GRB 251121A
GCN Circular 42795
Jimmy DeLaunay (PSU), Samuele Ronchini (GSSI), Aaron Tohuvavohu (Cosmic Frontier), Jamie A. Kennea (PSU), Tyler Parsotan (NASA GSFC), Maia Williams (Northwestern) report:
Swift/BAT did not localize GRB 251121A onboard (T0: 2025-11-21T16:30:58.99 UTC, Fermi Trig 785435463, Glowbug GCN 42794)
The Fermi notice, distributed in near real-time, triggered the Swift Mission Operations Center operated Gamma-ray Urgent Archiver for Novel Opportunities (GUANO; Tohuvavohu et al. 2020, ApJ, 900, 1).
Upon trigger by this notice, GUANO sent a command to the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) to save 200 seconds of BAT event-mode data from [-50,+150] seconds around the time of the burst. All the requested event mode data was delivered to the ground.
The BAT likelihood search, NITRATES (DeLaunay + Tohuvavohu 2022, ApJ, 941, 169), performed on the temporal window [T0-20 s, T0+20 s], detects the burst with a sqrt(TS) of 10.7 in a 0.128 s analysis time bin, starting at T0 - 0.032 s.
Using the NITRATES analysis, parameter estimation was performed to obtain the localization of this burst in the form of a HEALPIX Multi-Order Coverage (MOC) skymap. This localization accounts for both statistical and systematic errors. More details in the creation and calibration of these maps will soon be published (DeLaunay et al. 2025. in prep)
The 90% credible area is 12,627 deg2 and the 50% credible area is 4,629 deg2 The integrated probability inside the coded field of view is 2%.
The NITRATES skymap is consistent with the Ferm/GBM localization reported in the final position notice (GCN 42790). The combined Fermi/GBM+NITRATES 90% credible area is 893 deg2 and the 50% credible area is 256 deg2.
A plot of the probability skymap can be viewed here:
The probability skymap and joint skymap files can be downloaded from the links here
Instructions on how to read and manipulate this map can be found here:
https://guano.swift.psu.edu/documentation
More details about this burst can be found on the trigger report page here:
https://guano.swift.psu.edu/trigger_report?id=785435495
GUANO is a fully autonomous, extremely low latency, spacecraft commanding pipeline designed for targeted recovery of BAT event mode data around the times of compelling astrophysical events to enable more sensitive GRB searches.
A live reporting of Swift/BAT event data recovered by GUANO can be found at: https://www.swift.psu.edu/guano/
GCN Circular 42794
R. Woolf, C.C. Cheung, M. Kerr, J.E. Grove (NRL), A. Goldstein (USRA), C.A. Wilson-Hodge, D. Kocevski (MSFC), and M.S. Briggs (UAH) report:
The Glowbug gamma-ray telescope [1,2,3], operating on the International Space Station, reports the detection of GRB 251121A, which was also detected by Fermi/GBM (GCN 42790).
Using an adaptive window with a resolution of 32-ms, the burst onset is determined to be 2025-11-21 16:30:57.936 with a duration of 0.06 s and a total significance of about 9.4 sigma. The light curve comprises a single peak.
The analysis results presented here are preliminary and use a response function that lacks a detailed characterization of the surrounding passive structure of the ISS.
Glowbug is a NASA-funded technology demonstrator for sensitive, low-cost gamma-ray transient telescopes developed, built, and operated by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) with support from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, USRA, and NASA MSFC. It was launched on 2023 March 15 aboard the Department of Defense Space Test Program’s STP-H9 to the ISS and operated until 2024 April when it was put in safe storage on orbit. Glowbug was removed from storage and resumed operation on 2025 September 12.
[1] Grove, J.E. et al. 2020, Proc. Yamada Conf. LXXI, arXiv:2009.11959
[2] Woolf, R.S. et al. 2022, Proc. SPIE, 12181, id. 121811O
[3] Woolf, R.S. et al. 2024, Proc. SPIE, 13151, id. 1315108
Distribution Statement A: Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.
GCN Circular 42790
The Fermi GBM team reports the detection of a likely SHORT GRB
At 16:30:58 UT on 21 Nov 2025, the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) triggered and located GRB 251121A (trigger 785435463.990588 / 251121688).
The on-ground calculated location, using the Fermi GBM trigger data, is RA = 250.6, Dec = -19.8 (J2000 degrees, equivalent to J2000 16h 42m, -19d 48'), with a statistical uncertainty of 19.5 degrees.
The angle from the Fermi LAT boresight is 100.0 degrees.
The skymap can be found here:
https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/fermi/data/gbm/triggers/2025/bn251121688/quicklook/glg_skymap_all_bn251121688.png
The HEALPix FITS file, including the estimated localization systematic, can be found here:
https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/fermi/data/gbm/triggers/2025/bn251121688/quicklook/glg_healpix_all_bn251121688.fit
The GBM light curve can be found here:
https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/fermi/data/gbm/triggers/2025/bn251121688/quicklook/glg_lc_medres34_bn251121688.gif