TITLE:   GCN CIRCULAR
NUMBER:  2486
SUBJECT: GRB 031203: SMARTS optical monitoring
DATE:    03/12/11 21:50:29 GMT
FROM:    Charles Bailyn at Yale/Astro  <bailyn@astro.yale.edu>

C. Bailyn, P. van Dokkum, M. Buxton, B. Cobb (Yale) and
J. S. Bloom (Harvard/CfA) report continued monitoring
of the galaxy near the position of GRB 031203 (GCN 2482)
with the SMARTS 1.3m telescope + ANDICAM instrument at
CTIO:

"We have continued SMARTS/ANDICAM observations of the galaxy 
coincident with the radio position (GCN 2473) of GRB 031203.  
We are obtaining 42m of exposure time in I and J each night.  
Our recent I-band data suggest that the galaxy has brightened
by 0.09 +/- 0.03 magnitudes over the past 2 nights, reaching I=19.13
in observations beginning Dec. 11 UT=5:27 (in addition to the
error in the differential magnitude, there is also an uncertainty
of ~0.05 in the absolute magnitude scale).  This brightening may 
mark the emergence of an underlying supernova, so we urge continued 
observation of this source in all wavelengths."