[vsnet-grb-info 15477] GRB 140903A: Coincident galaxy cluster in archival images

[GCN Circulars]

TITLE:   GCN CIRCULAR
NUMBER:  16766
SUBJECT: GRB 140903A: Coincident galaxy cluster in archival images
DATE:    14/09/03 18:53:21 GMT
FROM:    Derek Fox at PSU  <dfox at astro.psu.edu>

Derek B. Fox (PSU) and J. R. Cummings (NASA/UMBC) report:

"The BAT (Cummings, GCN 16765) and XRT (Kennea & Cummings, GCN 16764)
localizations of GRB 140903A (Cummings et al., GCN 16763) are located
within 2.5' (<0.2 Mpc projected) of the center of the galaxy cluster
NSC J155202+273349, as cataloged by the Northern Optical Cluster
Survey (Gal et al. 2003, AJ, 125, 2064). While the photometric
redshift for the cluster is provided as z=0.2955 in the catalog, four
of the five SDSS-resolved galaxies nearest the XRT position have
spectroscopic redshifts (SDSS and 2MASX surveys, as retrieved from the
NASA Extragalactic Database) within the range z=0.074 +/- 0.001. In
particular, the two nearest galaxies with known redshifts are SDSS
J155208.34+273631.8 at z=0.073 (1.05' distance) and 2MASX
J15520787+2735016 at z=0.075 (1.47' distance).

Given past associations (and proposed associations) of short bursts
with evolved galaxies and galaxy clusters at z<~0.3 we consider the
presence of this coincident galaxy cluster at z~0.074 suggestive."

This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database
(NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California
Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration.