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Session 43 - Gamma-ray Burst Counterparts and Afterglows.
Display session, Tuesday, June 09
Atlas Ballroom,
The GRB Coordinates Network (GCN) has evolved over the last 5 years. It started out as the BATSE Coordinates Distribution Network (BACODINE) distributing BATSE-derived GRB locations in real-time (<5 s via the fastest method) to dozens of instruments and researchers to make optical and radio follow-up observations. Then in May 1997 it changed its name to GCN to reflect the enhanced nature of the system. In addition to the various forms of BATSE-derived GRB locations, locations based on COMPTEL, RXTE-PCA, RXTE-ASM, and the IPN (plus extreme-UV transients detected by the ALEXIS spacecraft) are now routinely distributed by all the methods to almost 230 GRB researchers. This paper will describe these new sources of GRB locations, the new distribution methods, plus the new GRB light curve data products. To close the loop on the dissemination of timely information on GRB observations, the GCN Circulars have been created. This circular service allows follow-up observers (typically ground-based optical and radio) to submit brief descriptions of their observations to a central server and have then automatically distributed via e-mail to a list of interested GRB researchers.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: scott@lheamail.gsfc.nasa.gov
