//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1974 SUBJECT: GRB 030328: Optical afterglow candidate DATE: 03/03/28 13:53:06 GMT FROM: Paul Price at RSAA, ANU B.A. Peterson and P.A. Price (RSAA, ANU) report: We have observed the error box of GRB 030328 (HETE #2650) with the SSO 40-inch telescope + WFI in B and R filters at Mar 28 12:37 UT. We identify a source not present on the DSS 2 red plate. The coordinates of this source are: RA: 12:10:48.4 Dec: -9:20:51.3 (J2000) with an error of 0.4 arcsec in each coordinate. At this stage, we estimate that the afterglow candidate is roughly 18th magnitude. Further observations are planned, and a finding chart will follow. This message may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1975 SUBJECT: GRB 030328: Finding chart DATE: 03/03/28 14:20:28 GMT FROM: Paul Price at RSAA, ANU P.A. Price and B.A. Peterson (RSAA, ANU) report: A finding chart for the optical afterglow candidate (GCN #1974) is available from: http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~pap/grb030328finder.ps The following offsets may be useful for spectroscopy: Star RA (2000) Dec (2000) A 12:10:53.8 -9:19:22.9 B 12:10:50.7 -9:20:59.8 A -> OT: 79.92" W, 88.40" S (PA -137.883 degrees) B -> OT: 34.04" W, 8.50" S (PA -75.981 degrees) This message may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1976 SUBJECT: Re: GRB 030328: Finding chart DATE: 03/03/28 14:36:28 GMT FROM: Paul Price at RSAA, ANU P.A. Price (RSAA, ANU) reports: The offset from Star B is 34.04" W, 8.50" N (*not* S). My apologies for this typo. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1977 SUBJECT: GRB 030328: Optical observations DATE: 03/03/28 16:37:09 GMT FROM: Paul Price at RSAA, ANU P.A. Price and B.A. Peterson (RSAA, ANU) report: We have observed the afterglow of GRB 030328 with the 40-inch telescope at Siding Spring Observatory + Wide-Field Imager in R-band. From two un-flattened frames taken at Mar 28.54 and 28.63, we derive a power-law decay: R/mag ~ 21.5 + 2.6 log(t/days) based on assuming that the star at J2000 coordinates 12:10:50.7 -9:21:00 (Star B in GCN #1975) is R ~ 16.1 (as in USNO A2.0). The corresponding decay index is alpha = 1.0 +/- 0.1. This message may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1978 SUBJECT: GRB030328 (=H2650): A Long, Bright GRB Localized by the HETE WXM and SXC DATE: 03/03/28 20:31:07 GMT FROM: Don Lamb at U.Chicago J. Villasenor, G. Crew, R. Vanderspek, J. Doty, G. Monnelly, N. Butler, T. Cline, J.G. Jernigan, A. Levine, F. Martel, E. Morgan, G. Prigozhin, G. Azzibrouck, J. Braga, R. Manchanda, and G. Pizzichini, on behalf of the HETE Operations and HETE Optical-SXC Teams; G. Ricker, J-L Atteia, N. Kawai, D. Lamb, and S. Woosley on behalf of the HETE Science Team; T. Donaghy, M. Suzuki, Y. Shirasaki, C. Graziani, M. Matsuoka, T. Tamagawa, K. Torii, T. Sakamoto, A. Yoshida, E. Fenimore, M. Galassi, T. Tavenner, Y. Nakagawa, D. Takahashi, R. Satoh, and Y. Urata, on behalf of the HETE WXM Team; M. Boer, J-F Olive, J-P Dezalay, C. Barraud and K. Hurley on behalf of the HETE FREGATE Team; write: At 11:20:58.34 UTC (40858.34 s UT) on 28 Mar 2003, the HETE FREGATE, WXM, and SXC instruments detected event H2650, a long, bright GRB. The burst triggered FREGATE in the 8-80 keV energy band; the flight software incorrectly attributed the burst to particles, and therefore the WXM and SXC flight localizations were not sent out. The operations team quickly validated the SXC flight localization and disseminated it in a GCN Notice at 12:14:13 UT, 53 minutes after the burst. The SXC flight localization SNR was 6. The SXC flight localization can be expressed as a 90% confidence circle that is 2 arcminutes in radius and is centered at SXC-Flight: RA = +12h 10m 46s, Dec = -09d 22' 29" (J2000). Ground analysis of the WXM data and the SXC data for the burst produced refined WXM and SXC localizations, which were reported in a GCN Notice at 13:21:46 UT, 121 minutes after the burst. The WXM ground localization SNR was 25. The WXM location can be expressed as a 90% confidence circle that is 4.6 arcminutes in radius and is centered at WXM-Ground: RA = +12h 10m 53s, Dec = -09d 23' 30" (J2000). The SXC ground localization SNR was 10. The SXC ground localization can be expressed as a 90% confidence circle that is 52 arcseconds in radius and is centered at SXC-Ground: RA = +12h 10m 51s, Dec = -09d 21' 05" (J2000). The burst duration t_90 in the 30-400 keV band was ~ 100 s. The fluence of the burst was 3.0 x 10-5 ergs cm-2 and the peak flux over 5.2 s was 7.3 x 10-7 ergs cm-2 s-1 in the same energy band. A light curve and skymap for GRB030328 is provided at the following URL: http://space.mit.edu/HETE/Bursts/GRB030328 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1979 SUBJECT: GRB 030328, optical observations DATE: 03/03/29 06:16:34 GMT FROM: Peter Garnavich at U of Notre Dame P. Martini (OCIW), P. Garnavich (Notre Dame) and K.Z. Stanek (CfA) We imaged the optical afterglow of GRB 030328 (Peterson & Price, GCN 1974) with the Magellan 6.5-m Clay telescope and LDSS2 imaging/spectrograph on March 29.181 (0.708 days after the burst). The R-band magnitude is estimated to be 20.8 assuming star "B" (GCN 1977) is R=16.1. This is slightly brighter than the extrapolation of a powerlaw with alpha=1.0 found by Price & Peterson (GCN 1977). This message may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1980 SUBJECT: GRB 030328, optical spectroscopy DATE: 03/03/29 08:13:10 GMT FROM: Peter Garnavich at U of Notre Dame P. Martini (OCIW), P. Garnavich (Notre Dame) and K.Z. Stanek (CfA) Spectra of the optical afterglow of GRB 030328 (Peterson & Price, GCN 1974) were obtained with the Magellan 6.5-m Clay telescope and LDSS2 imaging/spectrograph starting at March 29.19 (UT). The five spectra cover the wavelength range of 4000 to 9000 Ang. with a resolution of 13 Ang. FWHM. Preliminary reduction of the images reveals narrow absorption features which we identify with a single absorption system at z=1.52: observed (Ang) ID z 7069.6 MgII 2802.7 1.522 7049.2 MgII 2795.5 1.522 6554.6 FeII 2599.4 1.522 6005.7 FeII 2382.0 1.521 5987.6 FeII 2373.7 1.522 4207.9 AlII 1670.8 1.518 This suggests that the redshift of the GRB is at least z=1.52. This message may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1981 SUBJECT: VLT spectra of GRB 030328 DATE: 03/03/29 08:29:12 GMT FROM: Paul Vreeswijk at ESO Evert Rol (U. of Amsterdam), Paul Vreeswijk & Andreas Jaunsen (ESO) report for the GRACE collaboration: The optical afterglow, discovered by Peterson & Price (GCN 1974), of GRB 030328 (HETE trigger 2650, see GCN 1978), was observed around March 29.08 UT with FORS1 at telescope unit 1 of the VLT. A total of one hour of spectra were taken with the grism 300V and a slit width of 1 arcsecond, at a position angle of 104 degrees to also include object B of Price & Peterson (GCN 1975) in the slit. A preliminary reduction shows significant absorption lines, most of which we identify with typical metal lines at a redshift of z=1.520. We also find some hints for another system at z=1.29, but an improved analysis is needed to confirm this. We are thankful for the assistance of the ESO staff at Paranal; in particular that of Andreas Kaufer. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1982 SUBJECT: GRB030328: optical photometry at the TNG DATE: 03/03/29 11:51:16 GMT FROM: Angelo Antonelli at Obs. Astro. di Roma D. Fugazza (TNG), L.A. Antonelli, F. Fiore,(INAF-OAR), S. Covino, G. Ghisellini (INAF-OAB), E. Pian (INAF-OAT), N. Masetti (CNR-IASF), A. Buzzoni, Tessicini (TNG) on behalf of a larger collaboration, report: "On March 29 2003 we have obtained R band photometry of the optical afterglow of GRB030328 (Peterson & Price GCN #1974) using DOLORES at TNG. Observations were performed under moderate seeing conditions (between 1" and 1.5"). A preliminary analysis of the images allowed us to derive the following photometry for the OT calibrated by means of a Landolt standard field: 20.59 +/- 0.07 at UT 00:10:14, 12.82 hours after the burst 20.79 +/- 0.08 at UT 02:34:41, 15.23 hours after the burst The photometry for the star "B" reported in GCN #1977 (Price and Peterson) turns out to be: 16.31 +/- 0.06 We are particularly grateful to the TNG staff for their remarkable support to these observations." This message is citeable. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1983 SUBJECT: GRB030328: optical spectroscopy at TNG DATE: 03/03/29 12:07:20 GMT FROM: Angelo Antonelli at Obs. Astro. di Roma D. Fugazza (TNG), F. Fiore, M. Cocchia, L.A. Antonelli (INAF-OAR), S. Covino (INAF-OAB), E. Pian (INAF-OATs), N. Masetti (CNR-IASF), A. Buzzoni, G. Tessicini (TNG), on behalf of a larger collaboration, report: "Starting on March 29 2002 00:28 UT we have obtained low resolution (R~1000) spectra of the optical afterglow of GRB030328 (Peterson & Price GCN #1974) using DOLORES at TNG. Observations consisted of four exposures, for a total of 2 hours, and cover the full spectral range 3800-8000 Angstrom, in good seeing conditions (between 1" and 1.5"). At the time of the observations the afterglow magnitude was R~20.7 (Fugazza et al. GCN #1982). A preliminary analysis of the spectra reveals several absorption lines associated with the z=1.52 system reported by Martini et al. (GCN #1980), in particular MgII2803, MgII2796, FeII2600 and FeII2382. Other narrow absorption lines are present in the spectra, but a more detailed analysis is needed to their identification. We are particularly grateful to the TNG staff for their remarkable support to these observations." This message is citeable. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1984 SUBJECT: GRB 030328: OT photometry DATE: 03/03/29 12:34:20 GMT FROM: Avishay Gal-Yam at Tel Aviv U, Israel A. Gal-Yam, E. O. Ofek and D. Polishook (Wise observatory, TAU) report: We have observed the OT (Peterson & Price 2003, GCN 1974) of GRB 030328 (Villasenor et al. 2003, GCN 1978) using the Wise observatory 1m telescope + SITe CCD camera, starting March 28, 21:48 UT (10 hours after the burst). B, V and R-band frames (300 s each) were obtained under fair to moderate conditions, but incoming clouds prevented further observations. We detect the OT on the R-band image, at magnitude about 20.5, roughly consistent with the predictions of Price (GCN 1977) and the observations of Fugazza et al. (GCN 1982). Further analysis is underway, and B and V-band upper limits will be derived once the field is calibrated. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1990 SUBJECT: GRB 030328: optical observations DATE: 03/03/29 15:15:55 GMT FROM: Denis Denissenko at IKI, Moscow R. Burenin, D. Denissenko, M. Pavlinsky, R. Sunyaev, O. Terekhov, A. Tkachenko (IKI); Z. Aslan, I. Khamitov, K. Uluc (TUG); U. Kiziloglu, A. Alpar, A. Baykal (METU); I. Bikmaev, N. Sakhibullin, V. Suleymanov (KSU) report: Error box of GRB030328 (HETE Trigger #2650, GCN 1978) was observed with 1.5-m Russian-Turkish Telescope RTT150 at Bakyrlytepe (TUBITAK National Observatory, Turkey) between Mar. 28.80 and 29.02 UT, starting appr. 9-10 hours after the burst. A set of 300-second exposures in BVRI Bessel filters was obtained under poor photometric conditions. We confirm the presence of the optical transient (OT) reported by Peterson and Price (GCN 1974). R magnitude of the OT on Mar. 28.952 (0.480 day after the burst) is estimated to be 20.35, assuming that Star B in GCN 1975 is R=16.1. This is brighter than the extrapolation of the power law from Price and Peterson (GCN 1977). OT is clearly visible in other filters in every 300-s exposure. The magnitudes in BVI will be obtained after we calibrate the field. The R image can be found at: http://hea.iki.rssi.ru/~br/r.gif Preliminary lightcurve in R: http://hea.iki.rssi.ru/~br/lc_r.ps This message may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1991 SUBJECT: GRB 030328: Optical observations DATE: 03/03/29 15:31:57 GMT FROM: Vasilij Rumjantsev at CrAO V.Rumyantsev (CrAO), V.Biryukov(SAI) and A.Pozanenko (IKI) report: We have obtained 44 unfiltered exposures (120-s each) of the GRB 030228 error box (HETE Trigger #2650). The images were taken with the AT-64 telescope of Crimean Astrophysical observatory and cover the period (UT) 18:46 - 23:07 March 28, 2003. We used CCD SBIG ST-8 with maximum of sensitivity in the red spectral band. In a co-added image the OT is visible at the position of reported by B.A. Peterson and P.A. Price (GCN 1974). The brightness was estimated in respect to the star B (GCN 1982) as R = 20.9 +/- 0.2. Start time exposure OT March 28 18:46 44x120 s 20.9 +- 0.2 Detailed calibration is underway. The image is available at http://grb.rssi.ru/GRB030228 This message can be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1993 SUBJECT: GRB 030328 Optical Observations DATE: 03/03/29 17:03:41 GMT FROM: Jens Hjorth at U.Copenhagen M. I. Andersen (Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam), G. Masi (University of Rome "Tor Vergata" and ESO, Chile), B. L. Jensen and J. Hjorth (University of Copenhagen) report: We have obtained R-band observations of the optical afterglow of GRB 030328 (Peterson & Price, GCN 1974), using the Danish 1.54m telescope (La Silla) + DFOSC. Using the zero point reported by Fugazza et al. (GCN 1982) (R = 16.31 for star B) a preliminary analysis gives Mar. 29, 02:59 UT 20.91 +/- 0.09 Mar. 29, 03:12 UT 20.73 +/- 0.07 Mar. 29, 03:34 UT 21.00 +/- 0.09 Mar. 29, 03:54 UT 20.85 +/- 0.06 Mar. 29, 04:15 UT 21.00 +/- 0.07 Mar. 29, 04:42 UT 20.95 +/- 0.07 Mar. 29, 05:21 UT 21.10 +/- 0.07 Mar. 29, 05:53 UT 21.03 +/- 0.07 Mar. 29, 07:17 UT 21.23 +/- 0.10 Mar. 29, 07:46 UT 21.36 +/- 0.11 A fit to this data set gives a decay index of alpha = 1.6 +/- 0.3. If the two last data points are ignored and the two data points of Fugazza et al. are included, a decay index of alpha = 1.2 +/- 0.2 is derived, consistent with the early decay index of alpha = 1.0 +/- 0.1 reported by Price & Peterson (GCN 1977). This may indicate that the light curve steepened around t = 0.8 days. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1992 SUBJECT: GRB030328: Decay index DATE: 03/03/29 15:48:00 GMT FROM: Michael I. Andersen at Astrophys.Inst.Potsdam M. I. Andersen (Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam) G. Masi (University of Rome "Tor Vergata" and European Southern Observatory, Chile), B. L. Jensen and J. Hjorth (Copenhagen University) report: We have obtained R-band observations of the afterglow of GRB030328, initially reported by Peterson & Price (GCN 1974), using the Danish 1.54m telescope (La Silla) + DFOSC. Using the zero point reported by Fugazza et al. (GCN 1982) (star B=16.31) a preliminary analysis gives Mar. 29, 02:59 UT 20.91 +/- 0.09 Mar. 29, 03:12 UT 20.73 +/- 0.07 Mar. 29, 03:34 UT 21.00 +/- 0.09 Mar. 29, 03:54 UT 20.85 +/- 0.06 Mar. 29, 04:15 UT 21.00 +/- 0.07 Mar. 29, 04:42 UT 20.95 +/- 0.07 Mar. 29, 05:21 UT 21.10 +/- 0.07 Mar. 29, 05:53 UT 21.03 +/- 0.07 Mar. 29, 07:17 UT 21.23 +/- 0.10 Mar. 29, 07:46 UT 21.36 +/- 0.11 A fit to this data set gives a decay index of alpha = 1.6 +/- 0.3. If the two last data points are ignored and the two data points from Fugazza et al. are included, a decay index of alpha = 1.2 +/- 0.2 is derived. This is consistent with the early decay index of alpha = 1.0 +/- 0.1 reported by Price and Peterson (GCN 1977) and may indicate that the light curve encountered a break around t=0.8 days. This message may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 2007 SUBJECT: GRB030328: X-ray Afterglow Observed with Chandra DATE: 03/03/29 23:44:47 GMT FROM: George Ricker at MIT GRB030328: X-ray Afterglow Observed with Chandra N. R. Butler, H. L. Marshall, P. G. Ford, R. K. Vanderspek, G. R. Ricker (MIT), J. G. Jernigan (U.C. Berkeley), and D. Q. Lamb (U. Chicago) report: Beginning at March 29.112 (t[burst] + 15.33 hr) Chandra Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS) observations commenced of a field centered on the HETE WXM+SXC localizations (Villasenor et al, GCN 1978) of GRB030328. We report here on the first 2.6 ksec of data downlinked from Chandra. An X-ray source is detected at a location consistent with that of the optical transient found by Peterson & Price (GCN1974), and a total of 13 counts are observed in the 0.2-10 keV band in the 0th order image. Assuming a spectrum with photon index gamma=2 and attenuated by a Galactic absorption column (nH=4.3 x 10^(20) cm^(-2)), this corresponds to an average flux of ~3 x 10^(-13) ergs cm^(-2) s^(-1). Our analyses are continuing, and more detailed results will be posted at: http://space.mit.edu/HETE/ We thank Harvey Tananbaum for his generous allocation of Director's Discretion Time to this observation, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory Operations personnel for the impressive promptness with which this observation was planned and carried out. The preliminary results reported here may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 2008 SUBJECT: GRB030328: R optical observation DATE: 03/03/30 00:00:55 GMT FROM: Adriano Guarnieri at O.A.di Bologna C. Bartolini, A. Guarnieri, A. Piccioni (Bologna University), R. Gualandi (Bologna Astronomical Observatory), G. Pizzichini (IASF-CNR, Bologna) report: On 2003, March 28, 22h 32m UT we observed the optical afterglow of GRB 030328 (Peterson and Price, GCN 1974) with the 152 cm telescope in Loiano. Using the calibration reported by Fugazza et al. (GCN 1982) we obtained R = 20.45 (1800s exposure, preliminary estimate). This message may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 2027 SUBJECT: GRB030328: X-ray Fading and Spectrum Measured with Chandra DATE: 03/03/30 18:35:26 GMT FROM: George Ricker at MIT GRB030328: X-ray Fading and Spectrum Measured with Chandra P. G. Ford, N. R. Butler, H. L. Marshall, R. K. Vanderspek, G. R. Ricker (MIT), J. G. Jernigan (U.C. Berkeley), and D. Q. Lamb (U. Chicago) report: As reported in Butler et al. (GCN 2007), Chandra LETGS observations commenced on March 29.112 (t[burst] + 15.33 hr) of a field centered on the HETE WXM+SXC error region (Villasenor et al, GCN 1978) for GRB030328. We report here on the first 39.7 ksec of data, which was taken until March 29.744 (t[burst] + 30.51 hr). The relatively faint X-ray afterglow reported in GCN 2007 is observed to fade in brightness according to a power-law with a decay slope of -1.5 +/- 0.3. (This value is consistent with the decay slope value of -1.6 found by Andersen et al. (GCN 1993) in the optical.) The mean counting rate was 0.023 counts/s (summed over the dispersed signal from the LETGS, and including the 0th order flux). The source spectrum, which we derive from our preliminary analysis of the dispersed LETGS counts, is characterized as follows: nH = 4.32 x 10^20 cm^(-2), fixed at the Galactic value in the source direction; dN/dE = A * E^ (-gamma) ph cm^(-2) s^(-1) keV^(-1) , over the 0.8-2.7 keV range, with A = 0.0001, and gamma = 1.80 Thus, the mean flux for the 0.8 to 2.7 keV band over the duration of the Chandra observation was ~1.7 x 10^(-13) ergs cm^(-2) s^(-1). Our analyses are continuing, and more detailed results will be posted at: http://space.mit.edu/HETE/ We thank Harvey Tananbaum for his generous allocation of Director's Discretion Time to this observation, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory Operations personnel for the impressive promptness with which this observation was planned and carried out. The preliminary results reported here may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 2036 SUBJECT: GRB 030328, optical photometry DATE: 03/03/31 00:49:49 GMT FROM: Peter Garnavich at U of Notre Dame P. Garnavich (Notre Dame), P. Martini (OCIW), and K.Z. Stanek (CfA) We imaged the optical afterglow of GRB 030328 (Peterson & Price, GCN 1974) with the Magellan 6.5-m Clay telescope and LDSS2 imaging/spectrograph on March 30.04 (1.57 days after the burst). The 2x180 sec R-band images provide a magnitude estimate of 21.93 +\- 0.06 assuming star "B" (GCN 1977) is R=16.10. Using the Magellan photometry from March 29 (Martini et al. GCN 1979), we find a powerlaw decay index of -1.3 +/- 0.1. Our R-band magnitude estimate 1.57 days after the burst is close to that predicted by Price & Peterson (GCN 1977) based on early photometry and a decay index of -1.0. This message may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 2076 SUBJECT: GRB030328: Full Observation, X-ray Fading and Spectrum Measured DATE: 03/04/03 00:22:56 GMT FROM: George Ricker at MIT GRB030328: Full Observation, X-ray Fading and Spectrum Measured with Chandra N. R. Butler, H. L. Marshall, P. G. Ford, R. K. Vanderspek, G. R. Ricker (MIT), J. G. Jernigan (U.C. Berkeley), and D. Q. Lamb (U. Chicago) report: We have analyzed the full 94.0 ksec (livetime) Chandra LETGS observation of GRB030328 (Villasenor et al, GCN1978), lasting from March 29.112 (t[burst] + 15.33 hr) until March 30.278 (t[burst] + 43.32 hr). The mean counting rate for the X-ray afterglow (Butler et al. GCN2007) is 0.012 counts/s (summed over the dispersed signal from the LETGS, and including the 0th order flux). We observe that the brightness over the full observation decays with a slope -1.5 +/- 0.1, consistent with the value reported by Ford et al. (GCN2027). (The chi^2 is 34.27 for 30 degrees of freedom, and the fit is rejectable at only 73% confidence.) We see no evidence for a temporal break. We fit the dispersed LETGS counts (+/-1 orders summed) and the counts in 0th order jointly by minimizing chi^2, requiring 12 or more counts per spectral bin. In the 0.5 to 3.0 keV band, the data are well fit (chi^2/nu=48.45/48, rejectable at 54% confidence) by an absorbed power-law: dN/dE = A * E^ (-gamma) * exp(-NH * sigma[E]) , where NH = ( 5 +/- 3 ) x 10^20 cm^(-2) is the line of sight column density, which is consistent with the anticipated galactic absorption in the source direction; A = ( 6.8 +/- 0.9 ) x 10^(-5) ph cm^(-2) s^(-1) keV^(-1); and gamma = 1.7 +/- 0.2 . These are 1 parameter 1-sigma confidence intervals. Integrating the above model over the 0.5 to 3.0 keV band, the mean flux for the duration of the Chandra observation is ~1.9 x 10^(-13) ergs cm^(-2) s^(-1). Our analyses are continuing, and more detailed results will be posted at: http://space.mit.edu/HETE/ We thank Harvey Tananbaum for his generous allocation of Director's Discretion Time to this observation, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory Operations personnel for the impressive promptness with which this observation was planned and carried out. The preliminary results reported here may be cited. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 2114 SUBJECT: GRB030328, UBVRcIc field photometry DATE: 03/04/07 16:18:27 GMT FROM: Arne A. Henden at USNO/USRA A. Henden (USRA/USNO) reports on behalf of the USNO GRB team: We have acquired UBVRcIc all-sky photometry for a 11x11 arcmin field centered at the coordinates of the optical transient (Peterson and Price, GCN 1974) for the HETE burst GRB030328 (GCN 1978) with the USNOFS 1.0-m telescope on one photometric night. Stars brighter than V=13.0 are saturated and should be used with care. We have placed the photometric data on our anonymous ftp site: ftp://ftp.nofs.navy.mil/pub/outgoing/aah/grb/grb030328.dat The astrometry in this file is based on linear plate solutions with respect to UCAC2. The external errors are less than 100mas. The external photometric errors are approximately 0.03mag at this stage. Because of scattering from the two bright stars to the south of the optical transient, this file has many false stars. You should carefully match the RA,DEC of any object against USNO-B to ensure that the object is real. There is now a README file in that directory that gives generic observational information and file formats. We will most likely obtain an additional night of photometry in a week or two when the moon is no longer a concern. As always, you should check the dates on the .dat file prior to final publication to get the latest photometry. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 2192 SUBJECT: GRB030328, optical observation DATE: 03/05/02 01:23:13 GMT FROM: Alexei Pozanenko at IKI, Moscow M.A. Ibrahimov, I.M. Asfandiyarov, B.B. Kahharov (UBAI), A.Pozanenko (IKI), V.Rumyantsev (CrAO), G.Beskin (SAO) on behalf of large collaboration report: We have observed the OT of GRB030328 (Peterson and Price, GCN 1974) on Mar.29 with 1.5m telescope of Mt.Maidanak High-altitude Observatory (UBAI). Using star "A" as a reference (GCN 1975) and photometry by A.Henden (GCN 2114) we estimate the OT magnitudes: Mid time (UT) Mar.29 exposure filter mag err 18:00 5x300 B 22.77 0.43 18:48 5x300 R 22.10 0.28 Obtained R-magnitude is consistent with the measurement by P. Garnavich et al. (GCN 2036). This message may be cited.