TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT NUMBER: 1223 SUBJECT: IPN triangulation of GRB020124 (HETE 1896) DATE: 02/01/26 01:46:38 GMT FROM: Kevin Hurley at UCBerkeley/SSL K. Hurley and T. Cline, on behalf of the Ulysses and HETE GRB teams; G. Ricker, D. Lamb, and S. Woosley on behalf of the HETE Science Team; R. Vanderspek, G. Crew, J. Doty, G. Monnelly, J. Villasenor, N. Butler, T. Cline, J.G. Jernigan, A. Levine, F. Martel, E. Morgan, G. Prigozhin, J. Braga, R. Manchanda, and G. Pizzichini, on behalf of the HETE Operations and HETE Optical-SXC Teams; N. Kawai, M. Matsuoka, Y. Shirasaki, T. Tamagawa, K. Torii, T. Sakamoto, A. Yoshida, E. Fenimore, M. Galassi, T. Donaghy, C. Graziani, and T. Tavenner, on behalf of the HETE WXM Team; J-L Atteia, M. Boer, J-F Olive, and J-P Dezalay, on behalf of the HETE FREGATE Team; report: Ulysses observed GRB020124 (=H1896, GCN 1220) as a rather weak event. Triangulation using the FREGATE data gives an annulus centered at RA(2000)= 82.122 deg., Decl.(2000)=-66.103 deg., with radius 67.978 +/- 0.205 deg. (3 sigma). This annulus intersects the HETE WXM error circle (GCN 1220) at just two points: RA(2000) Dec(2000) 143.401 -11.407 143.103 -11.286 The combined annulus/error circle has an area approximately 10% smaller than the error circle alone, or approximately 400 square arcminutes. The optical transient reported by Price et al. (GCN 1221) lies within the region common to the Ulysses/FREGATE annulus and the WXM error circle, about 0.03 degrees from the center line of the annulus, increasing the likelihood that this object is indeed the GRB counterpart. A map may be found at ssl.berkeley.edu/ipn3/020124.