TITLE:   GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT
NUMBER:  169
SUBJECT: GRB981226 Optical Observation
DATE:    98/12/27 07:00:13 GMT
FROM:    Brad Schaefer at Yale  <schaefer@grb2.physics.yale.edu>

Bradley E. Schaefer (Yale) reports:

"I have obtained five 15-minute images in the R band of the BeppoSAX 6'
radius region for GRB981226 (Di Ciolo et al. IAUCirc 7074).   These images
were obtained from UT 01:03 to 02:25 on 27 December 1998 (15.2 hours after
the burst) with the Yale 1m telescope on Cerro Tololo.  The GRB is close
to the Sun, so the observing time on any night is short even from the
southern hemisphere.  The seeing varied with altitude from 1.3" to 1.7"
FWHM.  

No variable source was identified in or near the GRB981226 region.
Comparisons were made with the Digital Sky Survey, for which no 'new'
stars appear.  Also, comparisons were made between the first and last
images, separated by roughly 1.2 hours of time.  For the latter
comparison, the limiting magnitude for detecting change is close to R=21
mag.  Further analysis will provide both deeper and more accurate limits."