Circular No. 7586
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Mailstop 18, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
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CBAT@CFA.HARVARD.EDU (science)
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GRB 010222
     K. Z. Stanek, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
(CfA); P. Garnavich, University of Notre Dame; and S. Jha and M.
Pahre, CfA, report:  "CCD imaging of the error box for the bright
gamma-ray burst GRB 010222 reported by BeppoSax (GCN 960; available
at http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn/gcn3/960.gcn3) confirms the optical
afterglow detected by Henden (GCN 962).  Images were obtained by J.
McDowell and R. Kilgard (CfA) using the Fred L. Whipple Observatory
(FLWO) 1.2-m telescope beginning Feb. 22.46 UT and show the
transient at R = 18.2 +/- 0.1.  The object faded by 0.18 +/- 0.04
mag over 80 min of observation.  The position (determined from HST
Guide Star Catalog star positions) of the optical candidate for GRB
010222 is R.A. = 14h52m12s.55, Decl. = +43o01'06".3 (equinox
2000.0), with an uncertainty of 0".3.  Spectra (range 362-756 nm)
of the afterglow were obtained by M. Calkins (FLWO) with the 1.5-m
Tillinghast telescope (+ FAST spectrograph), starting at Feb. 22.51.
The data show a blue continuum with many narrow absorption features
clearly present.  Preliminary identification of the strongest
features as Mg II and Fe II suggests the presence of at least one
absorption system at z = 1.476.  The absorption may be from
interstellar gas in the host galaxy, but its presence at least
places a lower limit on the redshift of the GRB."


COMET C/2000 W1 (UTSUNOMIYA-JONES)
     C. W. Hergenrother, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, reports
that this comet has undergone a rapid fading, with R-band
photometry showing m_1 about 16.5 for a 1'.7 coma on a co-added
2400-s CCD exposure taken on Feb. 12.6 UT with the Catalina 1.5-m
reflector.  No nuclear condensation was visible to a limiting mag
of 21.0.  Earlier visual m_1 estimates:  Jan. 17.86, 10.1 (Y.
Nagai, Yamanashi, Japan, 0.32-m reflector); 22.88, 10.5 (K.
Yoshimoto, Yamaguchi, Japan, 0.25-m reflector); 28.77, 12.0: (M.
Mattiazzo, Wallaroo, S. Australia, 0.20-m reflector); 30.28, 11.6
(P. M. Raymundo, northwest of Salvador, Brazil, 0.25-m reflector).


V445 PUPPIS
     Visual magnitude estimates:  Jan. 29.386 UT, 9.6 (J. Bedient,
Honolulu, Hawaii); Feb. 1.787, 9.8 (A. Pearce, Nedlands, W.
Australia); 7.777, 10.1 (Pearce); 14.116, 9.7 (S. Otero, Buenos
Aires, Argentina); 18.06, 10.0 (J. Carvajal, Avila, Spain).

                      (C) Copyright 2001 CBAT
2001 February 22               (7586)            Daniel W. E. Green