Gamma-ray Burst 050219

(All information courtesy of the instrument teams.)

Previous IAU Circulars

none

Results of Observations

GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sat 19 Feb 05 13:41:52 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     106415,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          166.429d {+11h 05m 43s} (J2000),
                 166.489d {+11h 05m 57s} (current),
                 165.846d {+11h 03m 23s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -40.680d {-40d 40' 47"} (J2000),
                 -40.708d {-40d 42' 27"} (current),
                 -40.410d {-40d 24' 34"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       4.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN:       4874 [cnts]    Peak=193 [cnts/sec]
TRIGGER_DUR:     1.024 [sec]
TRIGGER_INDEX:   1   E_range: 15-25 keV
BKG_INTEN:       31639 [cnts]
BKG_TIME:        45584.00 SOD {12:39:44.00} UT
BKG_DUR:         8 [sec]
GRB_DATE:        13420 TJD;    50 DOY;   05/02/19
GRB_TIME:        45601.04 SOD {12:40:01.04} UT
GRB_PHI:         -133.49 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        43.09 [deg]
SOLN_STATUS:     0x3
RATE_SIGNIF:     14.68 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF:    8.00 [sigma]
MERIT_PARAMS:     +1  +0  +0  +3  +2  +8  +0  +0 +59  +1 
SUN_POSTN:       333.02d {+22h 12m 04s}  -11.13d {-11d 07' 41"}
SUN_DIST:        126.69 [deg]
MOON_POSTN:      100.77d {+06h 43m 06s}  +27.99d {+27d 59' 38"}
MOON_DIST:        91.77 [deg]
GAL_COORDS:      282.16, 17.89 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:      187.42,-41.98 [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.  
COMMENTS:        This Notice was ground-reprocessed from flight-data.  
COMMENTS:        Issued with caution because we do not have a Lightcurve to check.  
COMMENTS:        However, the BAT position does match the XRT position within 43arcsec.

red DSS finding chart ps-file

GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sat 19 Feb 05 12:44:02 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Lightcurve
TRIGGER_NUM:     106415,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          166.429d {+11h 05m 43s} (J2000),
                 166.489d {+11h 05m 57s} (current),
                 165.846d {+11h 03m 23s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -40.680d {-40d 40' 47"} (J2000),
                 -40.708d {-40d 42' 27"} (current),
                 -40.410d {-40d 24' 34"} (1950)
GRB_DATE:        13420 TJD;    50 DOY;   05/02/19
GRB_TIME:        45601.04 SOD {12:40:01.04} UT
TRIGGER_INDEX:   148
GRB_PHI:         -133.49 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        43.10 [deg]
DELTA_TIME:      65492.00 [sec]
LC_URL:
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-BAT GRB Lightcurve.
COMMENTS:        This does not match any source in the ground catalog.

GCN notice #3036
P. Romano (INAF-OAB), M. Perri (ASDC), A. Beardmore (U. Leicester), V. Mangano (INF-IASF/Palermo), D. N. Burrows, J. E. Hill, (PSU), B. Zhang (U. Nevada), and N. Gehrels (GSFC) report on behalf of the Swift XRT team:
The Swift BAT instrument detected a GRB at 12:40:01 UT on 19 February 2005. The observatory executed an automated slew to the BAT position and the XRT began taking data at 12:41:33.38 UT. The XRT was in Auto state and reports a prompt position of: GRB-RA= 166.41396, GRB-DEC= -40.68277
```
RA(J2000) = 11h 05m 39.4s
DEC(J2000) = -40:40:58.0
```
We estimate an uncertainty of about 6 arcseconds.
We have not examined the XRT image yet due to technical problems, but at first glance, this appears to be a valid position.
GCN notice #3038
D. Hullinger (GSFC/UMD), S. Barthelmy, L. Barbier, J. Cummings (GSFC), E. Fenimore (LANL), N. Gehrels (GSFC), H. Krimm (GSFC/USRA), C. Markwardt (GSFC/UMD), J. Norris (GSFC), J. Nousek (PSU), D. Palmer (LANL), A. Parsons (GSFC), M. Perri (ASDC), T. Sakamoto (GSFC), G. Sato (ISAS), A. Smale (NASA HQ), M. Suzuki (Saitama), J. Tueller (GSFC), B. Zhang (UNLV) on behalf of the Swift-BAT team:
At 12:40:01 UT, the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) triggered and located on-board GRB050219. The spacecraft autonomously slewed to the burst location (started at T+12 sec and was on target at T+78 sec). The XRT and UVOT instruments then began their standard set of pre-programmed observing sequences.
Using the time interval of the burst before the slew, the ground-calculated location is RA,Dec 166.409,-40.677 (J2000) with an uncertainty of 4 arcmin (radius, including a systematic uncertainty, 90% containment). The burst was 43 degrees off the BAT boresight (30% encoding). It is within 25 arcsec of the XRT position (Romano et al., GCN Circ 3036).
The burst lightcurve has two overlapping peaks, with a T90 duration of ~23 sec. The peak flux is 5.5 ph/cm2/sec for a 1-sec interval (15-350 keV). The fluence is ~9.4e-6 erg/cm^2 (15-350 keV).
GCN notice #3039
P. Schady (MSSL), M. Ivanushkina (PSU), T. Poole (MSSL), C. Gronwall (PSU), A. Blustin (MSSL), P. Brown (PSU), S. Rosen, K. McGowan, M. De Pasquale (MSSL), P. Boyd (GSFC/UMBC), S. Holland, M. Still (GSFC/USRA), W. Landsman (GSFC), S. Hunsberger (PSU), A. Breeveld (MSSL), P. Roming (PSU), K. Mason, H. Huckle (MSSL), P. Broos (PSU), T. Kennedy, P. Smith, B. Hancock (MSSL), S. Koch (PSU), M. Carter (MSSL), J. Racusin (PSU), E. Fenimore (LANL), B. Zhang (UNLV), J. Nousek (PSU), N. Gehrels (GSFC), on behalf of the Swift UVOT team.
The Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) began observations of GRB050219a on February 19, 2005, at 12:41:21 UT, 80 seconds after the initial Swift BAT trigger (Hullinger et al, GCN 3038). We detect no source at the Swift XRT position (Romano et al, GCN 3036). The limiting magnitudes in each of the UVOT filters are as follows:
```
  UVW2 ~ 21.0 (3-sigma) for a combined 277 second exposure starting @  80 seconds after the burst
  UVM2 ~ 20.8 (3-sigma) for a combined 277 second exposure starting @ 201 seconds after the burst
  UVW1 ~ 21.7 (3-sigma) for a combined 287 second exposure starting @ 216 seconds after the burst
     U ~ 21.6 (3-sigma) for a combined 280 second exposure starting @ 230 seconds after the burst
     B ~ 21.5 (3-sigma) for a combined 278 second exposure starting @ 245 seconds after the burst
     V ~ 20.7 (3-sigma) for a combined 374 second exposure starting @  96 seconds after the burst
```
We caution that the instrument is not yet fully calibrated and that the magnitude limits presented here may need to be refined.
GCN notice #3040
K. L. Page, M. R. Goad, O. Godet, J. P. Osborne, (U. Leicester), M. Perri (ASDC), J. L. Racusin, D. N. Burrows, (PSU), C. Pagani, G. Tagliaferri (INAF-OAB), V. Mangano (INAF-IASF/Palermo), K. Hurley (UC-Berkeley), N. White, N. Gehrels (GSFC), B. Zhang (U. Nevada), report on behalf of the Swift XRT team:
We report a refined XRT position for GRB 050219a (Romano et al. 2005, GCN 3036; Hullinger et al. 2005, GCN 3038), based on ground-processing of XRT Photon-Counting mode data taken during the first orbit after the burst. The refined position is:
```
RA(J2000) = 11:05:38.8,
Dec(J2000) = -40:40:58.3.
```
We estimate an uncertainty of about 6.3 arcseconds.
The lightcurve of this burst is fading, with a steep power-law up to about 200 s post-burst and a shallower power law at later times.
Swift observations of this burst ended at 21:05:36.00 UT, when the Swift BAT triggered on GRB 050219b, which replaced GRB 050219a as the new GRB target in the on-board schedule.
GCN notice #3041
A. de Ugarte Postigo (IAA-CSIC, Granada), S. Eguchi (Stelab, Nagoya Univ.), J. Gorosabel (IAA-CSIC), Ph. Yock (Univ. of Auckland) and A.J. Castro-Tirado (IAA-CSIC), report:
"Following the detection by SWIFT of GRB 050219a (Hullinger et al. GCN Circ. 3038) we imaged the error box with the 0.6 m telescope at Mt. John Univ. Observatory. We obtained 3 x 300s images with the MOA camera (+ wide R-band filter) under poor seeing conditions (4"- 5") starting on 19.613 Feb (i.e. 2.05 hr after the event). Additional observations were performed with a wide B-band filter. Comparison of the stacked R-band image with the DSS-2 revealed neither counterpart within the 6" radius X-ray afterglow position given by the SWIFT/XRT (Romano et al. GCN Circ. 3036) nor variable source to about R = 20.5 within the 4' radius SWIFT/BAT error box."
GCN notice #3048
E. Berger (Carnegie Observatories) and S. Gonzalez (Las Campanas Observatory) report:
"We imaged a field centered on the XRT error circle (GCN 3040) of GRB 050219a (GCN 3038) with the Las Campanas Observatory's Swope 40-in telescope in the I-band for a total of 20 min (2005, Feb 20.264, 17.7 hours after the burst). We do not detect any sources within the 6.3 arcsec radius XRT error circle to a limit of about 21.5 mag."
1409.0017 from 2 Sep 14
A. Rossi et al.: A quiescent galaxy at the position of the long GRB 050219A
Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) are produced by the collapse of very massive stars. Due to the short lifetime of their progenitors, LGRBs pinpoint star-forming galaxies. We present here a multi-band search for the host galaxy of the long dark GRB 050219A within the enhanced Swift/XRT error circle. We used spectroscopic observations acquired with VLT/X-shooter to determine the redshift and star-formation rate of the putative host galaxy. We compared the results with the optical/IR spectral energy distribution obtained with different facilities. Surprisingly, the host galaxy is a old and quiescent early-type galaxy at z = 0.211 characterised by an unprecedentedly low specific star-formation rate. It is the first LGRB host to be also an early-type post-starburst galaxy. This is further evidence that GRBs can explode in all kind of galaxies, with the only requirement being an episode of star-formation.

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Jochen Greiner, last update: 02-Sep-2014 [Disclaimer]