Shock Interaction Breakout Emergence eXplorer (SIBEX)
SIBEX is the first multi-wavelength mission dedicated to observing shock breakout (SBO) explosions from supernovae and the earliest electromagnetic manifestations of neutron star mergers (NSMs). SIBEX will observe dozens of SBOs and NSMs and provide the earliest light curves and spectra, thus opening our understanding of these keystone astrophysical objects.
The Hot and Energetic Universe with ATHENA.
Athena (Advanced Telescope for High ENergy Astrophysics) is the X-ray observatory mission selected by ESA, within its Cosmic Vision programme, to address the Hot and Energetic Universe scientific theme. Athena will have a fast Target of Opportunity (ToO) observational capability, enabling the study of GRBs in the early Universe and X-ray counterparts of gravitational wave sources. Check the Athena Nuggets “Anticipating the unexpected” to know how its revolutionary capabilities will play an essential part in the quest to understand the ever-changing Universe .
GRBs and gravitational wave counterparts with RIMAS mounted on the 4.3m LDT telescope.
RIMAS (Rapid Imager and Spectrograph) is a new near-infrared instrument to be installed on the 4.3m Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT), and designed expressly to identify high-redshift gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). RIMAS will be continuously available for rapid-response (<3 minutes) observations of new transient sources, obtaining multi-color photometry and spectra to measure their redshifts and constrain properties of their host galaxies.
Gravitational Wave Counterparts and Neutrino Sources with DDOTI
The Deca-Degree Optical Transient Imager (DDOTI) employs six 28-cm telescopes with prime focus CCDs mounted on a common equatorial mount. Its instantaneous field of view of 69 square degrees is ideal to observed gravitational wave sources, neutrino events, and poorly localized gamma-ray bursts.
High-redshift GRBs, kilonovae and gravitational waves with RATIR
RATIR will observe gamma-ray burst afterglows in 6 simultaneous optical/NIR colors to weed out high-z bursts, enabling use of GRBs as potential probes to the epoch of reinionization in the early Universe.
Dr. Eleonora Troja 