SIMBAD references

The origins of γ-ray bursts still remain unknown more than 20 years after their discovery. Since burst durations at γ-ray energies last, on average, only a few seconds, efforts at identifying the source of the bursts have concentrated on follow-up observations at lower energies. To investigate whether γ-ray bursts do emit lower-energy radiation shortly after the burst event, networks of ground-based observatories have been established to search the fields of γ-ray bursts as soon as the position of the burst is reasonably well localized. We report the preliminary results of multi-wavelength observations from the BATSE/COMPTEL/NMSU Rapid Response Network for GRB 940301. Radio observations of the burst position began within one hour of the burst detection. Optical images of the COMPTEL error box were first obtained seven hours after the burst. The ground-based optical and radio observations continued for several weeks after the burst. A small number of variable stars, and several radio sources were found inside the γ-ray burst error box. We cannot, however, conclusively determine whether any of these objects were responsible for GRB 940301. The multi-wavelength observations we report can be used to impose limits to constrain future models for the origin of γ-ray bursts.