Rapid Identification of Optical Afterglows: Bright Prospects

We have developed an automated system for the rapid observation and identification of gamma‐ray burst (GRB) afterglows. We expect to observe GRB localisations from the High Energy Transient Explorer within 2 minutes of the GRB, and automatically identify an optical transient within 10 minutes. Such early observations are expected to yield new information on the GRB phenomenon, constrain possible progenitor models and allow rapid spectroscopic follow‐up.