Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
IAUC 3356: gamma-ray BURST 79-03-05; NOVALIKE OBJECT IN Vul
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Circular No. 3356
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION
Postal Address: Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
TWX 710-320-6842 ASTROGRAM CAM Telephone 617-864-5758
gamma-ray BURST 79-03-05
D. Evans, R. Kiebesadel and J. Baros, Los Alamos Scientific
Laboratory; and T. Cline, U. Desai, B. Teegarden and G. Pizzichini,
Goddard Space Flight Center, report that data from gamma-ray-burst
instruments on the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and the Helios-B and ISEE-3
satellites have been used to establish an error box for the source
of an event that occurred on ~ Mar. 5d15h52m05s UT. Confirmation
of the event has been provided by K. Hurley, M. Niel and G.
Vedrenne, Centre d'Etude Spatiale de Rayonnements; I. V. Estulin,
Space Research Institute; and E. P. Mazets, Physical-Technical
Institute, based on data from Venera 11 and 12 and by data from the
Vela 5A, SB and 6A satellites. The Mar. 5 event was different from
a typical gamma-ray burst in several respects: it was more intense by at
least an order of magnitude; the risetime was much shorter, with
the observed count rate increasing from background to near maximum
in < 0.25 ms; the spectrum was significantly softer; the decay time
was < 100 ms. The error box is ~ 1'.0 by 1'.5 centered at R.A. =
5h25m.92, Decl. = -66o07'.3 (equinox 1950.0). Included in the error box
is a portion of N49, a supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic
Cloud described by Mathewson and Clark (1973, Astrophys. J. 179,
89), who suggested that the nearby radio source may have
been ejected from the remnant. N49 and 0525-66.0 have recently
been observed by HEAO 2 and reported by Helfand (1979, Bull. Am.
Phys. Soc. 24, No. 4) as very luminous soft x-ray sources. If N49
were the source of the gamma-ray burst, then the peak luminosity in gamma-rays
was ~ 10**44 erg/s and the total energy radiated was ~ 10**43 erg.
NOVALIKE OBJECT IN VULPECULA
C. B. Stephenson, Warner and Swasey Observatory, writes that
this object has been identified on a Burrell Schmidt direct plate
taken on 1968 Oct. 14. The plate, taken in the V magnitude system,
can be calibrated photometrically with the aid of an overlapping V
plate of the NGC 6882/5 field, for which accurate photometry is
given in Publ. U.S. Naval Obs. 17, part 7. The resulting magnitude
(obtained without means of determining any color equation) for the
object was V = 14.1 +/- 0.15 (p.e.). An infrared objective-prism
plate (range 6800-8800 A, dispersion 1700 A/mm) taken on 1958 Aug.
30 also shows the object, at I ~ 9.5, near, but usably above, the
plate limit; the spectrum appears to be of class M4.
1979 May 11 (3356) Brian G. Marsden
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