[vsnet-campaign-xray 164] (fwd) SGR 1900+14 / bright optical counterpart

[Taichi Kato <tkato@kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp>]

From: "B Monard" <BMonard@mweb.co.za>
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 21:33:22 +0200
Subject: [vsnet-alert 7572] SGR 1900+14 / bright optical counterpart

Hi,

In response to alerts from several GCN circulars, the starfield of the
suspected active transient and gamma ray burster SGR 1900+14 was imaged this
evening at the Bronberg Observatory (South Africa), using the 12" f/4.2 SCT
with CCD camera ST-7E.

More than 30 images with exposures of 45 sec were taken (in extremely windy
conditions) and the best images were inspected.

By comparison to images of the Digitized Sky Survey of generation 2 / red
and blue, a new and bright object was visible at position 19 07 15.18 +09 19
22.6, astrometrically traceable to the USNO-A2.0 frame.

The brightness of this new object and its neareness to the published
coordinates (19 07 14.33 +09 19 21.1 from radio interferometry) make this
object the probable optical counterpart of the active gamma ray burster.

Photometry of the object showed no obvious fluctuations of the brightness.
The unfiltered CCD observation:
SGR 1900+14   20021106.737   15.0CR

Note: on most images the object looked distinctly elongated in the E-W
direction.

If the weather allows, follow-up observations will be done at the Bronberg
Observatory tomorrow.
However, the longer nights in the Northern hemisphere ought to enable
timeseries of much longer duration on this Northern target.

This notice may be cited and communicated to the GCN network.

Berto Monard / MLF
Bronberg Observatory / CBA Pretoria

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