In a low resolution (R=500) mode with a wavelength coverage of 4000Å, the slits can be separated by 5' in the spectral direction. Assuming 8'' slitlets, and no space between slitlets in the spatial direction, each arm of the spectrograph can observe about 2200 targets, and each SWIFT observation results in about 9,000 non-overlapping spectra. At very high resolutions (R>10,000) targetting specific spectral regions, observations can be prefiltered through a narrower bandpass (delta-lambda < 150 A) and even larger numbers of slits (>10,000) can be used. In a mode requiring spectral observations at R=5000 covering about 2000Å, the slits can be separated by about 30', resulting in 2,000 slits over the entire 1.5 degree field.
Innovations using `microslits', tiny apertures in size, used in conjuction with telescope nodding and simultaneous charge-shuffling, can permit an increase in the slit density by a factor of 10, allowing simultaneous spectroscopy of nearly 105 targets! Recent experiments with this technique at the Anglo-Australian Telescope have been successful, and these methods show great promise (see AAO Newsletter of November 1998). We will also explore slitless spectroscopic modes of operation.