ASAS-SN Discovery of an Unprecedented, Factor ~100, Very Rapid Brightening of the QSO SDSS J002829.81+200026.7
ATel #12082; K. Z. Stanek (OSU), X. Dai (University of Oklahoma), C. S. Kochanek, T. A. Thompson (OSU), B. J. Shappee (IfA, Hawaii), T. W.-S. Holoien (Carnegie Observatories), J. L. Prieto (Diego Portales; MAS), Subo Dong (KIAA-PKU)
on 7 Oct 2018; 16:36 UT
Credential Certification: Krzysztof Stanek (stanek.32@osu.edu)
Subjects: Optical, Quasar
During the ongoing All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN,
Shappee et
al. 2014), using data from the quadruple 14-cm "Brutus" telescope
in Haleakala, Hawaii, we have discovered an unprecedented, factor of ~100
optical brightening of the QSO SDSS J002829.81+200026.7 (z=1.55).
SDSS J002829.81+200026.7, while optically
variable in CRTS data, it was never brighter than ~19 mag in these
data. Its g-band magnitude in SDSS data is g=20.6, its PS1 brightness
is g=20.2, and its Gaia brightness is g=20.2. SDSS J002829.81+200026.7 started brightening rapidly on UT 2018-10-03.83, reaching V=15.5 on UT 2018-10-05.46, and then quickly
decaying to g=16.5 on UT 2018-10-06.11 and g=17.6 on UT 2018-10-07.20
(see its ASAS-SN Sky Patrol light
curve). Such a rapid and dramatic brightening is unprecedented for this
object, which is classified by SDSS as "QSO broadline".
In general, such behavior is rarely seen for any quasars (e.g., ATel #11110), so
multi-wavelength follow-up observations are encouraged.
We would like to thank Las Cumbres Observatory and its staff for their continued support of ASAS-SN. ASAS-SN is funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through grant GBMF5490 to the Ohio State University, NSF grant AST-1515927, the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation, the Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP) at OSU, the Chinese Academy of Sciences South America Center for Astronomy (CASSACA), and the Villum Fonden (Denmark).
