Gamma-ray Burst 051117

(All information courtesy of the instrument teams.)

Previous IAU Circulars

• none

• GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE
  

  TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
  NOTICE_DATE:     Thu 17 Nov 05 10:51:59 UT
  NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Position
  TRIGGER_NUM:     164268,   Seg_Num: 0
  GRB_RA:          228.405d {+15h 13m 37s} (J2000),
                   228.466d {+15h 13m 52s} (current),
                   227.889d {+15h 11m 33s} (1950)
  GRB_DEC:         +30.870d {+30d 52' 11"} (J2000),
                   +30.848d {+30d 50' 53"} (current),
                   +31.056d {+31d 03' 20"} (1950)
  GRB_ERROR:       3.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
  GRB_INTEN:       18622 [cnts]    Image_Peak=643 [image_cnts]
  TRIGGER_DUR:     4.096 [sec] 
  TRIGGER_INDEX:   298     E_range: 25-100 keV
  BKG_INTEN:       153374 [cnts]
  BKG_TIME:        39024.00 SOD {10:50:24.00} UT
  BKG_DUR:         40 [sec]
  GRB_DATE:        13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  GRB_TIME:        39080.09 SOD {10:51:20.09} UT
  GRB_PHI:         -141.93 [deg]
  GRB_THETA:        29.19 [deg]
  SOLN_STATUS:     0x3
  RATE_SIGNIF:     11.61 [sigma]
  IMAGE_SIGNIF:    12.84 [sigma]
  MERIT_PARAMS:     +1  +0  +0  +2  +2  +1  +0  +0 -64  +1 
  SUN_POSTN:       232.84d {+15h 31m 23s}  -19.06d {-19d 03' 40"}
  SUN_DIST:         50.09 [deg]
  MOON_POSTN:       70.29d {+04h 41m 09s}  +26.71d {+26d 42' 31"}
  MOON_DIST:       118.78 [deg]
  MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
  GAL_COORDS:       48.41, 58.82 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
  ECL_COORDS:      214.03, 46.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
  COMMENTS:        SWIFT-BAT GRB Coordinates.  
  COMMENTS:        This is a rate trigger.  
  COMMENTS:        A point_source was found.  
  COMMENTS:        This does not match any source in the on-board catalog.  
  COMMENTS:        This does not match any source in the ground catalog.  
  COMMENTS:        This is a GRB.  
  

• red DSS finding chart ps-file
  
  
• GCN NOTICE
  

  TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
  NOTICE_DATE:     Thu 17 Nov 05 10:53:46 UT
  NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Image
  TRIGGER_NUM:     164268,   Seg_Num: 0
  GRB_RA:          228.3906d {+15h 13m 33.7s} (J2000),
                   228.4513d {+15h 13m 48.3s} (current),
                   227.8745d {+15h 11m 29.8s} (1950)
  GRB_DEC:         +30.8728d {+30d 52' 22.0"} (J2000),
                   +30.8511d {+30d 51' 03.8"} (current),
                   +31.0586d {+31d 03' 30.9"} (1950)
  GRB_ERROR:       5.8 [arcsec, radius, statistical plus systematic]
  GRB_INTEN:       21 [cnts]
  IMG_START_DATE:  13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  IMG_START_TIME:  39187.50 SOD {10:53:07.50} UT,   107.4 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
  CENTROID_X:      294.20,  raw= 294  [pixels]
  CENTROID_Y:      281.70,  raw= 282  [pixels]
  ROLL:            174.50 [deg]
  GAIN:            1
  MODE:            2, Short Image mode
  WAVEFORM:        134
  EXPO_TIME:       0.10 [sec]
  GRB_POS_XRT_Y:   -42.99
  GRB_POS_XRT_Z:   -11.49
  IMAGE_URL:       sw00164268000msxim.img
  SUN_POSTN:       232.85d {+15h 31m 23s}  -19.06d {-19d 03' 41"}
  SUN_DIST:         50.09 [deg]
  MOON_POSTN:       70.31d {+04h 41m 14s}  +26.71d {+26d 42' 41"}
  MOON_DIST:       118.77 [deg]
  MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
  GAL_COORDS:       48.42, 58.83 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
  ECL_COORDS:      214.02, 46.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
  COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Image.  
  COMMENTS:        WARNING: XRT alignment calibration is on-going, and there may be  
  COMMENTS:        residual systematic offsets of several arcseconds not accounted for yet  
  COMMENTS:        by our on-board position determination algorithm.  We have increased  
  COMMENTS:        the estimated error circle radius to take this into account.  
  

  
• GCN NOTICE
  

  TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
  NOTICE_DATE:     Thu 17 Nov 05 10:53:45 UT
  NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Position
  TRIGGER_NUM:     164268,   Seg_Num: 0
  GRB_RA:          228.3906d {+15h 13m 33.7s} (J2000),
                   228.4513d {+15h 13m 48.3s} (current),
                   227.8745d {+15h 11m 29.8s} (1950)
  GRB_DEC:         +30.8728d {+30d 52' 22.0"} (J2000),
                   +30.8511d {+30d 51' 03.8"} (current),
                   +31.0586d {+31d 03' 30.9"} (1950)
  GRB_ERROR:       5.8 [arcsec radius, statistical plus systematic, 90% containment]
  GRB_INTEN:       1.00e-08 [erg/cm2/sec]
  GRB_SIGNIF:      4.58 [sigma]
  IMG_START_DATE:  13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  IMG_START_TIME:  39187.50 SOD {10:53:07.50} UT,   107.4 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
  TAM[0-3]:        327.62 237.21 261.19 243.15
  AMPLIFIER:       2
  WAVEFORM:        134
  SUN_POSTN:       232.85d {+15h 31m 23s}  -19.06d {-19d 03' 41"}
  SUN_DIST:         50.09 [deg]
  MOON_POSTN:       70.31d {+04h 41m 14s}  +26.71d {+26d 42' 41"}
  MOON_DIST:       118.77 [deg]
  MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
  GAL_COORDS:       48.42, 58.83 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
  ECL_COORDS:      214.02, 46.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
  COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Coordinates.  
  COMMENTS:        WARNING: XRT alignment calibration is on-going, and there may be  
  COMMENTS:        residual systematic offsets of several arcseconds not accounted for yet  
  COMMENTS:        by our on-board position determination algorithm.  We have increased  
  COMMENTS:        the estimated error circle radius to take this into account.  
  

• GCN NOTICE
  

  TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
  NOTICE_DATE:     Thu 17 Nov 05 10:54:09 UT
  NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Processed Image
  TRIGGER_NUM:     164268,   Seg_Num: 0
  GRB_RA:          228.3906d {+15h 13m 33.7s} (J2000),
                   228.4513d {+15h 13m 48.3s} (current),
                   227.8745d {+15h 11m 29.8s} (1950)
  GRB_DEC:         +30.8728d {+30d 52' 22.0"} (J2000),
                   +30.8511d {+30d 51' 03.8"} (current),
                   +31.0586d {+31d 03' 30.9"} (1950)
  GRB_ERROR:       5.8 [arcsec, radius, statistical plus systematic]
  GRB_INTEN:       21 [cnts]
  IMG_START_DATE:  13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  IMG_START_TIME:  39187.50 SOD {10:53:07.50} UT,   107.4 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
  CENTROID_X:      294.20,  raw= 294  [pixels]
  CENTROID_Y:      281.70,  raw= 282  [pixels]
  ROLL:            174.50 [deg]
  GAIN:            1
  MODE:            2, Short Image mode
  WAVEFORM:        134
  EXPO_TIME:       0.10 [sec]
  GRB_POS_XRT_Y:   -42.99
  GRB_POS_XRT_Z:   -11.49
  IMAGE_URL:       sw00164268000msxim.img
  SUN_POSTN:       232.85d {+15h 31m 23s}  -19.06d {-19d 03' 41"}
  SUN_DIST:         50.09 [deg]
  MOON_POSTN:       70.31d {+04h 41m 14s}  +26.71d {+26d 42' 41"}
  MOON_DIST:       118.77 [deg]
  MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
  GAL_COORDS:       48.42, 58.83 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
  ECL_COORDS:      214.02, 46.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
  COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Processed Image.  
  

  
• GCN NOTICE
  

  TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
  NOTICE_DATE:     Thu 17 Nov 05 10:54:59 UT
  NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Lightcurve
  TRIGGER_NUM:     164268,   Seg_Num: 0
  GRB_RA:          228.405d {+15h 13m 37s} (J2000),
                   228.466d {+15h 13m 52s} (current),
                   227.889d {+15h 11m 33s} (1950)
  GRB_DEC:         +30.870d {+30d 52' 11"} (J2000),
                   +30.848d {+30d 50' 53"} (current),
                   +31.056d {+31d 03' 20"} (1950)
  GRB_DATE:        13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  GRB_TIME:        39080.09 SOD {10:51:20.09} UT
  TRIGGER_INDEX:   298
  GRB_PHI:         -141.93 [deg]
  GRB_THETA:        29.19 [deg]
  DELTA_TIME:      7.00 [sec]
  TRIGGER_DUR:     4.096 [sec] 
  LC_URL:          sw00164268000msb.lc
  SUN_POSTN:       232.84d {+15h 31m 23s}  -19.06d {-19d 03' 40"}
  SUN_DIST:         50.09 [deg]
  MOON_POSTN:       70.29d {+04h 41m 09s}  +26.71d {+26d 42' 31"}
  MOON_DIST:       118.78 [deg]
  MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
  GAL_COORDS:       48.41, 58.82 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
  ECL_COORDS:      214.03, 46.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
  COMMENTS:        SWIFT-BAT GRB Lightcurve.  
  COMMENTS:           
  COMMENTS:        The next comments were copied from the BAT_POS Notice:  
  COMMENTS:        This is a rate trigger.  
  COMMENTS:        A point_source was found.  
  COMMENTS:        This does not match any source in the on-board catalog.  
  COMMENTS:        This does not match any source in the ground catalog.  
  COMMENTS:        This is a GRB.  
  

  
• GCN NOTICE
  

  TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
  NOTICE_DATE:     Thu 17 Nov 05 10:55:18 UT
  NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Lightcurve
  TRIGGER_NUM:     164268,   Seg_Num: 0
  POINT_RA:        228.402d {+15h 13m 37s} (J2000)
  POINT_DEC:       +30.878d {+30d 52' 40"} (J2000)
  LC_START_DATE:   13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  LC_START_TIME:   39190.34 SOD {10:53:10.34} UT,   110.2 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
  LC_STOP_DATE:    13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  LC_STOP_TIME:    39297.76 SOD {10:54:57.76} UT
  LC_LIVE_TIME:    107.35 [sec], 99.9%
  DELTA_TIME:      86292.58 [sec]
  N_BINS:          100
  TERM_COND:       0
  LC_URL:          sw00164268000msx.lc
  SUN_POSTN:       232.85d {+15h 31m 23s}  -19.06d {-19d 03' 41"}
  SUN_DIST:         50.10 [deg]
  MOON_POSTN:       70.31d {+04h 41m 14s}  +26.71d {+26d 42' 41"}
  MOON_DIST:       118.77 [deg]
  MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
  GAL_COORDS:       48.43, 58.82 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
  ECL_COORDS:      214.03, 46.57 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
  COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Lightcurve.  
  

  
• GCN NOTICE
  

  TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
  NOTICE_DATE:     Thu 17 Nov 05 10:56:56 UT
  NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Source List
  TRIGGER_NUM:     164268,   Seg_Num: 0
  POINT_RA:        228.404d {+15h 13m 37s} (J2000)
  POINT_DEC:       +30.878d {+30d 52' 40"} (J2000)
  POINT_ROLL:      174.505d
  IMG_START_DATE:  13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  IMG_START_TIME:  39190.82 SOD {10:53:10.82} UT,   110.7 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
  FILTER:          3, V
  BKG_MEAN:        1.028
  N_STARS:         24
  X_OFFSET:        492 [pixels]
  Y_OFFSET:        645 [pixels]
  X_MAX:           1451 [pixels]
  Y_MAX:           1604 [pixels]
  DET_THRESH:      9
  PHOTO_THRESH:    4
  SL_URL:          sw00164268000msufc0110.fits
  SUN_POSTN:       232.85d {+15h 31m 23s}  -19.06d {-19d 03' 41"}
  SUN_DIST:         50.10 [deg]
  MOON_POSTN:       70.31d {+04h 41m 14s}  +26.71d {+26d 42' 41"}
  MOON_DIST:       118.77 [deg]
  MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
  GAL_COORDS:       48.43, 58.82 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
  ECL_COORDS:      214.03, 46.57 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
  COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Source List.  
  

• GCN NOTICE
  

  TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
  NOTICE_DATE:     Thu 17 Nov 05 10:57:27 UT
  NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Source List
  TRIGGER_NUM:     164268,   Seg_Num: 0
  POINT_RA:        228.404d {+15h 13m 37s} (J2000)
  POINT_DEC:       +30.878d {+30d 52' 40"} (J2000)
  POINT_ROLL:      174.505d
  IMG_START_DATE:  13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  IMG_START_TIME:  39190.82 SOD {10:53:10.82} UT,   110.7 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
  FILTER:          3, V
  BKG_MEAN:        1.028
  N_STARS:         24
  X_OFFSET:        492 [pixels]
  Y_OFFSET:        645 [pixels]
  X_MAX:           1451 [pixels]
  Y_MAX:           1604 [pixels]
  DET_THRESH:      9
  PHOTO_THRESH:    4
  SL_URL:          sw00164268000msufc0110.fits
  SUN_POSTN:       232.85d {+15h 31m 23s}  -19.06d {-19d 03' 41"}
  SUN_DIST:         50.10 [deg]
  MOON_POSTN:       70.31d {+04h 41m 14s}  +26.71d {+26d 42' 41"}
  MOON_DIST:       118.77 [deg]
  MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
  GAL_COORDS:       48.43, 58.82 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
  ECL_COORDS:      214.03, 46.57 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
  COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Processed Source List.  
  COMMENTS:        All 4 attachments are included.  
  

  
• GCN NOTICE
  

  TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
  NOTICE_DATE:     Thu 17 Nov 05 10:58:40 UT
  NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Image
  TRIGGER_NUM:     164268,   Seg_Num: 0
  POINT_RA:        228.404d {+15h 13m 37s} (J2000)
  POINT_DEC:       +30.878d {+30d 52' 40"} (J2000)
  ROLL:            174.505d
  IMG_START_DATE:  13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  IMG_START_TIME:  39190.82 SOD {10:53:10.82} UT,   110.7 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
  FILTER:          3, V
  EXPOSURE_ID:     153917590
  X_OFFSET:        812 [pixels]
  Y_OFFSET:        965 [pixels]
  WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
  HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
  X_GRB_POS:       972
  Y_GRB_POS:       1125
  BINNING_INDEX:   1
  IM_URL:          sw00164268000msuni0110.fits
  SUN_POSTN:       232.85d {+15h 31m 23s}  -19.06d {-19d 03' 41"}
  SUN_DIST:         50.10 [deg]
  MOON_POSTN:       70.31d {+04h 41m 14s}  +26.71d {+26d 42' 41"}
  MOON_DIST:       118.77 [deg]
  MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
  GAL_COORDS:       48.43, 58.82 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
  ECL_COORDS:      214.03, 46.57 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
  COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Image.  
  COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the XRT Position Command.  
  COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).  
  

  
• GCN NOTICE
  

  TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
  NOTICE_DATE:     Thu 17 Nov 05 10:59:17 UT
  NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Image
  TRIGGER_NUM:     164268,   Seg_Num: 0
  POINT_RA:        228.404d {+15h 13m 37s} (J2000)
  POINT_DEC:       +30.878d {+30d 52' 40"} (J2000)
  ROLL:            174.505d
  IMG_START_DATE:  13691 TJD;   321 DOY;   05/11/17
  IMG_START_TIME:  39190.82 SOD {10:53:10.82} UT,   110.7 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
  FILTER:          3, V
  EXPOSURE_ID:     153917590
  X_OFFSET:        812 [pixels]
  Y_OFFSET:        965 [pixels]
  WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
  HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
  X_GRB_POS:       972
  Y_GRB_POS:       1125
  BINNING_INDEX:   1
  IM_URL:          sw00164268000msuni0110.fits
  SUN_POSTN:       232.85d {+15h 31m 23s}  -19.06d {-19d 03' 41"}
  SUN_DIST:         50.10 [deg]
  MOON_POSTN:       70.31d {+04h 41m 14s}  +26.71d {+26d 42' 41"}
  MOON_DIST:       118.77 [deg]
  MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
  GAL_COORDS:       48.43, 58.82 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
  ECL_COORDS:      214.03, 46.57 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
  COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Processed Image.  
  COMMENTS:        If you have elected to receive attachments:  
  COMMENTS:        The uvot_catalog_image.fits.gz file does not exist; skipping the attachment.  
  

  
• GCN Circular #4280
  D. Band (GSFC), S. Barthelmy (GSFC), A. Beardmore (U Leicester), D. Burrows (PSU), N. Gehrels (GSFC), M. Goad (U. Leicester) O. Godet (U. Leicester), C. Gronwall (PSU), J. Kennea (PSU), K. Page (U Leicester), E. Rol (U. Leicester) on behalf of the Swift team:
  At 10:51:20 UT, Swift-BAT triggered and located GRB 051117 (trigger=164268). The spacecraft slewed immediately. The BAT on-board calculated location is RA,Dec 228.405d, +30.870d {+15h 13m 37s, +30d 52' 11"} (J2000), with an uncertainty of 3 arcmin (radius, 90% containment, stat+sys). The BAT light curve shows a single peak with a total duration of about 20 sec. The peak count rate was ~1500 counts/sec (15-350 keV), at ~3 sec after the trigger.
  XRT began observing at 10:53:07 UT, 107 seconds after the BAT trigger. We find a bright, rapidly fading, uncataloged source at RA 15h 13m 33.7s Dec +30d 52' 22.0" (J2000) with a positional uncertainty of 5.8 arcsec (90% containment). This is 46 arcsec from the BAT position. The approximate initial flux is 1.0e-8 erg/cm2/sec (0.2-10 keV). The XRT preliminary raw spectrum is well fit by an absorbed powerlaw with a photon index of 2.2+/- 0.1 with an excess NH of 2e21 cm^-2.
  UVOT began observing at UT 10:53:10, 111 seconds after the BAT trigger. In a 200 sec V image, we detect a faint source just outside the XRT error circle at an approximate position of RA=15h 13m 33.6s, Dec=30d 52' 15.2" (J2000) that is not present in the DSS. The magnitude is 19.9 mag. The extinction in this direction is A_V = 0.08.
• GCN Circular #4287
  M. Goad, K. Page, D. Burrows (PSU), K. Hurley, (Berkeley), M. Chester (PSU) report on behalf of the Swift XRT team.
  From analysis of 2.3 ks of Photon Counting mode data of GRB051117A (Band et al., GCN 4280) we obtain a refined XRT position of RA: 15h 13m 33.8s, Dec:+30d 52m 13.3s (J2000) with an uncertainty of 3.4 arcsec (90% containment). This includes the latest XRT boresight correction. This refined position is 41 arcsec from the BAT on-board position and 3.4 arcsec from the UVOT position quoted in GCN 4280.
  We have also analysed 1.77 ks of XRT Windowed Timing mode observations starting 113 s after the BAT trigger. The XRT lightcurve displays multiple flares with a peak count rate of approximately 180 ct/s occurring 134 s after the BAT trigger. The early underlying decay slope of the XRT lightcurve is a powerlaw with slope ~1.1+/-0.1.
  The XRT WT mode 0.2-10 keV spectrum is well represented by an absorbed powerlaw with photon index 2.23+/-0.02 with a mean unabsorbed flux of 2.6E-09 ergs/cm2/s (between 113 s and 5.2 ks after the burst). We find evidence for excess NH above the Galactic value of 2.0e21 cm^-2.
• GCN Circular #4289
  D. Palmer (LANL), L. Barbier (GSFC), S. Barthelmy (GSFC), L. Cominsky (Sonoma State U.), J. Cannizzo (GSFC-UMBC), J. Cummings (GSFC/NRC), E. Fenimore (LANL), N. Gehrels (GSFC), D. Hullinger (GSFC/UMD), H. Krimm (GSFC/USRA), C. Markwardt (GSFC/UMD), A. Parsons (GSFC), T. Sakamoto (GSFC/NRC), G. Sato (ISAS), J. Tueller (GSFC) on behalf of the Swift-BAT team:
  Using the full data set from the recent telemetry downlink, we report further analysis of Swift-BAT GRB 051117A (trigger #164268) (Band, et al., GCN 4280). The ground-analysis position is RA,Dec 228.399,+30.870 {15h 13m 35.7s,+30d 51' 10.3"} (J2000) with an uncertainty of 1.0 arcmin (radius, 90%, stat+sys). T90 is at least 140 +- 10 sec. The partial coding fraction is 72%. The lightcurve has a long FRED-like peak at T-15 sec lasting out to at least T+190 sec. There is a hint of emission peaks at T+225 and T+350 (each ~30 sec in duration). Fitting a simple power law over the interval from T-29 to T+157 sec, the photon index is 1.83 +/- 0.07 with a fluence of at least 4.6 +/- 0.16 X 10^-6 erg/cm^2. The peak flux in a 1-sec wide window starting at T+2.47 sec is 0.93 +/- 0.17 ph/cm^2/sec. All values are in the 15-150 keV band at the 90% confidence level.
• GCN Circular #4292
  Dale A. Frail (NRAO) reports on behalf of a larger collaboration:
  "We observed both recent bursts, GRB 051117A (GCN 4280) and GRB 051117B (GCN 4281) with the Very Large Array at 8.5 GHz centered on November 18.51 UT and 18.48, respectively. Within the XRT error circles (GCN 4282; GCN 4287) we no radio emission above 3-sigma, for an rms noise of 56 uJy (GRB 051117A), and 40 uJy (GRB 051117B).
  No further observations are planned.
  The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc."
• GCN Circular #4300
  GRB 051117A: Swift/UVOT Detection of an Afterglow
  S. T. Holland (GSFC/USRA), D. Band (GSFC), K. Mason (PPARC), F. Marshall (GSFC), & N. Gehrels (GSFC) on behalf of the Swift/UVOT team report:
  The Swift/UVOT began observing the field of GRB 051117A (BAT Trigger 163268; Band et al. 2005, GCN Circular 4280) at 2005-11-17T10:53:10, 111 seconds after the burst.
  We detect a fading source corresponding to the UVOT source in Band et al. (2005, GCN Circular 4280). The refined coordinates of this source are:

  RA(J2000) =  15:13:39.09
  Dec(J2000) = +30:52:12.7
  

  with a positional uncertainty of +/-0.5 arcsec (1-sigma). The transient has V = 20.01 +/- 0.46 (1-sigma, statistical) in a 200 s exposure starting at 110 seconds after the BAT trigger. This value supersedes the approximate magnitude given in Band, et al. (2005, GCN Circular 4280). This magnitude has not been corrected for Galactic extinction.
  The magnitude in the UVOT White filter is 19.19 +/- 0.16 (1-sigma, statistical) in a 50 s, exposure starting 531 s after the BAT trigger. The source has faded to a White magnitude of approximately 21.5 by 3.5 days after the burst. There is weak evidence that the source is extended, so this may represent the luminosity of the host galaxy of GRB 051117A.
• GCN Circular #4301
  GRB 051117A: Swift/UVOT Detection of an Afterglow: Correction
  S. T. Holland (GSFC/USRA), on behalf of the Swift/UVOT team report:
  There is an error in the coordinates for the UVOT fading source associated with GRB 051117A (Holland et al., 2005, GCN Circular 4300). The correct coordinates are

  RA(J2000) =  15:13:34.09
  Dec(J2000) = +30:52:12.7
  

  with a positional uncertainty of +/-0.5 arcsec (1-sigma). We apologize for this error and any inconvenience that it may have caused.
• GCN Circular #5025
  D. A. Kann (TLS Tautenburg), E. Palazzi, N. Masetti & E. Maiorano (INAF/IASF - Bologna) report:
  We observed the location of the UVOT afterglow (Holland et al., GCN 4300, Holland, GCN 4301) of GRB 051117A (Band et al., GCN 4280) with the Tautenburg 1.34m Schmidt telescope in the R filter under clear conditions and seeing of 2.8". Observations consisted of 12 x 600 s exposures, total integration time 2 hours, centered at UT 20060406.1, 139.9 days after the burst.
  It was suggested by the UVOT observations that an underlying extended source might have been detected at 3.5 days after the burst at a magnitude of V about 21.5 - possibly the host galaxy.
  The stacked Tautenburg image reveals no source at the UVOT position. The limiting magnitude at 3 sigma confidence is R = 24.0 measured against the USNOB1.0 R2 magnitudes of several unsaturated and isolated stars. This is not corrected for the very small Galactic extinction of E(B-V) = 0.024.
  This field has also been imaged by the fourth release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (Adelman-McCarthy et al. 2006, ApJS, in press), and no source is detected at the UVOT location either (our photometry is significantly deeper than the SDSS).
  About 2" from the UVOT localization (outside the 3 sigma UVOT localization), there is a group of four pixels slightly above the (subtracted) background. Simply transforming the sum of the counts into a magnitude gives R = 25.3, a "detection" at about one sigma significance. We caution that this is quite probably not a real source. There are no other sources closer than 5" to the UVOT position.
  This message may be cited.
• astro-ph/0612661 from 21 Dec 2006
  Goad: Swift multi-wavelength observations of the bright flaring burst GRB051117A
  We report on the temporal and spectral characteristics of the early X-ray emission from the Gamma Ray Burst 051117A as observed by Swift. The superb quality of the early X-ray light-curve and spectra of this source, one of the brightest seen by the X-ray Telescope at such early times, allows an unprecedented look at the spectral and temporal evolution of the prompt and early afterglow emission for this GRB and allows us to place stringent limits on the detection of lines. The X-ray light-curve at early times is characteristic of a shot-noise process, with individual shots well-modelled by a fast-rise and exponential decay spanning a broad range in rise-times and decay rates. A temporal spectral analysis of the early light-curve shows that the photon index and source intensity are highly correlated with the spectrum being significantly harder when brighter, consistent with the movement of the peak of the Band function to lower energies following individual flares. The high quality spectrum obtained from the first orbit of WT mode data, enables us to place a 3 sigma upper limit on the strength of any emission line features of EW < 15 eV, assuming a narrow emission-line of 100 eV at the peak of the effective area (abridged).