TITLE: GCN CIRCULAR NUMBER: 1878 SUBJECT: GRB 030217: Optical Observations at 4, 5, and 6 Days DATE: 03/02/25 16:26:25 GMT FROM: Stephen Holland at U. of Notre Dame S. T. Holland, P. M. Garnavich (Notre Dame), A. Hornstrup (Danish Space Research Institute), Barbara Mochejska, K. Z. Stanek (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), and H. Pedersen (Copenhagen) report We have obtained Rc-band images of most of the IPN error region for GRB 030217 (GCN 1872) using the 2.56-meter Nordic Optical Telescope on La Palma on 2003 Feb. 22 UT, and using the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory 1.2m telescope on Mt Hopkins, Arizona on 2003 Feb. 20, 21 and 22 UT. Our data cover approximately 80% of the IPN error region and are centred on the centre of the error region. No optical afterglow is visible in our images to the detection limit of the second generation Digital Sky Survey. The galaxy LCRS B122355.6-113041 is located at R.A. = 12:26:30.91, Dec. = -11:47:17.3 (J2000), which is just outside the northeast edge of the IPN error region. This galaxy has a magnitude of 17 and a redshift of 0.14 (Shectman et al., 1996, ApJ, 470, 172). We find no evidence for a variable source in or near this galaxy, but we urge observers with earlier data to check for a possible transient near this location. This message may be cited.