TITLE:   GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT
NUMBER:  570
SUBJECT: GRB 000301C : Optical Candidate
DATE:    00/03/03 08:05:32 GMT

J. P. U. Fynbo (U. of Aarhus),

"Using the ALFOSC on the 2.5m Nordic Optical Telescope, we have obtained I, R, B, and U-band imaging of the field of GRB 000301C (Smith et al., GCN #568) on 2000 March 3.14-3.28 UT. Comparing with DSS-2 plates we find an object which is notoriously absent from DSS-2 (red) and (blue).

RA(J2000) : 16 20 18.6

This object is detected in individual exposures of 900s, in all four colors.

Preliminary USNO-A1.0-based magnitude is: R~20.3 +- 0.5 .

Sections of the images will be made available at:

along with a DSS-2 finding chart."

TITLE:   GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT
NUMBER:  576
SUBJECT: GRB 000301C: OT confirmed
DATE:    00/03/03 23:21:41 GMT

J. P. U. Fynbo (U. of Aarhus),

"In response to Garnevich et al., (GCN #573), we have carried out photometry of stars A-D of GCN #573 and of the OT proposed by Fynbo et al., (GCN #570). This photometry has been performed on our combined 2000, March 3, 3x900s NOT R-band image of the GRB-field.

Using the stars A-D of Garnevich et al. as reference, we derive an R-band magnitude for the OT at UT_mean = March 3.17 of R = 19.94+-0.04.

Hence, the candidate OT is fading and we thus propose it as being the optical counterpart to GRB 000301C.

The implied power-law decay index from this magnitude and the magnitude measured by Garnevich et al. is rather steep : -1.8 (with this rate, a magnitude of R:20.8 is predicted for March 4.17 UT)."