gro j1744-28 was discovered in december 1995 and has become one of the brightest sources in the x-ray sky. the bimodal behaviour (dis- playing x-ray bursts at an average rate of 1-2 per hour and the appearance of pulsations at 467 ms) makes of this source a unique object in our galaxy. no optical/ir counterpart has yet been identified, due to the location of the source in the vecinity of the galactic center, and the presence of a foreground star in the line of sight of a variable radiosource, presumably associated with gro j1744-28. as we stated in a recent iau circular (iauc 6339), we believe that only thermal imaging may reveal the counterpart. we believe that the iso cam is the only instrument that can perform such observations. moreover, the x-ray flux is decaying rapidly and therefore, we suggest to perform the observations as soon as possible (preferably on 15 april). the iso viewing window for this source ends in late april.
Instrument
CAM01
Temporal Coverage
1997-02-18T15:36:26Z/1997-02-18T17:17:02Z
Version
1.0
Mission Description
The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was the worlds first true orbiting infrared observatory. Equipped with four highly-sophisticated and versatile scientific instruments, it was launched by Ariane in November 1995 and provided astronomers world-wide with a facility of unprecedented sensitivity and capabilities for a detailed exploration of the Universe at infrared wavelengths.
European Space Agency, CASTRO-TIRADO et al., 1998, 'THERMAL IMAGING OF GRO J1744-28 WHILE IN OUTBURST', 1.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-q32aqno
