmic variables and novae, active galactic nuclei, Galactic transients, active stars and comets. I present the most recent science highlights.

Invited talk at the 54th Meeting of the Italian Astronomical Society (Naples, May 4-7, 2010), to appear in Mem. SAIt. 8 pages, 8 figures (fixed bibliography)