AGN

The AAVSO Circulars – See what’s been happening in the night sky as you plan your observing program!

The AAVSO has numerous observing aids designed to help you make the most efficient use of your valuable observing time. Each Observing Section and each mode of observing has a variety of resources – be sure to visit these pages and explore the links. The best place to start is the "Observing at a Glance – for Observers" page (https://www.aavso.org/observers).

Special Notice #295: Bright outburst of the BL Lac object PKS 0716+71

September 18, 2012:  AAVSO observer Klaus Wenzel (Grossostheim, Germany) noted that the BL Lacertae object PKS 0716+71 (== S5 0716+714) is currently brighter than it has been in several years, being at magnitude 12.7 (visual) on 2012 September 13.1354 (JD 2456183.6354).  This AGN is highly variable on short timescales, but recent observations of this object indicate that it remains bright.

Special Notice #262: Long-term monitoring of AGN targets extended

November 2, 2011:  The observing campaign described in AAVSO Alert Notice 443 (M. Templeton) has been extended through the end of November 2011. One of the original targets, NGC 6814, has been removed from the target list for the remainder of the campaign.

Special Notice #249: FTP site for submitting AGN images requested in Alert Notice 443

August 19, 2011: As announced in AAVSO Alert Notice 443, Dr. Misty Bentz (Georgia State University) requests observations of four active galactic nuclei (AGN) for a study of variability in these sources by the STARE Collaboration. She requests BVRcIc filtered photometry of NGC 6814, NGC 7213, NGC 7469, and NGC 1566 from July 10, 2011, to November 1, 2011. She also requests that observers submit their images for analysis. An FTP site has been created for this purpose.