{
  "bibcode": "2016GCN.20180....1M",
  "body": "Daniele Malesani (DARK/NBI and DTU Space), Thomas Kruehler (MPE), Kasper \nE. Heintz (Univ. Iceland and DARK/NBI), and Johan P. U. Fynbo (DARK/NBI) \nreport on behalf of a larger collaboration:\n\nWe observed the optical afterglow of GRB 161117A (Cummings et al., GCN \n20179) with the ESO VLT Kueyen equipped with the X-shooter spectrograph. \nIn the acquisition image, taken on 2016 Nov 17.097 UT (0.73 hr after the \nGRB), the optical afterglow is clearly detected with a magnitude R ~ 19 \n(assuming R = 18.10 for the USNO star at RA = 21:28:14.70, Dec = \n-29:37:08.8). The seeing was very poor, around 2.5\", and the sky \nconditions were partially cloudy.\n\nFour spectra by 600 s each were collected covering the full X-shooter \nwavelength range 3000-25,000 AA. A faint trace is detected, down to at \nleast 3800 ��. Superimposed on it, we are able to identify a number of \nabsorption features which we interpret as due to Mg I, Mg II, and Fe II, \nall at a common redshift z = 1.549.\n\nWe acknowledge excellent support from the ESO observing staff in Paranal,\nin particular Elizabeth Bartlett, Eleonora Sani, Steffen Mieske, and Jose\nVelasquez, and the visiting astronomers Gerard Gilmore, Amelia Bayo, and\nAurora Aguayo.\n\n[GCN OPS NOTE(17nov16):  Per author's request, the last paragraph was modified.]",
  "circularId": 20180,
  "createdOn": 1479371531000,
  "email": "malesani@dark-cosmology.dk",
  "subject": "GRB 161117A: VLT/X-shooter spectroscopy and redshift",
  "submitter": "Daniele Malesani at Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Inst  <malesani@dark-cosmology.dk>",
  "eventId": "GRB 161117A"
}