BL Lac object

Special Notice #420: OJ 287 very bright and Subscription reminder

September 13, 2016

OJ 287

S. Zola (Jagiellonian University) et al. (ATel #9489) report that the BL Lac object OJ 287 has emerged from conjunction optically very bright and increasing in brightness, according to their observations made at Mt. Suhora Observatory in August and September 2016.

Their observations and recent observations of this blazar in the AAVSO International Database include:

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 #223: BL Lac object 3C 454.3 undergoing bright flare

November 18, 2010: As was noted by AAVSO observer E. Erdelyi (Carlsbad, CA, USA) in a post to cvnet-discussion, the BL Lac object 3C 454.3 (AUID 000-BDC-612) appears to be undergoing a bright flare; the object was recorded by Erdelyi at V=13.659(0.013) on 2010 November 10.2708 (JD 2455510.7708). The last flare of comparable brightness was observed in 2007, when the object reached V ~ 13.4 around JD 2454335 (late August 2007).