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THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 1567      2000 Oct 04 08.28UT
Ed:Guy M Hurst, 16,Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise,  Basingstoke,
Hants, RG22 4PP,England.Telephone/FAX(01256)471074Int:+441256471074
INTERNET: GUY@TAHQ.DEMON.CO.UK             GMH at AST.STAR.RL.AC.UK
WORLD WIDE WEB                    http://www.demon.co.uk/astronomer
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GRB000926
Following the announcement on E1565, we have been advised by
Arto Oksanen, a TA subscriber in Finland, that he has imaged the
field of GRB000926 on 2000 Sept 28 at 19.00UT before clouds
intervened at 19.40UT. 17 x 240sec co-added images were obtained
with a 0.40-m Meade LX200 operating at f6.3.

Analysis of the images was undertaken by Hitoshi Yamaoka, Kyushu
University, Japan and later by the TA Editor. There is no doubt
that the object referred to on E1565 and reported by Gorosabel and
Dall has also been recorded by Arto Oksanen near magnitude 20.

Later reports identifying the object as a radio source and
detailing a typical decay time have confirmed it as the afterglow
of the gamma ray burster.

This is the first known afterglow of a GRB to be recorded by an
amateur astronomer in Europe and we offer our sincere
congratulations to Arto on this marvellous achievement.

As our meeting on Saturday in Basingstoke is partly dedicated
to the study of these objects, following a commitment we made
earlier in the year at Huntsville, I have invited Arto to
attend and describe his success. He has kindly agreed to fly
over from Helsinki and stay with the editor this weekend.

In the light of this news, if anyone wishes to attend who has
not yet booked please e-mail/telephone Peter Meadows as soon
as possible.

TA 2000 SEPTEMBER ISSUE
It has been brought to my attention that a number of readers
have reported non-receipt of the September issue of TA.
It appears readers assumed that the promised despatch
date of September 21 mentioned on E1561 was not met but in fact
all copies were posted on that day.

We have spoken to the local post office who confirm clearance
of the post to the sorting office who similarly have not
found any post undespatched. I have requested a complaint
and tracing form but in the meantime wish to assess the
extent of the problem.

If you have NOT received the September issue please e-mail
the editor immediately so we can log the missing item
with the Post Office tomorrow. There is no need at this
stage to confirm receipt if the magazine arrived as the editor
will make separate enquiries on that front.

All readers can be assured that whilst the Post Office
investigation may be lengthy we will, if necessary, reprint
replacement copies if this proves necessary. In the
meantime please accept our apologies for the continued
delay.

Guy M Hurst