Circular No. 6744
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
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IRAS 18119-1342
     A. Henden, Universities Space Research Corporation (USRA) and
U.S. Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station (USNOFS); C. Luginbuhl
and F. Vrba, USNOFS; B. Canzian, USRA and USNOFS; J. Munn, USNOFS;
and D. Hartmann, Clemson University, write:  "We report a strong
near-infrared source at R.A. = 18h14m50s.31, Decl. = -13o41'05".6
(equinox 2000.0, +/- 0".5), which is about 2' from the center of
the IPN (cf. IAUC 6593, 6683) error box for the soft gamma-ray
repeater reported on IAUC 6743.  JHK images saturate in our
shortest available exposure (0.16 s), but we estimate magnitudes J
about 7.4, H about 6.0, K about 5.1.  This object is coincident
with IRAS 18119-1342, within the errors of the positions.  CCD
images with limiting magnitudes around 20-21 show the object barely
visible at V but easily visible at R and bright at I.  The object
is barely on the POSS-I red plate.  While the GRB error-box center
has been recently revised, based on RXTE ASM data (D. Smith,
private comm.), to a point some 20' south of the IPN center, we
note the similarity of this source to the potential infrared
counterparts of SGR 1900+14."


GRB 970815
     A. J. Castro-Tirado and J. Gorosabel, Laboratorio de
Astrofisica Espacial y Fisica Fundamental (LAEFF), Madrid; and J.
Greiner, Astrophysikalisches Institut, Potsdam, communicate:
"Following the detection of transient x-ray emission from GRB
970815 by RXTE (IAUC 6718), frames in the K' band were obtained by
A. Campos (Observatorio Astronomico Nacional, Alcala de Henares)
and N. Metcalfe (Durham University) on Aug. 17 at the 3.5-m
telescope (+ OMEGA) at the German-Spanish Calar Alto Observatory
(CAHA).  R and B-band images were acquired on Aug. 20 by E. Sanchez
(Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Granada) with the 1.5-m
telescope at the Sierra Nevada Observatory.  Additional images were
obtained by H.-J. Hagen (Hamburg Observatory) with the 2.2-m CAHA
telescope (+ CAFOS) on Aug. 20-21 and by J. Trapero (LAEFF) with
the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope at La Palma on Aug. 22.  No
source is detected within the 10" radius error box of the faint
ROSAT x-ray source on the border of the RXTE region (IAUC 6742).
Upper limits are:  Aug. 17, K' > 18; Aug. 20, B > 21.5, R > 22;
Aug. 23, B > 22.5, R > 23.  Deeper optical observations are
encouraged."

                      (C) Copyright 1997 CBAT
1997 September 19              (6744)            Daniel W. E. Green