Candidates for a γ-ray burster optical counterpart

The small size of the 1928 optical error box for the 19 November 1978 γ-ray burster (GRB) allows for a very deep search for the quiescent optical counterpart. A CCD camera has been used on the CTIO 4m telescope to search this field to a m/sub B/ fainter than 25.0. Three objects were found in the 1928 error box, including one which varies by over one magnitude in under a day. This variable object corresponds in position to Pedersen et al.'s object A. Since the disappearance of their object B is confirmed, there are two faint variables in the field. It is unclear which one (if either) of the variables is the true GRB counterpart. The details of the observations and their implications are contained in a letter submitted to the Astrophysical Journal. 1 figure