The swift ultra-violet/optical telescope

The Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) is one of three instruments flying aboard the Swift Gamma-ray Observatory. It is designed to capture the early (1 min) UV and optical photons from the afterglow of gamma-ray bursts in the 170-600 nm band as well as long term observations of these afterglows. This is accomplished through the use of UV and optical broadband filters and grisms. The UVOT has a modified Ritchey-Chrétien design with micro-channel plate intensified charged-coupled device detectors that record the arrival time of individual photons and provide sub-arcsecond positioning of sources. We discuss some of the science to be pursued by the UVOT and the overall design of the instrument.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]