January 9, 2023
AAVSO Forum threads (scroll to the bottom of a thread for latest posts):
- High Energy Network (HEN): https://www.aavso.org/node/89754
- Time Sensitive Alerts: https://www.aavso.org/2023-outburst-4c-31-03
Please subscribe to these threads if you are observing 4C 31.03 so you can be updated. Join in the discussion or ask questions there!
August 17, 2020
AAVSO Forum threads (scroll to the bottom of a thread for latest posts):
- High Energy Network (HEN): https://www.aavso.org/observations-blazar-s5-180378-critically-needed
January 26, 2018: AAVSO member/observer Adolfo Darriba (Madrid, Spain) informs us that Dr. Dave Thompson, Multiwavelength Coordinator for the Large Area Telescope (LAT) of NASA's Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope, on behalf of the Fermi LAT Collaboration has called for observations of the blazar 3C 279, which is undergoing a major gamma-ray flare.
August 24, 2007: The campaign to monitor blazars as described in AAVSO Alert Notice 353 continues, and observations of any and all of the ten targets are welcomed. The VERITAS telescope is currently in standby while the Arizona monsoon season progresses, but the rainy season typically ends in late August or early September. Please observe these objects now to familiarize yourself with the fields and to establish a recent baseline of behavior for future analysis.
October 30, 2007: The campaign to monitor blazars as described in Alert Notice 353 is ongoing, and the triggering thresholds for VERITAS observations have recently been updated by the PI, Dr. Markus Boettcher.
The blazar 1ES 0120+340 (1ES0120+34, AAVSO Designation 0117+33) has recently been seen just above the new triggering threshold of Rc = 17.0, and observations of this source are requested over the next several weeks. 1ES 0120+340 is located at coordinates
RA: 01:23:08.6 , Dec: +34:20:48 (J2000)
December 1, 2016: The blazar CTA 102 (4C 11.69) has been in an active state in gamma-ray and optical wavelengths since 2015. During 2016, it has had numerous flaring episodes, particularly since late October. It is presently in an unprecedentedly bright optical state, and showing substantially increased emission in gamma-ray and near-infrared wavelengths.
September 2, 2015: AAVSO observer Adolfo Darriba Martinez y Oscar Ortuño (DAM, Observatorio Las Casqueras, Madrid, Spain) reports that the blazar S5 1803+78 has brightened significantly.
S5 1803+78, which is magnitude 16-17 V at minimum, is currently magnitude 14.237 V (LPAB, P. Lampens-Vancauteren (Ukkel, Belgium).
Previous outbursts are recorded in the AAVSO International Database in November 2007, February 2012, and September 2014.
January 19, 2015: The blazar PKS 0716+71 == S5 0716+71 is currently in a very bright active state, at a visual magnitude of 12.1 as observed by G. Poyner on 2015 January 19.212 (JD 2457041.712). The object was first noted in outburst by Arkharov et al.
February 9, 2010: The blazar 3C 66A has been steadily brightening in the optical for the past few hundred days, and is now at or near the bright limits of the AAVSO records for this object. The most recent observations put 3C 66A near V=13.9: m(vis)=13.8, JD 2455234.361 (2010 Feb 06.861; G. Poyner, Birmingham, England); m(V)=13.88, JD 2455235.566 (Feb 08.066; R. Campbell, Largo, Florida, USA); m(V)=13.90, JD 2455235.740 (Feb 08.240; R. Campbell).
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