TITLE:   GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT
NUMBER:  471
SUBJECT: GRB991216 ('Beethoven Burst') B, R, and K Observations
DATE:    99/12/17 09:45:46 GMT
FROM:    Brad Schaefer at Yale U  <schaefer@grb2.physics.yale.edu>

Bradley E. Schaefer (Yale) reports:

"I have obtained new B-, R- and K-band images which show the revised RXTE
position (J2000 05:09:31 +11:18:36), with no optical transient apparent in
a comparison with the Digital Sky Survey.  The start time of the R-band
image is 17 December 07:47 UT.  The R-band image shows stars which are
much fainter than the limit of the DSS.  As always, I can identify stars
in the error box for which a [weak] case could be made that the source
should be visible on the DSS whereas it is not - but no such cases
suggests any confidence.

The RXTE position is now too low in the sky to take any further images
from CTIO.

The source identified by Garnavich et al. (GCN 469) is seen in our earlier
R and I images as a red star missing from our U, B, and V images.  

In an earlier notice (GCN 468), the new RXTE position was just outside the 
old field-of-view.  Also, the start times of the exposures were stated in
local time not UT, so the actual start time was 4:45 UT on 17 December
(12.7 hours after the burst)."