TITLE:   GCN CIRCULAR
NUMBER:  764
SUBJECT: GRB 991208 Host Galaxy Imaging
DATE:    00/08/01 23:17:28 GMT
FROM:    Josh Bloom at CIT  <jsb@astro.caltech.edu>

GRB 991208 Host Galaxy Imaging

A. Diercks, J. S. Bloom, T. J. Galama, and S. R. Kulkarni report on
behalf of the larger Caltech-NRAO-CARA collaboration:

"We observed the field of GRB 991208 (Hurley et al. 1999, GCN #450) with
the with the Echellette Spectrograph and Imager (ESI) on the Keck II 10-m
Telescope on Mauna Kea at 4 April 2000 UT.  A 1200-s Gunn r-band image
with 0.75 arsec seeing (FWHM) reveals a galaxy at the location (Frail et
al. 2000, GCN #451) of the afterglow. This galaxy, the putative host of
GRB 991208, is likely responsible for the nebular emission lines
previously observed spectra of the transient (Dodonov et al. 1999, GCN
475; Bloom et al. 1999, GCN 464).  The galaxy appears extended with an
ellipticity of ~0.3 and PA= 106 +/- 6 degrees. Using differential
astrometry with respect to our early K-band image when the transient was
bright (Bloom et al. 1999, GCN #480), we find the GRB was 66 +/- 63 mas (1
sigma) from the center of the galaxy; i.e. the GRB location is consistent
with no offset from its host."

A 39" x 39" image of the field surrounding the host galaxy is posted at
   http://astro.caltech.edu/~ad/grb991208-host.ps

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