TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1024 SUBJECT: Further Optical Observations of GRB 010324 DATE: 01/03/27 17:16:23 GMT FROM: Josh Bloom at CIT Further Optical Observations of GRB 010324 J. S. Bloom, P. A. Price, D. W. Fox, S. G. Djorgovski (CIT), and J. M. Schombert (U. Oregon) report on behalf of the larger Caltech-NRAO-CARA GRB Collaboration: "On 26.27 March 2001, we obtained a second night of exposures of the field of GRB 010324 (GCN/RXTE ASM; Hurley et al., GCN #1011) using COSMIC on the Palomar 200-inch atop Mt. Palomar. Using the same pattern as in the first epoch of imaging (GCN #1012), the entire XTE error box was observed in V-band in two pointings with a total of 1800 sec per pointing. Both image differencing and differential aperture photometry between the two epochs revealed no obviously varying source. No absolute photometry for the field is available at this time. However, adopting V = 19.1 mag for a USNO A2.0 star at RA: 07:11:26.301, DEC: +19:58:30.32 (J2000) we estimate the absence of variation by more than 0.3 mag down to V = 22.3 mag. Sources brighter than V~18.5 mag were saturated however all such sources were previously observed in DPOSS (see GCN #1012); therefore any GRB afterglow is now likely to be faint (V > 22.3 mag). One caveat to this conclusion is that the GRB field has a high stellar density and so it is possible to have missed a varying source near a bright star." This message may be cited.