TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 259 SUBJECT: GRB990217 Optical observation DATE: 99/02/18 21:26:26 GMT FROM: Brad Schaefer at Yale U Bradley E. Schaefer (Yale) reports: "I have examined the BeppoSAX error circle for GRB990217 (Tarei et al. IAUCirc 7110) with the Yale 1-m telescope on Cerro Tololo. At this early time, the only comparison available is the Digital Sky Survey, and no optical transient is apparent. The images were taken in R and I starting at 18 February 2:17 UT with 900s exposures, and these reach considerably deeper than the Digital Sky Survey."