{
  "bibcode": "2003GCN..2481....1B",
  "body": "---------- Forwarded message ----------\nDate: Fri, 5 Dec 2003 23:45:21 -0500 (EST)\nFrom: Joshua Bloom <jbloom@cfa0.cfa.harvard.edu>\nTo: gcncirc@lheawww.gsfc.nasa.gov\nCc: scott@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov\nSubject: GRB 031203: Optical/IR Astrometry\n\nGRB 031203: Optical/IR Astrometry\n\nJ. S. Bloom, C. Bailyn, M. Buxton, B. Cobb, P. van Dokkum (Yale) and\nD. Gonzalez (CTIO),\n\npart of the larger SMARTS consortium, report:\n\n\"The position of the radio source in the XMM error box (Frail, priv.\ncommunication) is 0.43\" E and 0.80\" N from the bright source noted in Hsia\net al. (GCN #2470). However, as explained in Bloom et al. (GCN #2472) that\nsource itself is unlikely to be the afterglow since it was present in the\nDSS-II and did not vary significantly in the first night.\n\nAdditional data obtained between Dec. 5 UT=5:43 and UT=7:19 showed the\nsource at the same I-band flux as on Dec. 4 to within 0.05 mag.  On both\nDec. 4 and Dec. 5 the source is slightly but clearly elongated in ~1\"\nseeing.\n\nThe source-radio offset of 0.91\" is larger than the formal joint\n1 sigma uncertainty between the IR and the radio positional tie.\nIt is still unclear whether this bright source is the low redshift\nhost of the GRB or a foreground galaxy.\n\nSeparately, we note that inspection of the J-band ANDICAM imaging\nreported in the Bailyn et al. (GCN #2463) reveals a faint (J ~ 20)\nsource at:\n\n       RA: 08:02:30.36  DEC: -39:51:00.1 (J2000)\n       rms uncertainty relative to ICRF= 0.3 arcsec in RA and DEC\"\n\nThis is consistent with the XMM (#1) position.  A finding chart may\nbe found at:\n      http://www-cfa.harvard.edu/~jbloom/grb031203\n\nThis message may be cited.\n\n[original submit time at top of header]",
  "circularId": 2481,
  "createdOn": 1070731512000,
  "email": "jbloom@cfa.harvard.edu",
  "subject": "GRB 031203: Optical/IR Astrometry",
  "submitter": "Josh Bloom at Harvard/CFA  <jbloom@cfa.harvard.edu>",
  "eventId": "GRB 031203"
}