GRB 260223A
GCN Circular 43871
GRID detection of GRB 260223A
Longhao Li, Xinyu Liu, Chenyu Wang report on behalf of the GRID Collaboration:
GRID-11B reports the detection of the long-duration GRB 260223A, which was also detected by Fermi GBM (GCN Circular 43808), MASTER-OAFA (GCN Circular 43809), BALROG (GCN Circular 43810), DDOTI (GCN Circular 43811), COLIBRÍ(GCN Circular 43812), SVOM (GCN Circular 43815), Glowbug (GCN Circular 43824)
The event was triggered with GRID on 2026-02-23 at 04:11:09 UTC. The measured burst duration (T90) in the 30-2000 keV range is approximately 22.2 +/- 3.0 seconds.
The GRID light curve of this event can be found at GRID_GRB260223A_ltcv.pdf.
GRID is a student-led project to monitor the transient gamma-ray sky with multiple detectors onboard different nanosatellites in the era of multi-messenger astronomy. For more information about GRID, please refer to the following references: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-019-09636-w and https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-021-09819-4.
GCN Circular 43863
YoungPyo Hong (SNU ARC/SNU), Myungshin Im (SNU ARC/SNU), Donggeun Tak (SNU ARC/SNU), Hyeonho Choi (SNU ARC/SNU), Donghwan Hyun (SNU ARC/SNU), Gregory S.H. Paek (IfA, SNU ARC/SNU), Seo-Won Chang (SNU ARC/SNU), Ji Hoon Kim (SNU ARC/SNU), and Won-Hyeong Lee (SNU ARC/SNU), report on behalf of the 7 Dimensional Telescope (7DT) team:
We report optical follow-up observations of GRB26023A (GCN 43808; GCN 43809), conducted with the 7-Dimensional Telescope (7DT), located in Chile.
The 7DT follow-up began at 04:44:14 UTC on 2026-02-23, corresponding to T0 + 33 minutes, pointing to a region covering the target localization provided by Fermi (GCN 43808) at RA, DEC = 110.5 deg, -29.4 deg with an uncertainty of 1.7 degree.
Initial observations were made with 15, units in 19 medium-band filters as well as r-band filters (20 filters in total).
The following table summarizes the observations and the derived 5-sigma upper limits:
Filter Mag Mag_err Exposure Date Time
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
r 19.05 0.08 300.0 2026-02-23T04:49:44.000
m400 >19.02 N/A 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:14.000
m425 19.28 0.16 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:31.667
m450 19.48 0.24 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:16.667
m475 18.97 0.12 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:15.000
m500 19.62 0.27 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:20.667
m525 19.48 0.24 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:23.000
m550 >19.29 N/A 300.0 2026-02-23T04:49:38.000
m575 18.95 0.14 300.0 2026-02-23T04:51:58.000
m600 18.92 0.20 300.0 2026-02-23T04:49:39.333
m625 18.79 0.22 300.0 2026-02-23T04:49:37.000
m650 18.66 0.22 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:38.000
m675 >18.95 N/A 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:23.000
m700 18.13 0.18 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:18.000
m725 >18.46 N/A 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:23.000
m750 18.23 0.22 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:20.667
m775 17.99 0.31 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:43.333
m800 >17.52 N/A 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:21.667
m825 >17.41 N/A 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:21.333
m850 >17.05 N/A 300.0 2026-02-23T04:44:21.000
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* Upper limits (marked with '>') are 5-sigma limits
The optical counterpart was detected in most filters.
Photometric flux calibration was performed using synthetic photometry based on the Gaia DR3 XP catalog (Gaia Collaboration et al. 2022) within the AB magnitude system. Note that no extinction correction has been applied.
The 7-Dimensional Telescope (7DT), located in Chile and comprising 20 wide-field telescopes equipped with 40 medium-bandwidth (~25nm) filters, aims to detect optical counterparts of GW sources and conduct the 7-Dimensional Sky Survey (7DS) of the Southern Hemisphere. Further information about the 7DT is available at https://7ds.snu.ac.kr/ and http://gwuniverse.snu.ac.kr/.
GCN Circular 43835
P. Veres (UAH) and C. Meegan (UAH) report on behalf of
the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor Team:
"At 04:11:09.81 UT on 23 February 2026, the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM)
triggered and located GRB 260223A (trigger 793512674/260223174),
which was also detected by
DDOTI (Becerra et al. 2026, GCN 43811),
COLIBRI (de Ugarte Postigo et al. 2026, GCNs 43812, 43814 & 43820),
SVOM/GRM (Wang et al. 2026, GCN 43815),
SVOM/VT (Li et al. 2026, GCN 43816) and
Glowbug (Woolf et al. 2026, GCN 43824).
The Fermi GBM on-ground location (GCN 43808) is consistent with the DDOTI position.
The angle from the Fermi LAT boresight is 33 degrees.
The GBM light curve consists of a single emission episode with a duration (T90)
of about 39 s (50-300 keV). The time-averaged spectrum
from T0-9.2 to T0+51.2 s is best fit by
a Band function with Epeak = 70 +/- 6 keV,
alpha = -0.76 +/- 0.09, and beta = -1.91 +/- 0.02.
The event fluence (10-1000 keV) in this time interval is
(2.16 +/- 0.03)E-05 erg/cm^2. The 1-sec peak photon flux measured
starting from T0+18 s in the 10-1000 keV band is 10.4 +/- 0.3 ph/s/cm^2.
The spectral analysis results presented above are preliminary;
final results will be published in the GBM GRB Catalog:
https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/W3Browse/fermi/fermigbrst.html
For Fermi GBM data and info, please visit the official Fermi GBM Support Page:
https://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssc/data/access/gbm/"
GCN Circular 43824
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 260223A, which was also detected by Fermi GBM (GCN 43808) and SVOM/GRM (GCN 43815).
Using an adaptive window with a resolution of 32-ms, the burst onset is determined to be 2026-02-23 04:11:09.520 with a duration of 20.5 s and a total significance of about 48.4 sigma. Following the initial event onset, the light curve comprises two main peaks at ~T0+11s and +18s. Note that data from ~T0+15s to T0+17s suffered from deadtime in various detectors.
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 43820
Antonio de Ugarte Postigo (LAM), Fredd Sánchez Álvarez (UNAM), Alan M. Watson (UNAM), Rosa L. Becerra (UNAM), Stéphane Basa (UAR Pytheas), William H. Lee (UNAM), Jean-Luc Atteia (IRAP), Edilberto Aguilar-Ruiz (UNAM), Dalya Akl (NYUAD), Camila Angulo (UNAM), Sarah Antier (IJCLAB), Nathaniel R. Butler (ASU), Damien Dornic (CPPM), Jean-Grégoire Ducoin (CPPM), Francis Fortin (IRAP), Leonardo García García (UNAM), Ramandeep Gill (UNAM), Noémie Globus (UNAM), Asuka Kuwata (UNAM), Diego López-Cámara (UNAM), Francesco Magnani (CPPM), Nikos Mandarakas (LAM), Enrique Moreno Méndez (UNAM), Margarita Pereyra (UNAM), Ny Avo Rakotondrainibe (LAM), and Benjamin Schneider (LAM) report:
We continued to observe the field of the Fermi GRB 260223A (Fermi GBM team et al., GCN Circ. 43808) using the DDRAGO two-channel wide-field imager on the COLIBRÍ telescope. We observed in two epochs between 2026-02-24 02:23:16 and 07:15:39 UTC (between 22.20 and 27.07 hours after the trigger) obtaining images in the grizy filters on the first and rz on the second.
The data were reduced, coadded, calibrated, and analysed with the COLIBRÍ ASU pipeline. The photometry was calibrated using nearby stars from the PanSTARRS DR2, is in the AB system, and is not corrected for Galactic extinction.
The optical counterpart reported by Becerra et al. (GCN Circ. 43811) and confirmed by our earlier observations (de Ugarte Postigo et al. GCN Circ 43812) has decayed after the early rebrightnening (de Ugarte Postigo et al. GCN Circ 43814). On our latest stack, we detect the afterglow of GRB 260223A at r = 20.93 +/- 0.07 mag. Between our last observation obtained yesterday and today’s observations, we measure a decay slope of alpha ~ -1.1 (where F_nu ~ t ^ alpha). This is consistent with the observations obtained by SVOM/VT a few hours before (Li et al. GCN Circ. 43816) and serves to confirm that this object is indeed the afterglow of GRB 260223A.
We thank the staff of the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional on the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir and the COLIBRÍ and DDRAGO engineering teams.
COLIBRÍ is an astronomical observatory developed and operated jointly by France (AMU, CNES and CNRS) and Mexico (UNAM and SECIHTI). It is located at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional on the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, Mexico.
GCN Circular 43816
H. L. Li, Y. N. Ma, L. P. Xin, Y. L. Qiu, C. Wu, Z. H. Yao, X. H. Han, Y. Xu, J. Wang, P. P. Zhang, W. J. Xie, Y. J. Xiao, H. B. Cai, L. Lan, J. R. Xu, J. S. Deng, J. Y. Wei (NAOC), J. Palmerio (CEA) report on behalf of the SVOM/VT team.
SVOM/VT performed a Target of Opportunity observation of GRB 260223A detected by Fermi (Fermi GBM team et al., GCN 43808