First isolated GRB sighting ?
On the 25th of January last year, the first visibly isolated GRB, namely GRB 070125 was detected by the Inter-Planetary Network. Following the sighting of a ‘fast-fading’ after glow from the Palomar Observatory in California, further analysis was conducted using the Gemini North and Keck telescopes in Hawaii. This revealed no absorption of light from dense gas or dust surrounding the GRB, and was later confirmed when the glow had faded…there was no sign of a galaxy.
The next step is to take a long exposure shot using the Hubble Space Telescope, to confirm if the star formed in a ‘tidal-tail’ which make up 1% of star formations in our local universe.
more here…
http://www.science.psu.edu/alert/Fox12-2007.htm
arxiv article detailing the observations…