GCN Circular 45828
Subject
EP261007a/GRB 261007A: Einstein Probe detection of an X-ray transient
Event
Date
2026-10-07T08:56:40Z (15 hours ago)
From
EP Team at NAOC/CAS <ep_ta@bao.ac.cn>
Via
Web form
W.F. Wen (SZTU), Q.H. Lao, H.Y. Liu (NAO, CAS), L.N. Xu (USTC), X.H. Tang (THU) and C.C. Jin (NAO, CAS) on behalf of the Einstein Probe (EP) team:
We report on the detection of an X-ray transient by the Wide-field X-ray Telescope (WXT) on board the Einstein Probe (EP) mission, designated EP261007a. The transient triggered EP-WXT (ID: 01709321003) at 2026-10-07T06:47:00 (UTC). The WXT position of the source is R.A. = 11.629 deg, DEC = -17.694 deg (J2000) with an uncertainty of 3 arcmin in radius (90% C.L. statistical and systematic).
A follow-up observation with the Follow-up X-ray Telescope (FXT) was performed automatically. Within the WXT error circle, an uncatalogued X-ray source was detected at R.A. = 11.6137 deg, DEC = -17.6933 deg (J2000) with an uncertainty of 20 arcsec in radius (90% C.L. statistical and systematic).
We note that EP261007a is spatially consistent with GRB 261007A (GCN #45824, #45825). Further information will be updated when the telemetry data is received.
Launched on January 9, 2024, EP is a space X-ray observatory to monitor the soft X-ray sky with X-ray follow-up capability (Yuan et al. 2022, Handbook of X-ray and Gamma-ray Astrophysics).