TITLE: GCN CIRCULAR NUMBER: 8248 SUBJECT: GRB 080915a, SMARTS optical/IR observations DATE: 08/09/16 19:57:08 GMT FROM: Bethany Cobb at Yale U B. E. Cobb (UC Berkeley), reports: Using the ANDICAM instrument on the SMARTS 1.3m telescope at CTIO, we obtained optical/IR imaging of the error region of GRB 080915a (GCN 8227, Oates et al.) with a mid-exposure time of 2008-09-15 01:54 UT (~1.9 hrs post-burst). We then re-observed the field at 2008-09-16 6:12 UT (~30.2 hrs post-burst). Total summed exposure times for each observation amounted to 36 minutes in I and 30 minutes in J. A comparison of our two epochs of imaging reveals no variable source at the position of the X-ray afterglow reported by Evans et al. (GCN 8231). Our limiting magnitudes are I>21.9 and J>20.1. (Optical photometry is calibrated against Landolt standard stars and IR photometry is calibrated against 2MASS stars in the field.)