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GRB 050525A, GRB 050525

GCN Circular 3855

Subject
GRB050525, GRB050607, GRB050802 BVRcIc field photometry
Date
2005-08-22T15:26:26Z (21 years ago)
From
Arne A. Henden at AAVSO <arne@aavso.org>
A. Henden (AAVSO/USNO) reports on behalf of the USNO GRB Team:

We have acquired BVRcIc all-sky photometry for 23x23arcmin
fields centered on the coordinates of recent GRB localizations
with the USNOFS 1.0-m telescope on 1 or 2 photometric nights
but with bright moonlight and variable seeing.  Stars brighter
than V=12.0 are saturated and should be used with care.  We have
placed the photometric data on our anonymous ftp site:

ftp://ftp.nofs.navy.mil/pub/outgoing/aah/grb/grb050525.dat
ftp://ftp.nofs.navy.mil/pub/outgoing/aah/grb/grb050607.dat
ftp://ftp.nofs.navy.mil/pub/outgoing/aah/grb/grb050802.dat

The astrometry in these files is based on linear plate solutions
with respect to UCAC2 or USNO-A2.0.  The external errors are usually
200mas or better.  The estimated external photometric error is
about 0.03mag.  Some fields are relatively crowded, and the
large apertures required to handle the variable seeing also
blended some measurements, so choose comparison stars wisely.
We have one additional night for GRB050525 that will be
added when reductions are complete.

As always, you should check the dates on the .dat file prior to
final publication to get the latest photometry.  There is
a README file on the ftp directory to give you information
about the procedures used to calibrate these fields.

GCN Circular 3721

Subject
Correction to GCN Circ 3476 on GRB050525A
Date
2005-08-01T14:46:46Z (21 years ago)
From
Jean-Luc Atteia at Lab d Astrophys.,OMP,Toulouse <atteia@ast.obs-mip.fr>
J-L. Atteia & A. Pelangeon (LAT-OMP) report:

Taking into account the revised value of the fluence of GRB 050525a provided
by Golenetskii et al. in GCN 3660, we have re-computed the pseudo-redshift of
GRB 050525a (using the method described in Atteia, 2003, A&A, 407, L1).

We find a pseudo-redshift pz=0.64 +/- 0.1, in good agreement with the
spectroscopic redshift z=0.606

GCN Circular 3660

Subject
Correction to GCN Circ 3474 on GRB050525A
Date
2005-07-21T14:58:14Z (21 years ago)
From
Valentin Pal'shin at Ioffe Inst <val@mail.ioffe.ru>
S. Golenetskii, R.Aptekar, E. Mazets, V. Pal'shin, D. Frederiks, and
T. Cline on behalf of the Konus-Wind team report:

In GCN 3474 we reported wrong value of the Konus-Wind fluence
for GRB 050525A (because of missprinting).
The correct value is (2.06 +/- 0.02)10-5 erg/cm2 .
The reported peak flux and spectral parameters were correct.

We thank Dr. Hurley for noticing this error.

GCN Circular 3568

Subject
GRB 050525a: PROMPT VRcIc Detections
Date
2005-07-06T19:25:10Z (21 years ago)
From
Josh Haislip at U.North Carolina <haislip@physics.unc.edu>
J. Haislip, C. MacLeod, M. Nysewander, A. Foster, J. A. Crain, D. Reichart,
M. Bayliss, J. Kirschbrown, and C. Mack report on behalf of the UNC team of
the FUN GRB Collaboration:

We observed the BAT localization of GRB 050525a (Band et al., GCN 3466)
with PROMPT-5 beginning 5.3 hours after the burst.  We detect the afterglow
(Rykoff et al., GCN 3465) in VRcIc across multiple epochs.

Using the field calibration of Nysewander et al. (GCN 3566), we find that
Rc = 19.84 +/- 0.11 mag at a mean time of 8.1 hours after the burst.

PROMPT is still being built and commissioned.

GCN Circular 3567

Subject
GRB 050525a: ARC 3.5-meter Optical and NIR Observations
Date
2005-07-06T19:00:54Z (21 years ago)
From
Don Lamb at U.Chicago <lamb@oddjob.uchicago.edu>
GRB 050525a: ARC 3.5-meter Optical and NIR Observations

J. Flasher (Colorado), F. Hearty (Colorado), G. Stringfellow
(Colorado), J. Walawender (Colorado), D. Q. Lamb (Chicago), D. G. York
(Chicago), G. Wallerstein (Washington), V. Woolf (Washington), S.
Anderson (Washington), J. Dembicky (APO), J. Barentine (APO), R.
McMillan (APO), and B. Ketzeback (APO) report on behalf of the ARC GRB
team of the FUN GRB collaboration:

We observed the afterglow (Rykoff et al., GCN Circular No. 3465;
Malesani et al., GCN Circular No. 3469) of GRB 050525a, a burst
localized by Swift/BAT (Band et al., GCN Circular No. 3466; Markwardt
et al., GCN Circular No. 3467), on the night of May 24th, using SPIcam
and NIC-FPS on the ARC 3.5-meter telescope at Apache Point
Observatory.  The observation began at 08.33 UT on 25 May 2005 (8.28
hours after the burst) and ended at 11.07 UT on 25 May 2005 (11.02
hours after the burst).  The observation consisted of two 300-second
exposures each in r, i, and z; and a series of 60-, 60-, 10-, and
10-second exposures in Z, J, H, and Ks, respectively.  We have
constructed stacked images of the GRB field, corresponding to 10-minute
integrations in r, i, z, and Z; and 20-minute integrations in J, H, and
Ks.  We detect the afterglow in all seven filters, and measure J = 18.3
� 0.1 at 09:50 UT (the mid-point time of the J-band observation),
calibrated relative to the 2MASS stars in the field.

NIC-FPS is currently in its commissioning phase.

This message may be cited.

GCN Circular 3566

Subject
GRB 050525a: ARC 3.5-Meter SPIcam Field Calibration
Date
2005-07-06T18:42:11Z (21 years ago)
From
Melissa Nysewander at UNC,Chapel Hill <mnysewan@physics.unc.edu>
M. Nysewander (North Carolina), J. Flasher (Colorado), F. Hearty
(Colorado), G. Stringfellow (Colorado), J. Walawender (Colorado), D. Q.
Lamb (Chicago), J. Dembicky (APO), J. Barentine (APO), R. McMillan (APO),
B. Ketzeback (APO), D. Reichart (North Carolina), and D. G. York (Chicago)
report on behalf of the FUN GRB collaboration:

Using griz all-sky photometry of a 4.8 arcmin x 4.8 arcminute field
centered on the coordinates of the optical afterglow of GRB 0505025a that
was derived from ARC 3.5-meter SPIcam observations made between 4:00 and
7:00 UT on 2005 June 13, we have calculated the griz magnitudes of 103
sources in the field of GRB 050525a:

http://www.physics.unc.edu/~mnysewan/grb050525a.dat

The astrometry in these files is based on the USNO B1.0-catalogue. The
estimated systematic errors in the astrometry are less than 400mas.  The
estimated systematic photometric errors are typically � 0.05 mag in the gri
bands and � 0.06 mag in the z band.

GCN Circular 3551

Subject
GRB 050525A: Swift Late-Time Decay Rate
Date
2005-06-21T20:27:28Z (21 years ago)
From
Stephen Holland at USRA/NASA/GSFC/SSC <sholland@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov>
GRB 050525A: Swift Late-Time Decay Rate

S. T. Holland, (GSFC/USRA), D. Band (GXFC), A. Blustin (MSSL), P. Boyd
(GSFC/UMBC), F. Marshall (GSFC), K. Mason (MSSL), M. Perri (ASI),
A. Breeveld (MSSL), P. Brown, A. Cucchiara, C. Gronwall, S.
Hunsberger, M. Ivanushkina (PSU), W. Landsman (GSFC), K. McGowan
(MSSL), A. Morgan (PSU), M. De Pasquale, T. Poole (MSSL), P. Roming
(PSU), S. Rosen, (MSSL), P. Schady (MSSL), M. Still (GSFC/USRA),
J. Nousek (PSU), N. Gehrels (GSFC), on behalf of the Swift UVOT team
report:

      Swift/UVOT data suggest that there is a jet break at 17,979 s
(0.205 d) after the BAT trigger (Band et al. 2005, GCN 3466) in the
optical/ultraviolet afterglow of GRB 050525A.  The observed decay
index after the jet break is -1.73.  The Swift/XRT data also show a
late-time break followed by a steep power-law decay.  If we
extrapolate the UVOT late-time decay to the time of the HST F625W
observation (Soderberg 2005, GCN 3550) the predicted magnitude of the
optical afterglow is approximately V = 27.4.  Therefore the HST
observations suggest that the optical afterglow of GRB 050525A was
approximately three magnitudes brighter at 18 days after the burst
than expected from the fireball model alone.  More data are needed to
determine if this additional luminosity is due to a host galaxy or
some form of rebrightening such as a supernova or a dust echo.

GCN Circular 3550

Subject
GRB050525a: HST Observations
Date
2005-06-16T15:43:35Z (21 years ago)
From
Alicia Soderberg at Caltech <ams@astro.caltech.edu>
A. M. Soderberg (Caltech) reports on behalf of the Caltech-NRAO-Carnegie
collaboration:

"We observed the field of GRB050525a (GCN 3466) with HST+ACS/WFC on 12 Jun
2005 UT (t~18 days) as part of our HST Cycle 13 program to study the
supernovae associated with gamma-ray bursts and X-ray flashes (GO 10135;
PI Kulkarni).  Coincident with the afterglow position (GCN 3468), we
detect a point source superposed on top of a compact galaxy.  Within a 0.5
arcsec aperture, we find the host+OT system to be F625W ~ 24.2 mag (Vega).
Adopting this value as a limit on the brightness of an associated
supernova, we find that the SN associated with GRB050525a is at least ~0.6
magnitudes fainter than SN1998bw at a comparable epoch (assuming
negligible host extinction).  Further observations are planned."

GCN Circular 3532

Subject
GRB 050525a, Mid-Infrared Observations
Date
2005-06-07T22:53:44Z (21 years ago)
From
Peter Garnavich at U of Notre Dame <pgarnavi@nd.edu>
P. Garnavich (Notre Dame), M. Pahre (CfA), A. Noriega-Crespo (CalTech),
K.Z. Stanek (CfA, OSU), S.T. Holland (GSFC), D. Bersier (STScI),
T. Matheson (NOAO), R. Perna (U. Colorado), K. Krisciunas (Notre Dame)

After confirmation of a bright optical afterglow associated with
GRB 050525 (Band et al. GCN 3466; Rykoff et al. GCN 3465;3468) we
triggered a "target-of-opportunity" (ToO) program on the Spitzer Space
Telescope. Observations began on May 27.26 (UT), or 2.26 days
after the burst, with IRAC imaging followed by IRS spectroscopy,
MIPS mapping and finally another epoch of IRAC images ending on
May 27.56 (UT).

Soon after triggering the ToO, the brightness of the afterglow
switched to a steeper decline rate (Mirabal et al. GCN 3488;
Kaplan et al. GCN 3507) making a rapid response essential.

The first epoch of imaging shows point source at the position of the
afterglow (Rykoff et al. GCN 3468; Yanagisawa et al. GCN 3489)
in the 3.6,4.5 and 8.0 micron IRAC channels and in the 24 micron
MIPS band.

A second epoch of IRAC imaging and MIPS mapping was performed
on May 29. The source is seen to fade in IRAC between the two
epochs of the first visit and is beyond the detection limit
during the second visit. The MIPS 24 micron source is also
seen to fade between visits.

This is the first confirmed detection of a GRB afterglow at
mid-infrared wavelengths. Preliminary estimate of the flux in
the IRAC channels combined with K-band observations of Kaplan et al.
(GCN 3507) suggests a spectral energy distribution consistent
with a power-law. The index of the power-law  between 2 and 8 microns
is 1.3+/-0.2. This is surprisingly steep and further analysis
is continuing.

The IRAC 3.6 micron images taken at two epochs can be viewed at:
http://www.nd.edu/~pgarnavi/grb050525/irac.jpg

We thank Nancy Silbermann and the Spitzer Science Center for
rapidly responding to a complex target-of-opportunity observation.

This message may be cited.

GCN Circular 3507

Subject
GRB 050525a, infrared observations
Date
2005-06-01T16:50:24Z (21 years ago)
From
Peter Garnavich at U of Notre Dame <pgarnavi@nd.edu>
D. Kaplan (MIT), P. Garnavich (Notre Dame), J. Rosenberg (CfA)
  and K.Z. Stanek (CfA, Ohio State)

The field of GRB 050525a (Band et al. GCN 3466) was imaged
with the PANIC infrared camera on the Baade telescope of the
Magellan Observatory on May 26 and 27 (UT) and we detect the
afterglow (Rykoff et al. GCN 3465;3468) in the Ks-band on
both nights. Using the 2MASS calibrated stars in the field
we find the afterglow on May 26.278 (UT) to have Ks=19.2+/-0.1.

We also have properly calibrated the FLWO observation obtained
on May 25 (Rosenberg & Garnavich GCN 3471) and combined all three
nights of data. We find that the afterglow light curve in the
K-band is well represented by a power-law decay with a slope
of -1.6 and Ks=18.75 one day after the burst.

This message may be cited.

GCN Circular 3506

Subject
GRB 050525a, SMARTS optical/IR afterglow observations
Date
2005-05-31T20:45:24Z (21 years ago)
From
Bethany Cobb at Yale U <cobb@astro.yale.edu>
B. E. Cobb and C. D. Bailyn (Yale), part of the larger SMARTS 
consortium, report:
 
Using the ANDICAM instrument on the 1.3m telescope at CTIO, we
obtained simultaneous optical/IR imaging of the error region of
GRB 050525a (Band et al. GCN 3466). Several dithered images were obtained
in each filter, with total summed exposure times of 180s in each of BRIYJK 
and 120s in each of H and V.  Imaging was carried out in a symmetrical 
manner so that the mid-exposure time is the same for all final combined 
images, in this case being ~5.2 hours post-burst (2005-05-25 05:13 UT). 
 
The afterglow reported by Rykoff et al. (GCNs 3465, 3468) is detected in 
each summed image, though the source appears only slightly above the 
background.  Preliminary comparison with USNO B1.0 stars in the optical 
and 2MASS stars in the IR yields the following approximate afterglow magnitudes:
 
 filter          AG mag
 ------          ------
 B               18.8+/-0.4
 R               18.1+/-0.3
 I               18.8+/-0.3
 
 J               17.4+/-0.3
 H               16.6+/-0.3
 K               16.15+/-0.35
 
Furthermore, a second epoch of imaging was obtained at a mid-exposure time 
of ~53.4 hours post-burst (2005-05-27 05:27 UT).  Total summed exposure 
times for these images was 36 min in I and 30 min in J.  The afterglow 
experienced significant decay between epochs and is not detectable in the 
second epoch images to a limiting magnitude of I > 21.2+/-0.2 
and J > 18.8+/-0.1.

GCN Circular 3495

Subject
GRB050525a: Radio Observations
Date
2005-05-28T05:31:14Z (21 years ago)
From
Patrick B. Cameron at Caltech <pbc@astro.caltech.edu>
P. B. Cameron (Caltech) and D. A. Frail (NRAO) report on behalf of
the Caltech-NRAO-Carnegie GRB Collaboration:

"We observed the field of GRB050525a (GCN#3466) using the Very Large Array
at a frequency of 22.5 GHz on May 25.42 UT and May 26.36 UT. We detect a
radio source at the position of the optical transient (GCN#3468)."

GCN Circular 3493

Subject
GRB 050525: RTT150, Optical observations
Date
2005-05-27T15:44:50Z (21 years ago)
From
Irek Khamitov at TUG <irekk@tug.tug.tubitak.gov.tr>
Z. Aslan, I. Khamitov, T. Ozisik, K. Uluc (TUG), U. Kiziloglu (METU),
I. Bikmaev, N. Sakhibullin (KSU/AST), A. Alpar (SabUni),
A.Yaskovich, R.Burenin, M. Pavlinsky, R. Sunyaev (IKI),
report:

     We have observed the field of OT of GRB 050525  (Rykoff et al, GCN3465)
with 2k*2k Andor CCD attached to the Russian-Turkish 1.5-m telescope
(Bakirlitepe, Turkey) in VRc bands.
     We made series of 5*90s exposures in V, starting at 00:22UT May 26,
and 20*60s exposures in Rc, starting at 01:18 UT May 26.
    On 20 co-added R-images we clearly see the OT at the position

RA = 18:32:32.57 (2000.0), DEC=+26:20:22.5 (2000.0)

based on the USNO-B1 catalog,  its uncertainty is about 0.1 arcsec.

We estimate m_R magnitude of OT using USNO-B1 as 21.76+/-0.17 
corresponding to the midtime of 25.5 hours after the burst.

This message may be cited.

GCN Circular 3492

Subject
GRB050525a: optical upper limits
Date
2005-05-27T14:01:46Z (21 years ago)
From
Vasilij Rumjantsev at CrAO <rum@crao.crimea.ua>
V.Rumyantsev (CrAO), G. Kornienko, A. Erofeeva, (UAPhO), A.Pozanenko (IKI)
on behalf of larger GRB follow up collaboration report:

We have observed the refined error box    (Cummings et al., GCN 3449) of the
Swift GRB050525a (Band et al., GCN 3466)  with 0.4m telescope of  Ussuriysk
Astrophysical Observatory (UAPhO), and AT-64 telescope of CrAO on May, 25.
We do not detect OT found by Rykoff et al., (GCN 3465). Upper limits of
unfiltered stacked images calibrated against of R USNO-A2.0 are following:

Mean time   Exposure   Limiting mag.
May 25
(UT)          (s)

13:59        7x60      15.9
19:38        40x60      19.5

The message may be cited.

GCN Circular 3491

Subject
GRB 050525a: SARA Observations
Date
2005-05-26T23:42:35Z (21 years ago)
From
Autumn Homewood at Clemson U <ahomewo@clemson.edu>
Autumn Homewood, Dieter H. Hartmann, Kiran Garimella (Clemson Univ.), Gary
Henson (ETSU), Jeremy McLaughlin (Radford Univ.), Adam Brimeyer (Iowa
State Univ.) report:

We observed a 6x6 arcminute field centered on the optical afterglow of GRB
050525a (GCN 3466), identified by ROTSE-IIIc (GCN 3465) with the SARA 0.9
m Telescope at KPNO. Observations were carried out under good seeing
conditions with the AP7 CCD. We obtained 35 300-second exposures each in
the R-band, in 2 seperate groups. Observations of the first group (27
images) started at UT 2005/05/25 04:40:15, and ended 07:08:07.
Observations of the second group (8 images) began at UT 10:51:29, and
ended at 11:33:59. At the beginning of the first observation run we detect
the afterglow at R = 18.9 +/- 0.2 mag, relative to USNO B2.0 R1.

The SARA home page can be found at
http://www.astro.fit.edu/sara/sara.html

This message may be cited.

GCN Circular 3489

Subject
GRB 050525: MITSuME Optical Observation in VRI
Date
2005-05-26T15:49:41Z (21 years ago)
From
Nobuyuki Kawai at Tokyo Tech <nkawai@hp.phys.titech.ac.jp>
K. Yanagisawa (OAO/NAOJ), H. Toda, and N. Kawai (Tokyo Tech) report on
behalf of the MITSuME collaboration:

"We observed the field of GRB 050525 (Band et al.; GCN 3466) with the
3-color MITSuME 50cm Telescope at Okayama, Japan starting at 12:03(UT)
on May 25, 2005.  We obtained a 5400 sec exposure (120 sec x 45 frames;
midtime=13:02 UT) simultaneously in V, R, and I-bands.  We confirmed
the optical afterglow (Rykoff et al.; GCN 3465) in R and I bands at
the position

	RA=18:32:32.6, DEC=+26:20:22 (J2000)

with magnitudes R = 19.30 +/- 0.17 and I = 20.12 +/- 0.29.  We did not
detect the optical transient in the V-band image with an upper limit
of V=19.2."

GCN Circular 3488

Subject
GRB 050525a: MDM Observations
Date
2005-05-26T15:35:49Z (21 years ago)
From
Nestor Mirabal at U Michigan <mirabal@umich.edu>
N. Mirabal (U. Michigan), D. Bonfield and K. Schawinski (U. Oxford),
report on behalf of the MDM GRB follow-up team:

"Continuous r'-band photometry of the GRB 050525a afterglow (Rykoff et al.
GCN #3465) was obtained with the RETROCAM imager (Morgan et al.,
astro-ph/0502274) installed on the MDM 2.4m telescope. The data consists
of ~120 points spanning from 4.4 hr to 11.6 hr after the burst. During
this period, the magnitude of the optical afterglow is seen to decline
from R ~ 18.5 to R ~ 19.6, referenced to the R ~ 17.2 USNO star listed
by Rykoff et al. (GCN #3465). A fit to the latter part of the observations
yields a power-law decay slope of -1.38 +/- 0.2, consistent with a
tentative steepening of the decay after ~0.4 days. Further analysis is in
progress.

A graph of the preliminary differential magnitude light curve is available at

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mirabal/grb050525/lightc.ps"

GCN Circular 3487

Subject
GRB050525A,optical observation
Date
2005-05-26T11:36:19Z (21 years ago)
From
Shouta Maeno at U.of Miyazaki <shouta@astro.miyazaki-u.ac.jp>
S.maeno,E.sonoda,Y.Tokunaga,M.Yamauchi
(University of Miyazaki)


"We have observed the field covering the error circle of
GRB 050525A (GCN3466 ; Swift BAT Trigger time is 00:02:53 UT)
with the unfiltered CCD camera on the 30-cm telescope
at University of Miyazaki.
The observation was started 12:05:50 UT on May.25.
After co-adding a set of 73 images (12:05:50 - 14:26:49 UT)
of 30 sec exposures, we have compared with the USNO A2.0 catalog.
Preliminary analysis shows there is no new source brighter than
17.7 mag at the position reported by Rykoff et al.(GCN 3468)
and Torii et al.(GCN 3470)

GCN Circular 3486

Subject
GRB 050525 : Lulin optical afterglow observations
Date
2005-05-26T07:00:28Z (21 years ago)
From
Kuiyun Huang at IANCU <d919003@astro.ncu.edu.tw>
GRB 050525 : Lulin optical afterglow observations

P.S. Chiang (NCKU), K.Y. Huang, W.H. Ip (NCU), Y. Urata(RIKEN),
Y. Qiu (BAO), Y.Q. Lou (THCA) on behalf of EAFON report:

" We have imaged the GRB 050525 optical afterglow position reported by
Rykoff et al.(GCN 3468) and Torii et al. (GCN 3470) using 1.0-m
telescope at Lulin Observatory, Taiwan. The afterglow was detected at
LOT images. The R band magnitude of afterglow is about 21.3 +/-0.1
around 17.74 hours after burst ( exposure time 300sec x 4) which
compared with USNOB-1.0 stars.

Further analysis are in progress. This message may be
cited."

GCN Circular 3485

Subject
GRB050525: Super-LOTIS observations
Date
2005-05-26T00:23:27Z (21 years ago)
From
Peter A. Milne at super-LOTIS <pmilne@as.arizona.edu>
P.A.Milne, G.G.Williams (Steward Obs), H.-S.Park (LLNL),
on behalf of the Super-LOTIS GRB team report:
                                                                                      
We observed the field of GRB 050525 (SWIFT trigger 130088)
starting at UT=06:02:41 (05:59:48 after the burst),
with the 0.6m Super-LOTIS telescope at Kitt Peak, AZ.
We obtained 20 x 30-sec images in each of the R,V and I
filters. Observing conditions were affected by thin clouds
in addition to the bright moon.
                                                                                      
Inspection of the three resulting co-added images reveals no source brighter 
than our limitting magnitude at the location of the candidate
optical counterpart first reported by Rykoff et al. (GCN 3465,3468).  
Comparisons were based upon the DSS2 image and the afterglow finders
provided by the ROTSE-III and TAROT collaborations.

 We report upper limits of: 

filter <UT>  upper limit
R     06:16    17.5
V     06:47    17.5
I      07:18    18.0
                                          
These values can be compared with the unfiltered detections reported by 
Durig et al. (GCN 3478).    
                                        
The upper limits are based upon three stars in the USNOB catalog,
1163-0325237, 1163-0325216, 1163-0325240. 
                                                                                      
This message may be cited.

GCN Circular 3484

Subject
GRB 050525, spectral lag pseudo-redshift
Date
2005-05-25T22:19:26Z (21 years ago)
From
Jay Norris at NASA-GSFC/LHEA <jnorris@lheapop.gsfc.nasa.gov>
J. Norris, S. Barthelmy, N. Gehrels (GSFC), J. Cummings (GSFC/NRC),
D. Band (GSFC/UMBC), L. Barbier (GSFC), H. Krimm (GSFC/USRA),
C. Markwardt (GSFC/UMD), A. Parsons (GSFC), J. Tueller (GSFC)

Analysis of the Swift/BAT light curves, between channels
100-350 keV and 25-50 keV, yields an estimate of the spectral
lag of 0.124 +- 0.006 seconds for GRB 050525 (GCN 3466, Band
et al.; (GCN 3479, Cummings et al.).

Assuming the lag-luminosity relation (Norris et al. 2000, ApJ,
534, 248), using the Band model spectral parameters measured
during the 1-second peak of the burst's light curve --
alpha = -1.0, beta = -8.9, Epeak = 79 keV, and the 1-second
peak flux, 48 photon/cm^2/s, 15-350 keV --

we estimated a spectral-lag pseudo redshift of z = 0.72 +- 0.15,

in broad agreement with the spectroscopic redshift, z = 0.606,
reported by Foley et al. (GCN 3483).

Uncertainty in the high-energy spectral shape, and the difference
between the BATSE and BAT bandpass dependences of the lag-luminosity
relation on peak flux, combine to require the error of order
delta_z = 0.15.

GCN Circular 3483

Subject
GRB 050525a: Gemini/GMOS Spectra
Date
2005-05-25T21:04:19Z (21 years ago)
From
Josh Bloom at Harvard/CFA <jbloom@cfa.harvard.edu>
R. J. Foley (UCB), H.-W. Chen (MIT), J. Bloom (UCB), J. X. Prochaska
(UCSC) report:

"We obtained a 5x1800 sec dithered exposures of the optical candidate (GCN
3465) of GRB 050525 with GMOS on the Gemini-North telescope starting at
2005 May 25.43 UT.  We measure a redshift of z = 0.606, which we assume to
be the redshift of the host galaxy, based on [O III] 5007 and H beta
emission and Ca H&K and Ca I 4228 absorption.  There is perhaps very faint
[O II] emission. Further analysis is underway.

This notice may be cited."

GCN Circular 3481

Subject
GRB 050525: BART optical observation
Date
2005-05-25T18:21:49Z (21 years ago)
From
Martin Jelinek at Inst.Astrophys.Andalucia,Granada <mates@asu.cas.cz>
Martin Jelinek (IAA CSIC Granada, Spain),
Petr Kubanek, Martin Nekola and Rene Hudec 
(ASU AV CR Ondrejov, Czech Republic)

report:

The robotic telescope BART located at Astronomical Institute
in Ondrejov, Czech Republic, observed the errorbox of the
GRB050525 (Band et al. GCN 3466, Markwardt et al. GCN 3467,
Cummings et al. GCN 3469) with it's Wide-field camera. First
exposure started 18s after issuing the GCN alert (and 6m13s
after the GRB onset). Co-add of first ten minutes of
observation reveals the OT reported by Rykoff et al. (GCN
3468) at the detection limit of the image, which is V=15.5
according to our callibration made against GSC-1.2.

GCN Circular 3480

Subject
GRB 050525A: BOOTES simultaneous optical observations
Date
2005-05-25T16:48:14Z (21 years ago)
From
Alberto Castro-Tirado at Inst.de Astro. de Andalucia <ajct@iaa.es>
A. de Ugarte Postigo, M. Jelinek, J. Gorosabel, S. Guziy  (IAA-CSIC 
Granada),
P. Kubanek, R. Hudec (ASU-CAS, Ondrejov), S. Vitek (FEL-CVUT Praha),
T. J. Soria, R. Fernandez (EELM-CSIC Malaga), J. Fabregat (Univ. de 
Valencia)
 and  A. J. Castro-Tirado(IAA-CSIC), report:

"The BOOTES-1 and BOOTES-2 very wide field cameras, located at INTA-
CEDEA (Huelva, Spain) and EELM-CSIC (Malaga, Spain) respectively, and
distant 200 km each other, observed the region of the sky containing the
SWIFT/BAT error box for GRB 050525 (Band et al. GCN 3466, Markwardt
et al. GCN 3467, Cummings et al. GCN 3469) as part of their routine
observing schedules.  30 s exposures started simultaneously at 00:03:00 UT
(7 s after the onset of the 10 s long burst), with the following frame 
starting
at 00:04:00 UT (i.e. covering the late part of the event). A limiting 
(unfiltered)
magnitude of 9.0 is derived for any prompt optical flash arising from this
particular GRB. Images are posted at:
http://www.iaa.es/~deugarte/GRBs/050525/GRB050525_wide.gif ".

GCN Circular 3479

Subject
GRB 050525A: Swift-BAT refined analysis
Date
2005-05-25T15:20:37Z (21 years ago)
From
Jay R. Cummings at NASA/GSFC/Swift <jayc@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov>
J. Cummings (GSFC/NRC), L. Barbier (GSFC), S. Barthelmy (GSFC),
M. Chester (PSU), E. Fenimore (LANL), N. Gehrels (GSFC),
D. Hullinger (UMD), H. Krimm (GSFC/USRA), C. Markwardt (GSFC/UMD),
F. Marshall (GSFC), T. Mitani (ISAS), D. Palmer (LANL),
A. Parsons (GSFC), T. Sakamoto (GSFC/NRC), G. Sato (ISAS),
M. Suzuki (Saitama), J. Tueller (GSFC),

on behalf of the Swift - BAT team:

At 00:02:53 UT Swift-BAT detected GRB 050525A (trigger=130088) (GCN
Circ 3466, Band, et al.). The refined BAT ground position is (RA,Dec)
= 278.140,+26.344, [deg; J2000] {18:32:34, +26:20:38} +- 0.5 arcmin,
(95% containment).  This position is consistent with the reported
optical transient positions to within 20 arcsec (GCN Circ 3468, 
Rykoff et al.; GCN Circ 3470, Torii et al.).

The image significance is 148 sigma, making GRB 050525 the most
significant BAT-imaged GRB to date.  The burst was 26 degrees off
axis, and the partial coding fraction was 85%.

The mask-weighted light curve shows two peaks with duration of 2
and 5 seconds respectively.  Each peak has two sub-pulses, which
become more distinct at higher energies.  T90 is (8.8 +- 0.5) seconds
and T50 is (5.2 +- 0.5) seconds (15-350 keV; estimated errors include
systematics).

The spectrum has significant curvature, and is not consistent with a
single power law model.  Fitting to a cut-off power law yields a
low-energy photon index of 1.0 +- 0.1, Epeak is 79 +- 4 keV.  Fitting 
to a "Band" GRB spectral model yields the same spectral parameters, 
but the "beta" index is unconstrained.  Chi2 for the Band model is
the same as for the cutoff power law.  The fluence in the 15-350 keV 
band is (2.0 +- 0.1) x 10^-5 erg/cm2.  The 1-s peak photon flux, 
starting at T0+1.63 second in the 15-350 keV band is (48 +- 1) 
ph/cm2/s.  All the quoted errors are at the 90% confidence level.

GCN Circular 3478

Subject
GRB050525: Optical observations
Date
2005-05-25T14:07:59Z (21 years ago)
From
Aaron Price at AAVSO <aaronp@aavso.org>
D. T. Durig (Cordell-Lorenz Observatory, University of the South), A. Oksanen
(Nyrola Observatory), C. Pullen (AAVSO) and A. Price (AAVSO) report on behalf of
the AAVSO International High Energy Network on optical observations of GRB050525
(GCN #3466; Band et al.):

 An afterglow candidate is found at the location reported by Rykoff et al. (GCN
#3468) and Band et al. (GCN #3465). At 08:13 UT it is detected at an unfiltered
magnitude of 18-19 (fading over 100 mins centered on 08:13UT). The USNO star near
18 32 34.5 +26 20 24 can not completely be resolved from the afterglow candidate.
Full details and FITS image URL is below.

 Name: Dr. Douglas T. Durig
 email: ddurig@sewanee.edu
 Observer: Dr. D. T. Durig ( CLW01)
 Site: Cordell-Lorenz Observatory
 Location: Sewanee, Tenn., USA
 LatitudeLongitude: 35 12 N 85 55 W
 Elevation: 600 m
 Scope: SCT 0.30 m
 ScopeFocalRatio: f/5.8  1765 mm
 CCDVendor: SBIG STL-1001E
 CCDDetector: KAF 1001E
 CCDSize: 1024x1024
 CCDPixelScale: 2.8
 CCDFOV: 48x48 full, 12x12 quarter frame cropped
 Object: GRB050525
 ObsDate: 2005 05 25
 ObsMidPointTime: 08 13 25
 TimePerFrame: 120 sec
 NumberOfFrames: 75
 Filters: CR
 Processing: dark, flat, register, co-add, 1/4 frame crop
 Seeing: 5-6 arc sec
 LimitingMag: 19.5-20 ???
 Sky: very clear but breezy with Bright Moonlight
 afterglowmag: 18-19
 afterglowerr: 1
 compstars: 1300 UCAC ref stars in full frame
 Report: The USNO star near 18 32 34.5 +26 20 24 can not completely be resolved 
from the afterglow candidate, but I do see it fade by around 1 mag over a little 
over 100 min by summing a series of 30 consecutive 120 sec exposures. I get a 
measured position of 18 32 33.9 +26 20 23 and 18 mag at 7:23 UT falling to 19 mag 
at 9:03 UT, but this includes some contribution from the USNO star.
 comments: UT         dec.day      CR mag
7:23:28    25.30796    18.0
7:40:09    25.31955    18.2
7:56:43    25.33105    18.3
8:13:25    25.34265    18.3
8:30:10    25.35428    18.3
8:46:49    25.36584    18.6
9:03:28    25.37741    19.0

A FITS image has been uploaded to 
ftp://ftp.aavso.org/grb/Dr.DouglasT.Durig_GRB050525_2453516.00275_.fits

The AAVSO thanks the Curry Foundation for their continued support of the 
AAVSO International High Energy Network.

GCN Circular 3476

Subject
GRB 050525: pseudo-redshift
Date
2005-05-25T12:50:03Z (21 years ago)
Edited On
2025-04-09T18:43:39Z (a year ago)
From
Jean-Luc Atteia at Lab d Astrophys.,OMP,Toulouse <atteia@ast.obs-mip.fr>
Edited By
Judith Racusin at NASA/GSFC <judith.racusin@nasa.gov> on behalf of Tyler Barna at University of Minnesota <tylerpbarna@gmail.com>
J-L. Atteia & A. Pelangeon (LAT-OMP) report:

Taking into account the spectral parameters of GRB 050525
provided by Golenetskii et al. (GCNC 3474), we have computed
its pseudo-redshift, using the method described in Atteia, 2003, A&A, 407, L1.

We find a pseudo-redshift pz=0.36 +/- 0.1

We thank S. Golenetskii et al. for quickly providing
the spectral parameters of this GRB.

This notice can be cited.

GCN Circular 3475

Subject
Swift/UVOT UV and optical detections of GRB 050525
Date
2005-05-25T12:29:37Z (21 years ago)
From
Alexander Blustin at MSSL-UCL <ajb@mssl.ucl.ac.uk>
S. Holland (GSFC), D. Band (GSFC/UMBC), A. Blustin,
S. Rosen (MSSL), P. Roming (PSU), P. Schady (MSSL/PSU),
K. Mason (MSSL), C. Gronwall (PSU), A. Breeveld (MSSL),
T. Poole, C. James, K. McGowan, M. de Pasquale (MSSL)
S. Hunsberger, C. Pagani, P. Brown, M. Ivanushkina (PSU),
B. Hancock, T. Kennedy (MSSL), P. Broos, S. Koch (PSU),
P. Smith, H. Huckle (MSSL), M. Still, P. Boyd,
W. Landsman (GSFC), J. Nousek (PSU), N. Gehrels (GSFC)
on behalf of the Swift UVOT team.

Swift/UVOT has detected GRB 050525 in all of its UV and
optical filters. Using data from 65 seconds after the
burst, we obtain the following magnitudes from images
summed between the T_start and T_stop times in the table:

Filter    Magnitude     Exp (s)  T_start  T_stop

V       14.97 +/- 0.02   287      65       1292
B       16.53 +/- 0.03   188      224      1084
U       15.32 +/- 0.03   98       90       979
UVW1    15.63 +/- 0.04   98       196      2046
UVM2    15.75 +/- 0.06   98       182      952
UVW2    16.62 +/- 0.05   188      952      1189

Where T_start and T_stop are in seconds after the
trigger (Band et al. GCN 3466).

The magnitudes are based on preliminary zero-points,
measured in orbit, and will require refinement with
further calibration.

GCN Circular 3474

Subject
Konus-Wind observation of GRB 050525
Date
2005-05-25T11:28:56Z (21 years ago)
From
Valentin Pal'shin at Ioffe Inst <val@mail.ioffe.ru>
S. Golenetskii, R.Aptekar, E. Mazets, V. Pal'shin, D. Frederiks, and
T. Cline on behalf of the Konus-Wind team report:

A long bright GRB 050525 (Swift-BAT trigger=130088: GCN 3466,3467)
triggered Konus-Wind at 176.704 s UT (00:02:56.704).
As observed by Konus-Wind, it had a duration of ~11.5 s,
fluence (7.84 +/- 0.06)10-5 erg/cm2, 
peak flux on 16-ms time scale (8.7 +/- 0.7)10-6 erg/cm2 s 
(both in the 20 keV - 1 MeV energy range).

In ~2800 s after trigger, Konus-Wind detected 
even more intense burst. Because it was detected
during data readout, only time history in the G2
window (74-295 keV) with 3-s time resolution is available.
It had a duration of ~20 s and fluence 25100 counts in
74-295 keV energy range (the fluence of the trigger burst
was 8500 counts in the same energy range). Assuming 
it had the same spectrum as the trigger burst,
the energy fluence can be estimated as ~2.3x10^-4 erg/cm2.

Whether the second burst relates to the first one
or it is different GRB accidentaly registered close to
the trigger burst can be clarified by data
from other instruments
(but the chance to register two very bright bursts so close
to each other seems to be poor).

The time-integrated spectrum of the GRB 050525
is well fitted by a power law with
exponential roloff model:
dN/dE ~ E^alpha exp(-E/E0)
with alpha = -1.10 +/- 0.05,
and E0 = 93.6 +/- 5.3 keV.
The peak energy Ep = 84.1 +/- 1.7 keV.

GCN Circular 3473

Subject
GRB 050525: TAROT observations of the early afterglow
Date
2005-05-25T10:01:39Z (21 years ago)
From
Jean-Luc Atteia at Lab d Astrophys.,OMP,Toulouse <atteia@ast.obs-mip.fr>
Klotz, A. (CESR-OMP), Boer M. (OHP), and Atteia, J.L. (LAT-OMP) report:

We imaged the entire field of GRB 050525 detected by SWIFT (Band et al. GCNC 3466)
with the TAROT robotic telescope (D=25cm) located at the Calern observatory,
France. Observations started at 00:08:52s UT, 4 seconds after the GCN notice,
and 6 min after the GRB. The field had an elevation of 62 degrees
above horizon at the begining of the observations.

The afterglow reported by Rykoff et al. (GCNC 3465) is clearly seen
in TAROT images, with a magnitude R=15.1, 6 minutes after the GRB,
and R=17.1, 108 minutes after the GRB. The unfiltered TAROT images are
calibrated relative to R-band magnitudes in the USNO A1 Catalog.

Further information, including a light-curve of the afterglow
during the first two hours after the GRB can be found at the following address:

http://www.cesr.fr/~klotz/grb050525/

This notice can be cited.

GCN Circular 3472

Subject
INTEGRAL detection of GRB 050525
Date
2005-05-25T09:16:08Z (21 years ago)
From
Sandro Mereghetti at IASF/CNR <sandro@mi.iasf.cnr.it>
D. Gotz, S. Mereghetti (IASF, Milano), N. Mowlavi, S. Shaw, M. Beck (ISDC, 
Versoix), J. Borkowski (CAMK, Torun) on behalf of the IBAS Localization 
Team and N. Lund (DSRI, Copenhagen) on behalf of the ISWT report:

Offline analysis of the IBAS data showed that GRB 050525 discovered by 
Swift (Band et al. GCN 3466, Markwardt et al. GCN 3467), has been detected 
also by the IBIS/ISGRI instrument on board INTEGRAL.

The burst occurred at an off-axis angle of 14.7 degrees, very close to the 
edge of the IBIS/ISGRI field of view, and illuminated through the coded 
mask only 6% of the detector surface.

The preliminary value of the peak flux is 33 photons (3.2E-6 ergs)/cmsq/s 
(1 sec integration time, 20-200 keV).

Owing to a small gap caused by telemetry saturation, we can only derive a 
lower limit on the fluence of 144 photons (1.2E-5 ergs)/cmsq (12 s 
integration time, 20-200 keV).

A plot of the multi peaed light curve is posted at:

http://ibas.mi.iasf.cnr.it/IBAS_Results.html

This message can be cited.

GCN Circular 3471

Subject
GRB 050525, infrared observations
Date
2005-05-25T08:55:01Z (21 years ago)
From
Peter Garnavich at U of Notre Dame <pgarnavi@nd.edu>
J. Rosenberg (CfA) and P. Garnavich (Notre Dame)

We imaged the field of GRB 050525 (Band et al. GCN 3466)
and the optical afterglow reported by Rykoff et al. (GCN 3465)
with the 1.2m telescope of the Fred Whipple Observatory
and Stelircam infrared imager. Imaging in J and K' began
on May 25.22 (UT). Quick reduction of the K' data shows
a new source not visible in the 2MASS K image at 18:32:32.61
+26:20:22 +/-1.0" (J2000) based on the USNO A-2.0 catalog.
This is in agreement with the position provided by 
Rykoff et al. (GCN 3468) and Torii & BenDaniel (GCN 3470)
given their quoted errors. The brightness is roughly K'=14.

This message may be cited.

GCN Circular 3470

Subject
GRB 050525: Optical observation
Date
2005-05-25T04:44:38Z (21 years ago)
From
Ken ichi Torii at RIKEN <torii@crab.riken.go.jp>
K. Torii (Osaka U.) and Matt BenDaniel (http://Slooh.com) report:

 "The error region of the bright GRB 050525 (Band et al. GCN 3466;
Markwardt et al. GCN 3467) was observed with the Slooh 14 inch f/6.3
telescope at Observatorio del Teide in the Canary Islands.

 The observation started at 2005 May 25, 00:50 UT (47 minutes after
the burst) and a 30 s exposure in each of red, green, and blue filter
was obtained. We stacked the three frames and compared it with the DSS
frames.

 As a result of the preliminary analysis, we note a 3.3-sigma
enhancement at position

(R.A., Dec.) = (18:32:32.65 +26:20:24.5) (J2000, 1.3" uncertainty) 

with R~16.6 (USNO-A2.0 magnitude). 
This is 8".4 away from the Swift XRT position (GCN 3466) while it agrees
with the refined position (Rykoff et al. GCN
3468) for the optical afterglow candidate (Rykoff et al. GCN 3465)."

GCN Circular 3469

Subject
GRB 050525: observatons of the optical afterglow
Date
2005-05-25T04:29:31Z (21 years ago)
From
Daniele Malesani at SISSA-ISAS,Trieste,Italy <malesani@sissa.it>
D. Malesani (SISSA), S. Piranomonte, F. Fiore (INAF/OARm), G. 
Tagliaferri, D. Fugazza (INAF/OABr), and R. Cosentino (INAF/TNG), report 
on behalf of a larger collaboration:

We imaged the field of the bright GRB 050525 (Band et al., GCN 3466; 
Markwardt et al., GCN 3467) with the Italian 3.6m TNG. Observations were 
performed under good observing conditions (seeing ~1.1"), even if close 
to the bright Moon.

The object reported by Rykoff et al. (GCNs 3465, 3468) is clearly 
detected in a single R-band image (2 min exposure) starting on 2005 Apr 
25.07138 UT, 1.7 h after the GRB. Based on several nearby USNO stars, 
its magnitude is R ~ 17.4. We thus confirm the fading behaviour of this 
object.

This message can be cited.

GCN Circular 3468

Subject
GRB050525: ROTSE-III Refined Analysis
Date
2005-05-25T04:09:26Z (21 years ago)
From
Eli Rykoff at U of Michigan/ROTSE <erykoff@umich.edu>
E.S. Rykoff (U Mich), S.A. Yost (U Mich), H. Swan (U Mich), R. Quimby (U 
Texas), report on behalf of the ROTSE collaboration:

ROTSE-IIIc, located at the H.E.S.S. site in Namibia, and ROTSE-IIId at 
the Turkish National Observatory in Turkey responded automatically to 
Swift GRB 050525 (GCN 3466, 3467).  Our first 5-s exposure from 
ROTSE-IIIc begain at 00:08:56.7 UT; the response in Turkey was delayed 
approximately 30 minutes due to bad weather.  The images in Namibia were 
affected by clouds passing through the images.

We confirm the fading nature of the afterglow reported in GCN 2465.  The 
afterglow is well detected in images from both ROTSE-IIIc and 
ROTSE-IIId.  The afterglow is 9" (3 pixels) from a 17.2 magnitude USNO 
star, which affected our initial position estimate.  The revised 
position is:

    18:32:32.6   +26:20:23.5 (J2000)

with an uncertainty of ~1".  We note that this is 7.2" from the XRT 
position reported by Band et al (GCN 2465).

We have measured the afterglow flux with our PSF fitting software and 
have found that the early lightcurve is fading with a slow power-law 
decline with index ~-0.5, with a peak of 15.1+/-0.1 at 601s post-burst. 
  The images are unfiltered and calibrated relative to USNO B1.0 R-band 
magnitudes.  This bright afterglow with a slow decline should still be 
bright for follow-up spectroscopy.

An image of the afterglow and burst field from ROTSE-IIId is available at:
http://www.rotse.net/grb_reports/050525_btab.html

GCN Circular 3467

Subject
GRB 050525 - Very Bright, Not Short
Date
2005-05-25T02:14:26Z (21 years ago)
From
Craig Markwardt at NASA/GSFC/UMD <craigm@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov>
C. Markwardt (GSFC/UMD), S. Barthelmy (NASA/GSFC), L. Barbier (GSFC), 
J. Cummings (GSFC/NRC), E. Fenimore (LANL), N. Gehrels (GSFC), 
D. Hullinger (UMD), H. Krimm (GSFC/USRA), D. Palmer (LANL), 
A. Parsons (GSFC), T. Sakamoto (GSFC/NRC), G. Sato (ISAS), 
M. Suzuki (Saitama), J. Tueller (GSFC)
on behalf of the Swift-BAT team:

GRB 050525 (Swift trigger 130088) was observed by Swift BAT.  At the
present, only rate data are available.  This initial data indicate
that the burst was very intense (peak rate of 80,000 ct/s above
background).  The light curve consists of at least two ragged peaks,
with a total duration of approximately 10 seconds (15 - 200 keV).

Thus, this is not a short burst as initially speculated (Band et
al. GCN #3466), but it is one of the brightest bursts of the year.

GCN Circular 3466

Subject
GRB 050525: Swift Detection of a Bright, Possibly Short Burst
Date
2005-05-25T01:36:14Z (21 years ago)
From
David L. Band at NASA/GSFC <dband@lheapop.gsfc.nasa.gov>
D. Band (GSFC/UMBC), J. Cummings (GSFC/NRC), M. Perri
(ASDC), S. Holland (GSFC/USRA), D. N. Burrows (PSU), N.
Gehrels (GSFC), J. E. Hill, J. A. Kennea, S. Hunsberger
(PSU), C. Markwardt (GSFC/UMD), D. Palmer (LANL) on behalf
of the Swift Team.

At 00:02:53 UT, the BAT instrument on the Swift spacecraft
triggered (trigger=130088) and located GRB 050525.  The BAT
on-board calculated location is RA,Dec 278.144 , +26.340
(18h 32m 35s +26d 20' 23") (J2000) with an uncertainty of 3
arcmin (radius, 3-sigma, including systematic uncertainty).
This is a very bright burst, yielding about 1500 counts
over background in 64 ms (preliminary) in the 25-100 keV
range in the BAT instrument.  This would correspond to a
rate of 10 counts/sec/cm2 in that 64 ms interval, but the
peak rate in a later interval may be greater.  Although
light curves are not yet available, the BAT rate trigger
continued to evaluate different timescales while data from
the first 64 ms was being imaged.  The merit parameters
indicate that the highest significance rate trigger is for
a 1 second interval, consistent with a short burst.  More
details will be available after the full data pass.

The XRT was pointed promptly at the burst and took an image
at 00:04:58 UT (125 s after the BAT burst trigger).  The
XRT found a bright X-ray source near the center of the
field of view, with position RA(J2000) = 18h 32m 32.3s
Dec(J2000) = +26d 20' 17.5"  We estimate an uncertainty of
about 6 arcseconds radius (90% containment).  This position
is 31 arcseconds from the BAT position and 8 arcseconds
from the ROTSE position (Rykoff et al, GCN 2465).

We caution that the XRT is in the middle of engineering
tests and is in an unusual mode.  While the X-ray afterglow
looks unusually strong, there are also indications that the
XRT instrument configuration is abnormal due to the tests
being performed.

The XRT position is outside of the UVOT-TDRSS image.
Analysis of the UVOT data will take place after the next
full data pass.

This is a bright burst that appears to be in the short
category; the Sun and moon angles are conducive for optical
observations. Followup observations are strongly
encouraged.

GCN Circular 3465

Subject
GRB 050525A: ROTSE-III Detection of Possible Counterpart
Date
2005-05-25T00:41:33Z (21 years ago)
From
Eli Rykoff at U of Michigan/ROTSE <erykoff@umich.edu>
E.S. Rykoff (U Mich), S.A. Yost (U Mich), H. Swan (U Mich), report on 
behalf of the ROTSE collaboration:

ROTSE-IIIc, located at the H.E.S.S. site at Mt. Gamsberg, Namibia, 
responded to GRB 050525A (Swift trigger 130088). The first image was at 
00:08:56.7 UT, 363.5 s after the burst (8.7 s after the GCN notice 
time). The unfiltered images are calibrated relative to USNO A2.0. We 
detect a 14.7 magnitude, fading source at:

      18:32:32.76      +26:20:22.65    (J2000)

start UT    	mag     mlim(of image)
----------------------------------
00:08:56.7    14.7     15.4


This source is not visible in DSS (second epoch), 2MASS or the MPChecker 
database.

Continuing observations are in progress.

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