We caution however that the hypothesis of a bright host galaxy is based on just a few data points. To test this hypothesis continued monitoring of the system is therefore urged. BeppoSAX error circle is shown in blue, the OT is circled in the center of the image.
North is up and East is to the left.
The R-band light curve of the optical afterglow of GRB 990712. The three first points are from SAAO, the last point is based on the NTT image. Error bars are about the size of the data points. The dotted line shows the contribution from the purported host galaxy and the dashed curve is the assumed power law decline of the optical afterglow emission. The solid curve is the combined effect of these contributions and gives a good fit to the observations.