TITLE:   GCN CIRCULAR
NUMBER:  8763
SUBJECT: GRB 090102: REM observations of a bright afterglow
DATE:    09/01/02 03:30:14 GMT
FROM:    Stefano Covino at Brera Astronomical Observatory  <stefano.covino@gmail.com>

S. Covino, P. D'Avanzo, L.A. Antonelli, D. Malesani, D. Fugazza, L.   
Calzoletti,  S. Campana, G. Chincarini, M.L. Conciatore, S. Cutini,   
V. D'Elia,  F. D'Alessio, F. Fiore, P. Goldoni, D. Guetta, C.  
Guidorzi, G.L. Israel, E. Maiorano, N. Masetti, A. Melandri, E.J.A.  
Meurs, L. Nicastro, E. Palazzi, E. Pian, S. Piranomonte, L. Stella,   
G. Stratta, G. Tagliaferri, G. Tosti, V. Testa, S.D. Vergani, F.  
Vitali report on behalf of the REM team:

The robotic 60-cm REM telescope located at La Silla (Chile) observed  
automatically the field of the GRB 090102 (Mangano et al. GCN8762)  
starting about 35s after the burst (26s after the alert).  We detect  
a bright object in
our first R- and H-band images consistent with the optical  
counterpart identified by UVOT (Mangano et al. GCN8762) and TAROT  
(Klotz et al. GCN 8761).

The object is approximately R~14.2 (relative to nearby USNO-B1 stars)  
and H~12 (relative to nearby 2MASS stars)
at about 1min after the burst.

Further observations are in progress