TITLE:   GCN CIRCULAR
NUMBER:  335
SUBJECT: Optical report on X-ray/GRB transient
DATE:    99/05/20 23:14:55 GMT
FROM:    Josh Bloom at CIT  <jsb@astro.caltech.edu>

Optical Report: Fast X-ray Transient from BeppoSAX

J. S. Bloom, S. R. Kulkarni, S. G. Djorgovski (Caltech) and D. A. Frail
(NRAO) report on behalf of the larger Caltech-NRAO-CARA GRB collaboration:

"We have examined the Digital Sky Survey at the position of the radio
source reported by Frail et al. (GCN #334) found in the error circle of
SAX J0835.9+5118 (GCN #333). An astrometric plate solution for the
field was obtained using the USNO A2.0 Catalogue with an r.m.s.
uncertainty of 0.23 arcsec (ra) and 0.26 arcsec (dec).  Near the
position of the radio source is a faint source, probably a galaxy with
R ~ 19.5.  The centroid position of this optical source is
RA: 08h36m1s.1, Dec:  51o17'06".9 (J2000) which is ~3.5 arcsec to the East and 
~1.5 arcsec to the North of the radio position.  Though the radio source appears
to be offset from the galaxy, given the uncertainties in the absolute
position of the radio source we cannot rule out the possibility that
the radio source is in the nucleus of the galaxy."

A finding chart can obtained at:

     http://astro.caltech.edu/~jsb/XRB990520/

This message can be cited.


[GCN OP NOTE (21May99):  This circular was adjusted (at the author's request)
to include a missing phrase "~3.5 arcsec to the East and".]