The Swift mission patch depicts both the spacecraft and the bird for which it was named. The observatory is named after a small, nimble bird that can grab up insects as it flies through the sky. Similarly, the observatory can swiftly turn and point its instruments to catch a gamma-ray burst "on the fly" to study both the burst and its afterglow. This afterglow phenomenon follows the initial gamma-ray flash in most bursts and it can linger in X-ray light, visible light and radio waves for hours or weeks, providing great detail for observations.