Gamma-ray Burst 121209A

(All information courtesy of the instrument teams.)

Previous IAU Circulars

none

Results of Observations

GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 21:59:31 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          326.801d {+21h 47m 12s} (J2000),
                 326.972d {+21h 47m 53s} (current),
                 326.138d {+21h 44m 33s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:          -8.244d {-08d 14' 39"} (J2000),
                  -8.184d {-08d 11' 02"} (current),
                  -8.476d {-08d 28' 34"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       3.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN:       3606 [cnts]    Image_Peak=164 [image_cnts]
TRIGGER_DUR:     1.024 [sec] 
TRIGGER_INDEX:   146     E_range: 25-100 keV
BKG_INTEN:       21892 [cnts]
BKG_TIME:        79134.03 SOD {21:58:54.03} UT
BKG_DUR:         8 [sec]
GRB_DATE:        16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
GRB_TIME:        79151.37 SOD {21:59:11.37} UT
GRB_PHI:         166.02 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        33.21 [deg]
SOLN_STATUS:     0x3
RATE_SIGNIF:     14.24 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF:    7.49 [sigma]
MERIT_PARAMS:     +1  +0  +0  +0  +2  -2  +0  +0 -37  +0 
SUN_POSTN:       257.22d {+17h 08m 53s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 00"}
SUN_DIST:         68.23 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.30d {+13h 49m 12s}  -13.55d {-13d 32' 45"}
MOON_DIST:       116.30 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.52,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:      326.21,  4.82 [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 trigger occurred at longitude,latitude = 245.86,-8.54 [deg].

red DSS finding chart ps-file

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:00:51 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Nack-Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        326.806d {+21h 47m 14s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:        -8.236d {-08d 14' 08"} (J2000)
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79243.35 SOD {22:00:43.35} UT,   92.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
COUNTS:          6    Min_needed= 20
STD_DEV:         0.00   Max_StdDev_for_Good=28.44 [arcsec]
PH2_ITER:        1    Max_iter_allowed= 4
ERROR_CODE:      1
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Nack Position.  
COMMENTS:        No source found in the image.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:03:09 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Lightcurve
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          326.801d {+21h 47m 12s} (J2000),
                 326.972d {+21h 47m 53s} (current),
                 326.138d {+21h 44m 33s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:          -8.244d {-08d 14' 39"} (J2000),
                  -8.184d {-08d 11' 02"} (current),
                  -8.476d {-08d 28' 34"} (1950)
GRB_DATE:        16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
GRB_TIME:        79151.37 SOD {21:59:11.37} UT
TRIGGER_INDEX:   146
GRB_PHI:         166.02 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        33.21 [deg]
DELTA_TIME:      25.00 [sec]
TRIGGER_DUR:     1.024 [sec] 
SOLN_STATUS:     0x3
RATE_SIGNIF:     14.24 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF:    7.49 [sigma]
LC_URL:          sw00540964000msb.lc
SUN_POSTN:       257.22d {+17h 08m 54s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 01"}
SUN_DIST:         68.22 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.34d {+13h 49m 21s}  -13.56d {-13d 33' 22"}
MOON_DIST:       116.26 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.52,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:      326.21,  4.82 [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.  
COMMENTS:        This trigger occurred at longitude,latitude = 245.86,-8.54 [deg].

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:05:16 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          326.7891d {+21h 47m 09.38s} (J2000),
                 326.9606d {+21h 47m 50.53s} (current),
                 326.1260d {+21h 44m 30.24s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:          -8.2326d {-08d 13' 57.3"} (J2000),
                  -8.1723d {-08d 10' 20.1"} (current),
                  -8.4646d {-08d 27' 52.7"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       3.9 [arcsec radius, statistical plus systematic, 90% containment]
GRB_INTEN:       1.00e-10 [erg/cm2/sec]
GRB_SIGNIF:      10.00 [sigma]
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79261.00 SOD {22:01:01.00} UT,   109.6 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
TAM[0-3]:        100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
AMPLIFIER:       1
WAVEFORM:        31
SUN_POSTN:       257.22d {+17h 08m 54s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 02"}
SUN_DIST:         68.21 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.36d {+13h 49m 26s}  -13.56d {-13d 33' 43"}
MOON_DIST:       116.23 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.53,-42.56 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS:      326.20,  4.83 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Coordinates.  
COMMENTS:        This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.  
COMMENTS:        TAM values, flux and significance fields are not valid.  
COMMENTS:        This position was automatically generated on the ground using  
COMMENTS:        Photon Counting data telemetered via TDRSS (SPER data).  
COMMENTS:        See http://www.swift.ac.uk/sper/docs.php for details.  
COMMENTS:        The probability that this is a serendipitous source in the  
COMMENTS:        SPER window is 0.58% < P(seren) < 1.1%.

GCN Circular #14045
A. Maselli (INAF-IASFPA), S. D. Barthelmy (GSFC), W. H. Baumgartner (GSFC/UMBC), D. N. Burrows (PSU), J. A. Kennea (PSU), N. P. M. Kuin (UCL-MSSL), C. B. Markwardt (NASA/GSFC), F. E. Marshall (NASA/GSFC), D. M. Palmer (LANL), B. Sbarufatti (INAF-OAB/PSU), M. H. Siegel (PSU) and E. Troja (NASA/GSFC/UMCP) report on behalf of the Swift Team:
At 21:59:11 UT, the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) triggered and located GRB 121209A (trigger=540964). Swift slewed immediately to the burst. The BAT on-board calculated location is RA, Dec 326.801, -8.244 which is
```
   RA(J2000)  =  21h 47m 12s
   Dec(J2000) = -08d 14' 39"
```
with an uncertainty of 3 arcmin (radius, 90% containment, including systematic uncertainty). The BAT light curve shows multiple peaks with a total duration of about 60 sec. The peak count rate was ~3300 counts/sec (15-350 keV), at ~20 sec after the trigger.
The XRT began observing the field at 22:00:43.3 UT, 92.0 seconds after the BAT trigger. Using promptly downlinked data we find an uncatalogued X-ray source located at RA, Dec 326.78917, -8.23262 which is equivalent to:
```
   RA(J2000)  = 21h 47m 09.40s
   Dec(J2000) = -08d 13' 57.4"
```
with an uncertainty of 3.9 arcseconds (radius, 90% containment). This location is 58 arcseconds from the BAT onboard position, within the BAT error circle. This position may be improved as more data are received; the latest position is available at http://www.swift.ac.uk/sper. We cannot determine whether the source is fading at the present time.
A power-law fit to a spectrum formed from promptly downlinked event data gives a column density in excess of the Galactic value (3.81 x 10^20 cm^-2, Kalberla et al. 2005), with an excess column of 2.8 (+2.58/-2.19) x 10^21 cm^-2 (90% confidence).
UVOT data is not yet available.
Burst Advocate for this burst is A. Maselli (maselli AT ifc.inaf.it). Please contact the BA by email if you require additional information regarding Swift followup of this burst. In extremely urgent cases, after trying the Burst Advocate, you can contact the Swift PI by phone (see Swift TOO web site for information: http://www.swift.psu.edu/too.html.)

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:19:52 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Source List
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        326.806d {+21h 47m 13s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:        -8.236d {-08d 14' 09"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL:      248.534d
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79247.38 SOD {22:00:47.38} UT,   96.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
BKG_MEAN:        5.052
N_STARS:         38
X_OFFSET:        496 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        483 [pixels]
X_MAX:           1455 [pixels]
Y_MAX:           1442 [pixels]
DET_THRESH:      19
PHOTO_THRESH:    11
SL_URL:          sw00540964000msufc0096.fits
SUN_POSTN:       257.24d {+17h 08m 57s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 05"}
SUN_DIST:         68.22 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.50d {+13h 50m 01s}  -13.60d {-13d 36' 09"}
MOON_DIST:       116.10 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.54,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      326.22,  4.82 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Source List.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:20:24 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Source List
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        326.806d {+21h 47m 13s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:        -8.236d {-08d 14' 09"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL:      248.534d
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79247.38 SOD {22:00:47.38} UT,   96.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
BKG_MEAN:        5.052
N_STARS:         38
X_OFFSET:        496 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        483 [pixels]
X_MAX:           1455 [pixels]
Y_MAX:           1442 [pixels]
DET_THRESH:      19
PHOTO_THRESH:    11
SL_URL:          sw00540964000msufc0096.fits
SUN_POSTN:       257.24d {+17h 08m 57s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 05"}
SUN_DIST:         68.22 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.51d {+13h 50m 02s}  -13.60d {-13d 36' 14"}
MOON_DIST:       116.09 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.54,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      326.22,  4.82 [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:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:21:22 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        326.806d {+21h 47m 13s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:        -8.236d {-08d 14' 09"} (J2000)
ROLL:            248.534d
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79247.38 SOD {22:00:47.38} UT,   96.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
EXPOSURE_ID:     376783257
X_OFFSET:        815 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        802 [pixels]
WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS:       975
Y_GRB_POS:       962
BINNING_INDEX:   1
IM_URL:          sw00540964000msuni0106.fits
SUN_POSTN:       257.24d {+17h 08m 57s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 05"}
SUN_DIST:         68.22 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.52d {+13h 50m 05s}  -13.61d {-13d 36' 24"}
MOON_DIST:       116.08 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.54,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      326.22,  4.82 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Image.  
COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the Window Position in the Mode Command.  
COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:21:41 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        326.806d {+21h 47m 13s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:        -8.236d {-08d 14' 09"} (J2000)
ROLL:            248.534d
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79247.38 SOD {22:00:47.38} UT,   96.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
EXPOSURE_ID:     376783257
X_OFFSET:        815 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        802 [pixels]
WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS:       975
Y_GRB_POS:       962
BINNING_INDEX:   1
IM_URL:          sw00540964000msuni0106.fits
SUN_POSTN:       257.24d {+17h 08m 57s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 05"}
SUN_DIST:         68.22 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.52d {+13h 50m 05s}  -13.61d {-13d 36' 27"}
MOON_DIST:       116.08 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.54,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      326.22,  4.82 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Processed Image.  
COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the Window Position in the Mode Command.  
COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).  
COMMENTS:        All 4 attachments are included.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:22:51 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Source List
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        326.805d {+21h 47m 13s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:        -8.235d {-08d 14' 05"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL:      248.532d
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79459.48 SOD {22:04:19.48} UT,   308.1 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          7, U
BKG_MEAN:        0.935
N_STARS:         57
X_OFFSET:        256 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        243 [pixels]
X_MAX:           1695 [pixels]
Y_MAX:           1682 [pixels]
DET_THRESH:      8
PHOTO_THRESH:    4
SL_URL:          sw00540964000msufc0308.fits
SUN_POSTN:       257.24d {+17h 08m 57s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 06"}
SUN_DIST:         68.22 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.53d {+13h 50m 08s}  -13.61d {-13d 36' 39"}
MOON_DIST:       116.07 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.54,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      326.21,  4.83 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Source List.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:23:09 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Source List
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        326.805d {+21h 47m 13s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:        -8.235d {-08d 14' 05"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL:      248.532d
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79459.48 SOD {22:04:19.48} UT,   308.1 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          7, U
BKG_MEAN:        0.935
N_STARS:         57
X_OFFSET:        256 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        243 [pixels]
X_MAX:           1695 [pixels]
Y_MAX:           1682 [pixels]
DET_THRESH:      8
PHOTO_THRESH:    4
SL_URL:          sw00540964000msufc0308.fits
SUN_POSTN:       257.24d {+17h 08m 57s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 06"}
SUN_DIST:         68.22 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.54d {+13h 50m 09s}  -13.61d {-13d 36' 42"}
MOON_DIST:       116.06 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.54,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      326.21,  4.83 [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:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:23:30 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        326.805d {+21h 47m 13s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:        -8.235d {-08d 14' 05"} (J2000)
ROLL:            248.532d
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79459.48 SOD {22:04:19.48} UT,   308.1 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          7, U
EXPOSURE_ID:     376783469
X_OFFSET:        815 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        802 [pixels]
WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS:       975
Y_GRB_POS:       962
BINNING_INDEX:   1
IM_URL:          sw00540964000msuni0318.fits
SUN_POSTN:       257.24d {+17h 08m 57s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 06"}
SUN_DIST:         68.22 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.54d {+13h 50m 10s}  -13.61d {-13d 36' 45"}
MOON_DIST:       116.06 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.54,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      326.21,  4.83 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Image.  
COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the Window Position in the Mode Command.  
COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:23:45 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        326.805d {+21h 47m 13s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:        -8.235d {-08d 14' 05"} (J2000)
ROLL:            248.532d
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79459.48 SOD {22:04:19.48} UT,   308.1 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          7, U
EXPOSURE_ID:     376783469
X_OFFSET:        815 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        802 [pixels]
WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS:       975
Y_GRB_POS:       962
BINNING_INDEX:   1
IM_URL:          sw00540964000msuni0318.fits
SUN_POSTN:       257.24d {+17h 08m 57s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 06"}
SUN_DIST:         68.22 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.54d {+13h 50m 10s}  -13.61d {-13d 36' 48"}
MOON_DIST:       116.06 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.54,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      326.21,  4.83 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Processed Image.  
COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the Window Position in the Mode Command.  
COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).  
COMMENTS:        All 4 attachments are included.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 09 Dec 12 22:24:11 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Position UPDATE
TRIGGER_NUM:     540964,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          326.7875d {+21h 47m 09.00s} (J2000),
                 326.9590d {+21h 47m 50.15s} (current),
                 326.1244d {+21h 44m 29.85s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:          -8.2344d {-08d 14' 03.8"} (J2000),
                  -8.1741d {-08d 10' 26.6"} (current),
                  -8.4664d {-08d 27' 59.1"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       2.4 [arcsec radius, statistical plus systematic, 90% containment]
GRB_INTEN:       1.00e-10 [erg/cm2/sec]
GRB_SIGNIF:      10.00 [sigma]
IMG_START_DATE:  16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09
IMG_START_TIME:  79261.00 SOD {22:01:01.00} UT,   109.6 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
TAM[0-3]:        100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
AMPLIFIER:       1
WAVEFORM:        31
SUN_POSTN:       257.24d {+17h 08m 57s}  -22.92d {-22d 55' 06"}
SUN_DIST:         68.20 [deg]   Sun_angle= -4.6 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      207.55d {+13h 50m 11s}  -13.61d {-13d 36' 52"}
MOON_DIST:       116.04 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      17 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.53,-42.56 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS:      326.20,  4.83 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Coordinates.  
COMMENTS:        This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.  
COMMENTS:        This is an Update Notice -- the RA,Dec values herein supersede the previous XRT_POS Notice.  
COMMENTS:        TAM values, flux and significance fields are not valid.  
COMMENTS:        This position was automatically generated on the ground using  
COMMENTS:        Photon Counting data telemetered via TDRSS (SPER data).  
COMMENTS:        See http://www.swift.ac.uk/sper/docs.php for details.  
COMMENTS:        This position was enhanced using UVOT field astrometry.  
COMMENTS:        The probability that this is a serendipitous source in the  
COMMENTS:        SPER window is 0.58% < P(seren) < 1.1%.

GCN Circular #14046
M. H. Siegel (PSU) and A. Maselli (INAF-IASFPA) report on behalf of the Swift/UVOT team:
UVOT took a finding chart exposure of 150 seconds with the White filter starting 96 seconds after the BAT trigger. No credible afterglow candidate has been found in the initial data products. The 2.7'x2.7' sub-image covers 100% of the XRT error circle. The typical 3-sigma upper limit has been about 19.6 mag. The 8'x8' region for the list of sources generated on-board covers 100% of the XRT error circle. The list of sources is typically complete to about 18 mag. No correction has been made for the expected extinction corresponding to E(B-V) of 0.05.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/MAXI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Mon 10 Dec 12 00:19:01 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     MAXI Unknown Source Position
EVENT_ID_NUM:    270940450
EVENT_RA:        326.80d {+21h 47m 12s} (J2000), 
                 326.97d {+21h 47m 53s} (current),
                 326.14d {+21h 44m 33s} (1950)
EVENT_DEC:        -8.24d {-08d 14' 37"} (J2000),
                  -8.18d {-08d 11' 00"} (current),
                  -8.48d {-08d 28' 33"} (1950)
EVENT_ERROR:     1.0 [deg radius, stat+sys, 90% containment]
EVENT_FLUX:      167.0 +- 0.0 [mCrab] 
EVENT_DATE:      16270 TJD;   344 DOY;   12/12/09 
EVENT_TIME:      79156.00 SOD {21:59:16.00} UT
EVENT_TSCALE:    1s
EVENT_EBAND:     High, 10-20 keV
SUN_POSTN:       257.33d {+17h 09m 18s}  -22.93d {-22d 55' 31"}
SUN_DIST:         68.13 [deg]  
MOON_POSTN:      208.70d {+13h 54m 48s}  -13.93d {-13d 55' 50"}
MOON_DIST:       114.88 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      16 [%]
GAL_COORDS:       47.53,-42.58 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:      326.21,  4.82 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)      
COMMENTS:        MAXI Unknown Source Position. GRB or unknown X-ray Transient.

GCN Circular #14047
A. N. Morgan (UC Berkeley) reports:
We observed the field of GRB 121209A (Maselli et al., GCN 14045) with the 1.3m PAIRITEL located at Mt. Hopkins, Arizona. Observations began at 2012-Dec-10 01h16m41s UT, ~3.2 hours after the Swift trigger. In mosaics (effective exposure time of 1940 s) taken simultaneously in the J, H, and Ks filters, we do not detect any source within the XRT error circle.
```
post burst
t_mid (hr) exp.(hr) filt  U. Limit (3 sig)
3.68      0.54     J     > 18.1
3.68      0.54     H     > 17.2
3.68      0.54     Ks    > 16.2
```
All magnitudes are given in the Vega system, calibrated to 2MASS. No correction for Galactic extinction has been made to the above reported values.
GCN Circular #14048
W. Fong (Harvard), D. Fox (PSU), E. Berger and R. Chornock (Harvard) report:
"We observed the location of GRB 121209A (Maselli et al., GCN14045) with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) mounted on the Gemini-South 8-meter telescope starting on 2012 Dec 10.028 UT (2.68 hr after the BAT trigger). We obtained 60-sec in each of the r- and i-bands in 0.75" seeing. We do not detect any optical source within the XRT position reported in GCN 14045, nor within the latest reported position ( http://www.swift.ac.uk/xrt_unenh_positions/00540964/). Calibrated to stars in the SDSS DR8 field, we place 3-sigma limits of r > 22.6 mag and i > 23.0 mag on the optical afterglow of GRB 121209A at 2.7 hr after the burst (uncorrected for Galactic extinction in the direction of the burst).
We thank the Gemini staff for their assistance with these observations."
GCN Circular #14049
T. Kruehler (DARK/NBI), A. Nicuesa Guelbenzu (TLS Tautenburg) and J. Greiner (MPE Garching) report on behalf of the GROND team:
We observed the field of the Swift GRB 121209A (Maselli et al., GCN 14045) simultaneously in g'r'i'z'JHKs with GROND (Greiner et al. 2008, PASP 120, 405) mounted at the 2.2m MPG/ESO telescope at La Silla Observatory (Chile).
Observations started on December 10, 2012, 00:24 UT which is roughly 2.4 hr after the trigger. Within the UVOT-enhanced XRT position (see link in Maselli et al., GCN 14045), we detect a faint source in the stack of all g'r'i'z' data at:
```
RA (J2000) = 21:47:08.96
Dec (J2000) = -08:14:06.3
```
with an estimated uncertainty of 0.5" in each coordinate.
Forcing photometry on this position, we estimate preliminary AB magnitudes and upper limits in the individual filters of:
```
g' > 24.0 mag
r' = 23.9 +- 0.3 mag
i' = 23.6 +- 0.4 mag
z' = 23.2 +- 0.3 mag
J  > 21.5 mag
H  > 21.0 mag
Ks > 19.5 mag
```
These magnitudes and upper limits are based on images with a mid-time of 00:59 UT and an effective integration time of 26.4 min in griz and 24.0 min in the JHKs filters. They are calibrated against SDSS and 2MASS field stars and have not been corrected for the expected Galactic foreground extinction corresponding to a reddening of E(B-V) = 0.05 mag (Schlegel et al. 1998). No statement about variability can be made at this point.
GCN Circular #14050
GRB121209A: RATIR Optical and NIR Upper Limits
Nat Butler (ASU), Alan Watson (UNAM), Alexander Kutyrev (GSFC), and Michael Richer (UNAM), on behalf of a larger collaboration, report:
We observed the location of GRB 121209A (Maselli et al., GCN14045) with the Reionization and Transients Infrared Camera (RATIR; www.ratir.org) on the 1.5m Harold Johnson Telescope at Sierra San Pedro Martir on 2012 Dec 10.072 UT (3.72 hr after the BAT trigger).
In integrations spanning approximately one hour, in poor (3") seeing conditions, no optical or NIR sources are detected within the XRT error circle (GCN14045). In comparison with SDSS DR8 and 2MASS, we derive the following (3-sigma) upper limits in the AB magnitude system:
```
 r' 21.7
 i' 22.1
 Z  20.5
 Y  20.0
 J  19.8
 H  19.5
```
These magnitudes are not corrected for Galactic extinction in the direction of the GRB.
GCN Circular #14051
M.R. Goad, J.P. Osborne, A.P. Beardmore and P.A. Evans (U. Leicester) report on behalf of the Swift-XRT team.
Using 3204 s of XRT Photon Counting mode data and 9 UVOT images for GRB 121209A, we find an astrometrically corrected X-ray position (using the XRT-UVOT alignment and matching UVOT field sources to the USNO-B1 catalogue): RA, Dec = 326.78723, -8.23545 which is equivalent to:
```
RA (J2000): 21h 47m 8.94s
Dec (J2000): -08d 14' 07.6"
```
with an uncertainty of 1.5 arcsec (radius, 90% confidence).
This position may be improved as more data are received. The latest position can be viewed at http://www.swift.ac.uk/xrt_positions. Position enhancement is described by Goad et al. (2007, A&A, 476, 1401) and Evans et al. (2009, MNRAS, 397, 1177).
This circular was automatically generated, and is an official product of the Swift-XRT team.
GCN Circular #14052
T. N. Ukwatta (MSU), S. D. Barthelmy (GSFC), W. H. Baumgartner (GSFC/UMBC), J. R. Cummings (GSFC/UMBC), E. E. Fenimore (LANL), N. Gehrels (GSFC), H. A. Krimm (GSFC/USRA), C. B. Markwardt (GSFC), A. Maselli (INAF-IASFPA), D. M. Palmer (LANL), T. Sakamoto (AGU), G. Sato (ISAS), M. Stamatikos (OSU), J. Tueller (GSFC) (i.e. the Swift-BAT team):
Using the data set from T-60 to T+243 sec from the recent telemetry downlink, we report further analysis of BAT GRB 121209A (trigger #540964) (Maselli, et al., GCN Circ. 14045). The BAT ground-calculated position is RA, Dec = 326.800, -8.232 deg, which is
```
   RA(J2000)  =  21h 47m 12.0s 
   Dec(J2000) = -08d 13' 55.8" 
```
with an uncertainty of 1.7 arcmin, (radius, sys+stat, 90% containment). The partial coding was 60%.
The mask-weighted light curve shows multiple peaks starting at ~T-5 sec, max peak at ~T+28 sec, and ending at ~T+80 sec. T90 (15-350 keV) is 42.7 +- 2.0 sec (estimated error including systematics).
The time-averaged spectrum from T-2.16 to T+44.28 sec is best fit by a simple power-law model. The power law index of the time-averaged spectrum is 1.43 +- 0.08. The fluence in the 15-150 keV band is 2.9 +- 0.1 x 10^-6 erg/cm2. The 1-sec peak photon flux measured from T+27.91 sec in the 15-150 keV band is 3.4 +- 0.3 ph/cm2/sec. All the quoted errors are at the 90% confidence level.
The results of the batgrbproduct analysis are available at http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/notices_s/540964/BA/
GCN Circular #14053
M.C. Stroh (PSU), D.N. Burrows (PSU), K.L. Page (U. Leicester), C. Pagani (U. Leicester), A.P. Beardmore (U. Leicester), V. D'Elia (ASDC), V. Mangano (INAF-IASFPA), J.A. Kennea (PSU) and A. Maselli report on behalf of the Swift-XRT team:
We have analysed 18 ks of XRT data for GRB 121209A (Maselli et al. GCN Circ. 14045), from 95 s to 48.0 ks after the BAT trigger. The data comprise 28 s in Windowed Timing (WT) mode with the remainder in Photon Counting (PC) mode. The enhanced XRT position for this burst was given by Goad et al. (GCN. Circ 14051).
The late-time light curve (from T0+5.2 ks) can be modelled with a power-law decay with a decay index of alpha=1.20 (+/-0.06).
A spectrum formed from the PC mode data can be fitted with an absorbed power-law with a photon spectral index of 2.31 (+/-0.14). The best-fitting absorption column is 5.3 (+/-0.6) x 10^21 cm^-2, in excess of the Galactic value of 3.8 x 10^20 cm^-2 (Kalberla et al. 2005). The counts to observed (unabsorbed) 0.3-10 keV flux conversion factor deduced from this spectrum is 4.0 x 10^-11 (9.1 x 10^-11) erg cm^-2 count^-1.
A summary of the PC-mode spectrum is thus:
```
Total column:	     5.3 (+/-0.6) x 10^21 cm^-2
Galactic foreground: 3.8 x 10^20 cm^-2
Excess significance: 13.4 sigma
Photon index:	     2.31 (+/-0.14)
```
If the light curve continues to decay with a power-law decay index of 1.20, the count rate at T+24 hours will be 0.014 count s^-1, corresponding to an observed (unabsorbed) 0.3-10 keV flux of 5.8 x 10^-13 (1.3 x 10^-12) erg cm^-2 s^-1.
The results of the XRT-team automatic analysis are available at http://www.swift.ac.uk/xrt_products/00540964.
This circular is an official product of the Swift-XRT team.
GCN Circular #14054
T. Laskar, W. Fong, A. Zauderer, and E. Berger (Harvard) report:
"We observed the position of GRB 121209A (Maselli et al; GCN 14045) with the EVLA beginning on 2012 Dec 10.01 UT (131 minutes after the burst). No significant radio emission is detected at the enhanced Swift-XRT position (Goad et al; GCN 14051) or the optical position (Kruehler et al.; GCN 14049), to a three-sigma upper limit of 27.3 uJy at 5.8 GHz."
GCN Circular #14055
A. Zauderer, T. Laskar, W. Fong, and E. Berger (Harvard) report on behalf of the CARMA Key Project "A Millimeter View of the Transient Universe":
"We observed the position of GRB 121209A (Maselli et al.; GCN 14045) with the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter Astronomy beginning 2012 Dec 10.93 (dt=1.0 d) at a mean frequency of ~85 GHz. We do not detect significant millimeter emission at the enhanced Swift/XRT error circle (Goad et al.; GCN 14051) or at the position of the GROND optical afterglow candidate (Kruehler et al.; GCN 14049) to a 3-sigma limit of 0.5 mJy.
We thank the CARMA observers and staff for their support."
GCN Circular #14056
D. A. Perley (Caltech), S. B. Cenko, A. N. Morgan (UC Berkeley), and T. Kruehler (DARK) report:
We observed the position of GRB 121209A with the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph (LRIS) on Keck I on the night of UT December 11. We acquired two 900-second spectra of the GROND afterglow candidate (Kruehler et al., GCN 14049) at a mean UT of 05:15 (1.30 day after the burst) followed by single exposure each of U- and I-band imaging at a mean UT of 06:33 (1.36 day after the burst). The observations were affected by clouds and poor seeing, especially the imaging epoch.
We detect a source at the position of the GROND object in the I-band imaging frame. Performing photometry relative to SDSS stars, we measure a magnitude of
I = 23.2 +/- 0.2 mag (I=23.6 AB)
Which is consistent with the magnitude at 2.4 hours after the burst reported by Kruehler et al. The lack of fading over this time range suggests that the source is not a GRB afterglow. However, it may be the event's host galaxy. Given the bright X-ray afterglow concurrent with the lack of an optical/IR counterpart in PAIRITEL, Gemini GROND and RATIR observations (GCNs 14047, 14048, 14049, 14050), GRB 121209A is "dark" burst (beta_OX ~< 0, taking the GROND host magnitudes as upper limits).
Preliminary analysis of our 2D spectra shows no evidence of line emission across the spectral range (effectively continuous from the atmospheric cutoff to 10300 Angstroms), despite detection of a (weak) continuum trace down to approximately 10000 Angstroms. If this is a star-forming galaxy, this absence of lines (in particular, from OII) would suggest a moderately high redshift (z>~1.7). Deeper spectroscopy and in particular infrared observations would be needed to confirm this hypothesis. If this is a distant galaxy, its apparent optical brightness indicates that it quite luminous.
GCN Circular #14081
D. A. Perley and A. Horesh (Caltech) report on behalf of a larger collaboration:
We observed the position of GRB 121209A (Maselli et al., GCN 14045) with the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-Wave Astronomy (CARMA) at a frequency of 93 GHz (3mm) between 00:46 and 01:14 on 2012-12-10 (UT). The mean observation time was 3.01 hours after the GRB trigger.
No source is detected at the position of the X-ray afterglow (Goad et al., GCN 14051) or of the possible host galaxy (GCN 14049, Kruehler et al.). The 3-sigma limit of the map is 1.8 mJy.
GCN Circular #14084
R. Sato(Kyoto U.), S. Nakahira (JAXA), M. Serino (RIKEN), Y. Ogawa (Miyazaki U.), N. Kawai (Tokyo Tech), H. Negoro, M. Asada (Nihon U.), S. Ueno, H. Tomida, M. Ishikawa, K. Yamaoka, M. Kimura (JAXA), T. Mihara, M. Sugizaki, K. Morihana, T. Yamamoto, J. Sugimoto, T. Takagi, M. Matsuoka (RIKEN), M. Mori, R. Usui, K. Ishikawa (Tokyo Tech), A. Yoshida, T. Sakamoto, Y. Nakano (AGU), H. Tsunemi, M. Sasaki (Osaka U.), M. Nakajima, (Nihon U.), Y. Ueda, K. Hiroi, M. Shidatsu, T. Kawamuro (Kyoto U.), Y. Tsuboi, M. Higa (Chuo U.) M. Yamauchi, Y. Nishimura, T. Hanayama, K. Yoshidome (Miyazaki U.) on behalf of the MAXI team
At 2012-12-09T21:59:11 UT, the MAXI/GSC detected an uncatalogued X-ray transient source. Assuming that the source flux was constant over the transit, we obtain the source position at (R.A., Dec.) = (327.02deg, -7.69deg) = (21:48:05, -07:41:38)(J2000)
with a 90% C.L. statistical error of 0.4 deg and an additional systematic uncertainty of 0.1 deg (90% containment radius).
The trigger time is consistent with that of GRB 121209A (Maselli et al, GCN #14045). The Swift position lies 0.1 deg outside of the MAXI error circle. However, assuming the position for GRB 121209A, the transit by MAXI should have occurred from 2012/12/09T21:58:38 UT(=T0-32 s, where T0 is the Swift/BAT trigger time) to T0+11 s, suggesting that GRB 121209A was detected near the end of the MAXI transit, causing the small difference in the formal position.
The time interval of the significant MAXI detection was T0+0 s to T0+5 s with 2-20 keV X-ray flux of 600+/-140 mCrab (2-20 keV). The average spectrum is fitted by a power-law model with photon index of 0.97(-0.57/+0.62). There was no significant excess flux at the previous transit at 17:21 UT and at the next transit at 23:31 UT on Dec 9 with an upper limit of 20 mCrab for each.
GCN Circular #14086
S. Immler (NASA/CRESST/GSFC) and A. Maselli (INAF-IASFPA) report on behalf of the Swift/UVOT team:
The Swift/UVOT began settled observations of the field of GRB 121209A 96 s after the BAT trigger (Maselli et al., GCN Circ. 14045). No optical afterglow consistent with the optical position (Kruehler et al. GCN Circ. 14049) is detected in the initial UVOT exposures. Preliminary 3-sigma upper limits using the UVOT photometric system (Breeveld et al. 2011, AIP Conf. Proc. 1358, 373) for the first finding chart (FC) exposure and subsequent exposures are:
```
Filter         T_start(s)   T_stop(s)      Exp(s)         Mag

white_FC            96          246          147         >21.4
white               96        12808         1217         >21.7
v                 5857        35749         1967         >20.3
b                 5241        24926         1784         >21.1
u                  308        30697         1959         >21.6
w1                6267        29936         1968         >21.5
m2                6062        36468         2314         >22.3
w2                5652        34835         1968         >21.8
```
The magnitudes in the table are not corrected for the Galactic extinction due to the reddening of E(B-V) = 0.05 in the direction of the burst (Schlegel et al. 1998).
GCN Circular #14087
Seong-Kook Lee, Myungshin Im (SNU), and Y. Urata (NCU) report:
We observed the location of GRB 121209A with the ARC Camera mounted on the 1.0m Telescope at Mt. Lemmon Optical Astronomy Observatory (LOAO) on 2012 Dec 10, 09:06 UT. We obtained a series of 300 seconds exposure images in I-band and Z-band under 4" seeing.
We do not detect any source in both bands. Calibrated to SDSS stars, we derive 3-sigma detection limit (in AB system) in each band,
```
I > 20.9
Z > 19.6
```
We thank KASI staff for their support.
GCN Report 422.1
GCN_Report 422.1 has been posted: http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/reports/report_422_1.pdf by A. Maselli at INAF-IASFPA titled: "Swift Observations of GRB 121209A"
arXiv:1505.06743 X-shooter redshift: 2.1+-0.3

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Jochen Greiner, last update: 25-Jun-2015 [Disclaimer]